Behind the Garage

Who are The Bloom's?

My name is Amanda Bloom and I am the owner/operator of Bloom’s Garage. I am one of the four Bloom children raised by a woman some would compare to a saint and a man that single-handedly keeps chivalry alive. Over the last four decades, Mark and Linda Bloom have adopted four children and lived almost exclusively in one home. Over those years they have purchased a variety of goods and collectibles. In the 31 years I have been living in or visiting my parents home, not much has changed other than the amount of items in the house which continues to grow.

The Bloom Family is known to be a group of avid collectors. Some may describe our collections and hobbies as “nerdy”, but to us are fun and memory filled activities! Due to this, we have a huge range of collectibles and sought after products such as: Pokémon cards, Magic the Gathering, Star Trek merchandise and books, Star Wars merchandise and films, and so much more. 

Opening Bloom’s Garage was never in the grand plan for my life - not even as a seed of an idea. Just last year I was a business consultant and was doing well working for myself, but Life and the Universe had different plans for what lied ahead.

In March of 2022, I suffered a brain injury after passing out due to health issues. I found myself living in a wheelchair at my parents house with my then seven year old son. I couldn’t walk, I could barely think, and was in no form to consult with businesses. One day, I had been looking around my parent’s family room/my temporary office when I saw three hot glue guns. Two of them were brand new. "Who needs three hot glue guns?" I thought to myself. From there came an idea and it seemed like I may have just been onto something. There were a lot of valuables/goods in the house - why not sell some of these treasures so they could be of use to other families?

After pitching the idea to my parents and getting them on board, with the help of one of my brothers, we began taking inventory of everything we had to sell. It was looking like a wonderful plan until I received some tragic news. 

I received a Stage 4 Metastatic Inflammatory Breast Cancer diagnosis with a pretty ugly prognosis. I wanted to quit and that was almost the case. 

Then I realized, if nothing else, this store could be a way to provide for myself, for my son, and for my family - all of whom have their own struggles to deal with. Now more than ever have I had to put the work in to make this idea become an operational reality that can continue after I am gone. 

Being a person that is good with technology, I was able to learn all I needed to know and started to build the garage from scratch. It was a painstaking process, dealing with the symptoms of spreading cancer and an inability to focus, but with the help of unbelievable employees and pure determination, the store is here. Thank you for shopping with us and supporting an ordinary family with extraordinary dreams.