THE BLOOMFIELD SCHOOLHOUSE STORY
Rooted in LaGrange, growing with community.
Bloomfield Schoolhouse Lavender is a family-run, farm-to-apothecary brand based in LaGrange County, Indiana. What began as the quiet restoration of a 1904 schoolhouse has grown into a working lavender farm, a downtown apothecary, more than sixty small-batch products, and a small collection of historic buildings we are slowly bringing back to life.
We believe in simple rituals. Thoughtful design. Historic places. Everyday beauty. And the quiet power of lavender to bring calm to busy lives.
THE ACCIDENTAL LAVENDER FARMER
Marion never imagined she'd be a lavender farmer in Northern Indiana.
Originally from Arizona, Marion studied in Boston, attended graduate school in St. Louis, and taught in San Antonio, spending years in deaf education. In 2018, her husband Greg accepted a position as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist at Parkview LaGrange Hospital, and the family moved to LaGrange with a simple plan. Give it three years and reevaluate.
What they found instead was home.
When COVID arrived in 2020, the family took long drives through the countryside. They kept passing an old brick schoolhouse. Marion had always said that if it ever came on the market, she wanted to see it. Sure enough, that fall, it did. They bought it with no plan for what to do with the building, only the belief that it deserved another chance.
As the slow work of restoration began, they planted lavender out front. Just to see what would grow.
By the summer of 2023, the family had an abundant crop. Marion took her children to the Howe Farmers Market with dried bunches and handmade wreaths. They sold out every week. Customers began asking for more. Could they make soap? Lotion? Candles?
Marion went home and started learning. What began as a summer project turned into an entire winter of product development, and by spring 2024, Bloomfield had its first full lines of bath, body, culinary, and home products.
Today, Bloomfield produces more than sixty-five small-batch products, all rooted in the lavender fields at the Bloomfield Schoolhouse.
MEET THE FAMILY
A family behind every field, every bottle, every restoration.
Marion is the creative force behind Bloomfield's product development, brand voice, and community collaborations. She is often the first person visitors meet at the Apothecary. In 2025, she was named LaGrange County's Small Business of the Year by the LaGrange County Chamber of Commerce.
Greg is a former Marine, a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, and the quiet force behind so much of what makes Bloomfield run. He helped restore both historic buildings, tackles the daily work of the farm alongside his medical career, and is the maker behind Silent Night Sleep Spray, our most-loved sleep ritual product.
Their three children are part of the story too. Twin fourth graders and a chaos toddler who, together, have grown up alongside the farm and the shop.
THE FIELDS
Nine varieties. Three fields. More than 7,400 plants.
Our working lavender farm now stretches across nearly two and a half acres and is home to more than 7,400 lavender plants across three fields. We grow nine varieties, each chosen for specific aesthetic, cosmetic, or culinary purposes. Royal Velvet. Vera. Hidcote. Folgate. Blue Ellagance. Edelweiss. Sensational. Grosso. Phenomenal.
Every product we make begins here.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION
Three historic buildings. Three chapters in a love letter to LaGrange County.
Restoration is one of Bloomfield's first principles.
Our 1904 Bloomfield Schoolhouse sits at the center of the farm. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is, to our knowledge, the only lavender farm in the country operating on a Register site. Restoration continues season by season, with final completion targeted for late 2026.
In July 2024, we purchased a historic brick building at 107 W Spring Street in downtown LaGrange and spent four months restoring it before opening the Bloomfield Apothecary in November 2024. The tin ceiling, wide plank floors, and original details are all still there, preserved with care.
Most recently, we purchased the former LaGrange Standard publishing building, another downtown property with a long history and, we believe, plenty of life still ahead of it.
RECOGNITION AND COMMUNITY
Growth grounded in collaboration.
Today, our products are stocked in more than twenty wholesale partners across coffee shops, bakeries, restaurants, spas, boutiques, and specialty stores. Lavender drinks and desserts appear on local menus. Community classes, workshops, and gatherings continue to fill the calendar.
In 2025, Bloomfield was featured in Entrepreneurship Indiana Magazine and received a $250,000 USDA Value-Added Producer Grant to support new marketing, updated packaging, and expanded production staffing. Bloomfield has also been featured in the Chicago Tribune, on ABC57 News, in Visit Shipshewana's editorial coverage, and in numerous regional publications.
None of that growth has happened alone. Every step of the way, our community has walked with us.
THE RESTORATION SERIES
Watch the schoolhouse come back to life.
Our 1904 Bloomfield Schoolhouse is nearing the final phase of restoration, with completion targeted for November 2026. Along the way, we have been documenting the process through an ongoing video series. Marion walks through the building space by space, sharing the history behind each room and the plans for bringing it back to life. New episodes are added as the work progresses.
Episode 1
A Room by Room Tour on Groundbreaking Day
Recorded on August 20, 2026, the day of our groundbreaking ceremony for the final phase of restoration. Marion walks through the schoolhouse room by room, sharing the history of the 1904 building and the plans we have for each space.
Filmed by Isaac Rogers of Irog Media. Music: "Glow" by Scott Buckley, released under CC-BY 4.0 (www.scottbuckley.com.au).
Episode 2
Inside the Basement of the Bloomfield Schoolhouse
Marion heads down into the basement of the schoolhouse for an update on the final phase of construction, walking through the space and sharing the restoration plans for one of the least-seen parts of the building.
COME VISIT
107 W Spring Street, downtown LaGrange.
The Bloomfield Apothecary is open at 107 W Spring Street in downtown LaGrange. Come see the tin ceiling. Walk the old wood floors. Smell the lavender drying from the beams. Build your own bath salts at the blending bar. Scent your own lotion at the Lavender Laboratory.
Whenever you find your way to our part of Indiana, we hope you'll stop in and say hello. The kettle's usually on. There's always lavender drying somewhere.
