The combination of a need for local product with one woman’s love for flower farming was the catalyst for Mindy Staton and her husband, Josh Staton, opening The Farmer’s Collective. Mindy grew up in Oxford, Ohio and has always loved the outdoors and flowers. She and her husband are flower farmers, which they’ve been doing for about 8 years now on their farm, Morning Sun Flower Farm.
After 5 years of selling their flowers out of a store, Two Little Buds, she and her mom, Alice Francis, owned, Mindy set her sights on something bigger, something that would make local flowers and produce accessible to the community. Through being a flower farmer and from the people she’s met in the farming industry, Mindy realized that there was a need for others to have a place where they could sell their homegrown, small batch products. The Farmer’s Collective made Mindy’s dream of having a wholesale market for flowers and farm products a reality.
Mindy joked that the reason she and her husband opened The Farmer’s Collective was because she wanted a store that sold the things she loved, small batch goods and flowers. “I really liked the network of flower farmers around us, we were already selling their flowers, so it felt natural to open a store” Staton said. I asked Staton out of all the places they could have opened their store, why did they choose Hamilton? “We already opened Two Little Buds in Hamilton and that experience, all the support we received from the community really made having the choice of where to open The Farmer’s Collective a no brainer.” she said.
One thing that I loved about The Farmer’s Collective is that their menu consists of items that are made fresh and with the small batch products they carry in store. The store also sells items made by other Hamilton favorites like pies from Hyde’s and bakery items from Chubby Bunny Bakery. When asked what it was like working with other local businesses Mindy had this to say “it’s been nice, I love getting to know them and learn their stories, why they got started. It’s inspiring to me. Learning not just about their business but about them, personally, why they got started, and their journey”.
Mindy said that her vision for The Farmer’s Collective is quite simple. She wants to slowly add their menu, find new producers, and make sure that whatever their selling is something that everyone loves but also great small batch quality. 
The Farmer’s Collective carries a wide variety of wines carefully curated by another local company, wineCRAFT. The wine list changes periodically and consists of a lot of natural wines. The Farmer’s Collective offers wine flights and a great patio for dining or just enjoying a glass of wine. Their menu consists of items that incorporates items sold in the store, like cheese for charcuterie boards and bread for bread boards.
The Farmer’s Collective is located at 302 Main Street, Hamilton, Ohio 45013. They are open Tuesday – Saturday 11am-7pm. If you’re a local producer and would like to be a part of The Farmer’s Collective visit their website shopthefarmerscollective.com
-- Kyle Boomershine