Headliners

Kerry Ann Mendez, owner of Perennially Yours, is dedicated to teaching the art of high-impact, low-maintenance flower gardening and landscaping. As a garden consultant, designer, author and lecturer, she focuses on time-saving gardening techniques, workhorse plants and sustainable practices. She has been featured in numerous magazines including Horticulture, Fine Gardening, Garden Gate and Better Homes and Gardens' Garden Ideas & Outdoor Living.

 

About Rachel: Rachel is a wife, mother, homemaker, gardener and recipe creator. She’s an animal lover, dreamer, writer and the creator of all the projects you will see happening at Sugar Maple Farmhouse. She an introverted extrovert and loves the comforts of home, a well-designed room with plenty of straight lines, natural tones and a lot of plants. Her farmhouse style is a mix of traditional home style. She loves adding antique pieces to their home to balance out the new construction. She creates two new recipes each week for the blog as well as shares all their home DIY and her favorite finds. You can find her latest recipes on Instagram @sugarmaplekithen and daily farm life @sugarmaplefarmhouse. You can also follow all the projects on the farm YouTube channel @SugarMapleFarmhouse.

About the Farm: Sugar Maple Farmhouse is small, 7-acre farm nestled just outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was named by Rachel and Kevin for the 120-year-old Sugar Maple Tree parked right outside the front door. The farmhouse itself is a renovated farmhouse. Half of the house is from 1900 and half of the house was added in 2017. When The Quenzers moved in they continued the renovation with some small interior remodeling projects on the master bedroom, bathroom, mud room and the room that’s now Rachel’s home office space. Additionally, they completely transformed the old, falling down barn and garage on the property and made it into a functional 2-car garage and studio space/extra space for family and friends when they come to visit. They also built a 1/4 acre garden, greenhouse, stable area for the donkeys and continue to expand the flower farm.

ABOUT CHEF JEFF: Jeff began his cooking journey in 1990 in Mt. Pleasant Michigan working for the LaBelle Restaurant group while attending CMU as a music major.   Finding himself "skipping class" to pick up shifts at the restaurant Jeff decided to change his major and his life .  He and his wife Amy moved to Grand Rapids where he attended and graduated GRCC (now the Secchia Institute ) and  graduated in 1994  with an Associates Degree in Culinary Arts.    He spent the next 13 years "Chef-ing"  at various Catering and Restaurant operations in the Grand Rapids area , including the Scheldes Restaurant Group , Executive Chef for the Fredrick Meijer Gardens and Railside Country Club.   As his family started to grow Jeff made the switch to the Food Distribution side of the business and took a job with Superior Foods in 2007 as their Corporate Chef. Jeff and Amy live in Allendale and have 3 sons and a daughter in law. 2024 RECIPES: "Global Flavors" Togarashi Spiced Salmon with Hoisin Glaze and Bok Choy Ube’ Hash Shrimp and Manchego Salad with Spanish Chorizo Vinaigrette

J Schwanke is the host of J Schwanke’s Life in Bloom, a half-hour lifestyle show featuring everything flowers and the positive impact they make on daily life, broadcast nationwide. J is a fourth-generation florist, award-winning author, and speaker – whose passion for flowers is infectious. “Research has shown the presence of flowers has an immediate impact on people’s health and happiness,” says J Schwanke. “It’s been my life-long mission to show people how easy it is to improve their daily lives, by including flowers. Viewers have responded so positively to the beauty and relaxation flowers provide – even from just taking a break and watching the show. I’m excited to show many simple ways to interact with flowers, which can improve our environment, mood, and even physical well-being.” In each episode of J Schwanke’s Life in Bloom – seen on public television (PBS) and Create TV stations – J shows viewers how to arrange flowers with simple techniques that guarantee success. He also welcomes friends and guests for segments with crafts, cooking, cocktails, and flowers for entertaining. Location segments include visits to flower farms. Flowers intersect topics as varied as soap making, pets, and bonsai are included, as well as easy-to-make recipes with flowers as ingredients, such as a lavender cheesecake and garden gimlet cocktail. J Schwanke was actually born at a flower convention and grew up in his family’s greenhouses. His website, uBloom.com, offers flower fans everywhere the opportunity to learn and experience the fun of flowers and flower arranging, 24/7! J has given flower demonstrations in all 50 states, Canada and England. Highlights include the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival, Art in Bloom, Bouquets to Art, San Francisco Flower & Garden Show, Flowers at Kensington Palace and hundreds of state, association, wholesale and public shows. J has also appeared several times on the PBS show “P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home.” J is the author of Fun with Flowers, which received a Silver, Living Now Book Award. His most recent book, Bloom 365 – The Essential Guide to Arranging Flowers Every Day, was awarded the Gold IPPY (Home and Garden category) by the Independent Publisher Book Awards. Bloom 365 features 365 tips, tricks, and techniques to make flower arranging easier.Don’t miss J Schwanke’s Life in Bloom airing on WGVU Saturdays at noon starting April 6th!

