Crafted by nature, rooted in the Arts District

For as long as Audra Fullerton can remember, creativity has been at the heart of her personality. 

Growing up in Wisconsin, Fullerton first fell in love with the energy of being on stage and performing live. She turned that passion into a career, studying theater in college and relocating to New York City, where she spent 10 years immersed across the city’s vibrant theater scene as a professional actor. 

In tandem with her theater work, in 2011, Fullerton launched The Baker Chick — an online blog and social media platform documenting her journey toward mastering both self-taught baking and food photography inside of a small city apartment kitchen. 

Five years and two kids later, Fullerton and her husband, Andy, relocated to Oak Park, ready to embark on a new journey living in a place that would provide the perfect urban-adjacent, family-friendly and arts-centric vibe the family was looking for. 

After settling in Oak Park and welcoming her third child, Fullerton found herself in a creative rut with her blog, prompting her to explore new creative outlets, including crafting, ornament making and gardening. 

In 2022, Fullerton went all in with learning about everything related to gardening and flowers when the wheels first started turning for her about turning a casual passion project into a business opportunity. 

“I tend to find a creative endeavor and hyperfixate on it until I’m expert-level with it,” she said. “I began growing my own cut flower garden in my backyard, and each year, I’d learn more about the flowers I enjoyed growing and the perfect times to grow them.” 

Two years later, Fullerton created a business Facebook group, selling her whimsically curated and homegrown flowers for pickup or delivery.  

“Every year with the flowers, I got better at growing and curating the colors that I liked,” she said. “I don’t really love super bright colors — I love muted colors, mauves and peaches, neutral tones — more garden-inspired and organic looking.” 

Craving the in-person energy she got from working in-person with people and with her hands, earlier this year, Fullerton told her husband that she wanted to jump in full time with turning her entrepreneurial venture into a brick-and-mortar business in the neighborhood she’s grown to love. 

“I would say, ‘I want my own flower shop,’ and in my head, I just knew I only wanted to do it on Harrison,” she said. “I live so close, the stores here feel small and cozy, and there’s just something about the bricks and the garden units which really appealed to me. I really got excited about the idea of people coming in, getting to talk with people, getting to be in front of people — putting all of my previous skills working in theater to confidently represent myself.” 

As fate would have it, Fullerton’s aunt, Christina Nixon, was originally exploring a vacant storefront on Harrison Street earlier this year as a potential location for her new chocolate business, Chocolat by Christina. But, when the size of the Arts District location wasn’t the right fit for Nixon’s commercial kitchen needs, Fullerton and her husband jumped at the chance to explore the space and see if it would be the perfect fit for a new floral shop. 

“I’ve grown to really love south Oak Park,” she said. “The minute I walked in, I really liked it. I saw a flash of what it could be and where everything would go. And I live just a five-minute walk from here.” 

After signing the lease at the end of May, Fullerton spent all summer prepping the space at 331 Harrison St. to become the home for the new Golden Hour Flower Studio. With the help of a small crew, Fullerton completed renovations and buildout in about 12 weeks, ready to welcome patrons by mid-September.  

With her soft business open last week, Fullerton has introduced Golden Hour Flower Studio as a one-stop local gift shop, featuring seasonal, garden-inspired floral arrangements alongside a curated selection of thoughtful and practical giftables, from candles, incense and houseplants to socks, tea towels and one-of-a-kind greeting cards. 

“My dream is that this is the place where you can send someone and say, ‘Hey, just go to Golden Hour and give me anything that they have there,’” she said. “If you’re here to buy a gift for someone, I want you to be able to get whatever you want for a gift — like a card or candles to go with flowers.” 

With flowers sourced through Chicago-based floral wholesalers, Fullerton says all of Golden Hour’s blooms are regionally grown and sourced from farms across Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan.  

“My flowers are going to be based on what’s in season, what looks great at the market that week and what I’m inspired by seasonally,” she said. “Everything will always look similar in terms of the fullness, but it’s designer’s choice.” 

At Golden Hour, Fullerton is marching to the beat of her own drum, straying from traditional floral arranging and leaning into organic and contemporary design — a style she calls “whimsical and loose.” 

“I really love something that just feels like it would naturally flow with someone’s home decor,” she said. “What excites me the most is just making something for someone who doesn’t know they’re going to get flowers to bring them joy. I love receiving flowers, and I’d like to receive the kind of flowers that I’m making.”  

Alongside flower bouquets and arrangements, Golden Hour also includes monthly floral subscriptions with a surprise assortment of floral medleys. In addition, Fullerton also hopes to introduce small classes and workshops, including flower arranging, wreath making and art with pressed flowers.  

Golden Hour is open Tuesdays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For information, visit goldenhourflowerstudio.com or Instagram at goldenhourflowerstudio.