Destinee Keener-Sargent is born and bred from the City of Muskegon and is currently a City Commissioner for The City of Muskegon!  Coming from a long line of cooks, Destinee & Kemmie, husband and wife duo, have turned their passion into a career serving the Muskegon area scratch-made comfort food. The duo loves to travel so that they can incorporate their love of good, traditional food from around the world with flavors they’ve been raised to love and appreciate. 

Diane Devereaux is The Canning Diva®, a nationally syndicated food preservation expert, television presenter, instructor, mother of two, and author of Canning Full Circle: From Garden to Jar to Table and The Complete Guide to Pressure Canning and Beginner’s Guide to Canning - all available through her online store. Devereaux has bridged the generational gap of traditional canning methods for over a decade, teaching the art and craft of home canning to busy families across America.

Currently co-host of the Gardening Simplified Show https://gardeningsimplifiedonair.com/ a new radio show and podcast from Proven Winners ColorChoice Shrubs. Hosted by life-long gardeners Rick Vuyst and Stacey Hirvela, the Gardening Simplified show is designed to share our love of plants and gardening.  Whatever your skill or experience level, you’ll find something interesting, useful, and just plain fascinating in every episode. Was host of the Flowerland show on NewsRadio WOOD 1300 and 106.9 FM and nationally on iHeart radio from May 1, 1993 to June 4, 2022.  The Flowerland Show. “Mr Green Thumb” for WZZM TV 13 https://www.wzzm13.com/ the West Michigan ABC television affiliate for over 20 years. At Flowerland for 46 years, a former owner, leaving Flowerland in July 2022. Author of three books, Amazon books in addition to gardening, Rick is a health enthusiast, an avid runner and loves photography on the Lake Michigan shoreline and in the garden where he lives in West Michigan.

Kate Wert, LMSW—former owner of Clean Slate by Kate, LLC—has been a Professional Organizer and Coach for 5+ years and carries a License of Master’s Level Clinical Social Work. Kate has nearly 10 years of experience as a Social Worker in the fields of foster care, children’s mental health and hospice. Her success in these high demand fields helped her realize that any job is manageable.

Kate continues her education in the organizing field through NAPO National, NAPO Michigan, as well as continuing education credits to maintain her Social Work license.

Kate emphasizes creating a judgment-free zone and using a person-centered approach in her practice. She challenges her clients to think differently about their attachment to stuff to live a better quality of life and meet their personal goals.

Kate considers herself a master organizer with an eye for design and a social worker at heart. The most rewarding part of Kate’s work is when Grand Rapids natives reach out to her at a point of overwhelm and together, they prove that no matter the project at hand – “it’s manageable.”

Kate knows it’s an honor to be in other’s homes and relishes in the rich history and stories that unveil through her work. She gets excited when her clients cast a vision and she can walk beside them to make it a reality.

Leslie Hart-Davidson is a nationally recognized professional interior designer, author, and owner of HDD Studios in Michigan. Leslie holds a B.A. in interior design and has nearly two decades of industry experience, but credits her family for the desire to enter the world of design. The Hart family practiced real estate flipping while she was a child, so her calling for home improvement came early.

Leslie lives and breathes interior design not only in her successful design business, but also through her extensive writing career. She has written two home improvement books full of snark and great content: Remodeling Your House without Killing Your Spouse in 2014 and It’s Not Your Room, it’s You in 2016.   Leslie’s most recent book is a combination kitchen design/memoir/cookbook titled Food is Love that will be showcased during the 2023 season’s seminars.

The design philosophy Leslie adopted when she started her business more than 20 years ago is straightforward: design is a democracy, not a dictatorship. This guiding principle helps audience members and clients better understand design language and the psychology behind how they live in their homes. Her innovative seminars include “Thing or Not a Thing: The Best and Worst of Today’s Design Trends,” and “Leveling Up from Live, Laugh, Love.  When she’s not on stage or on camera, you can find Leslie posting witty lifestyle content to her Facebook page and whipping up delightful meals in her charming 140-year-old Michigan farmhouse.

Home Repair Services has specialized in post-purchase homeownership services for lower-income homeowners since 1979. Those services include free hands-on training in home repair skills, affordable kitchen cabinets for remodeling projects, emergency repairs when health or safety is at risk, financial counseling for homeowners and much more.

As a non-profit organization, Home Repair Services depends on the generosity of caring people in our community. You can help us continue our mission by volunteering to help or making a much-needed financial donation. Most donations are tax-deductible and all are much appreciated!

Part of our DIY Homeowner series, Home Repair Services offers DIY classes in a variety of topics at the show, all included with your admission.