Today we’d like to introduce you to Janet Shepherd.
Janet, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in Miami, Florida surrounded by a lush tropical landscape. My mother kept pothos plants constantly growing in jars and bottles of water around the house. In my 20’s, I had an opportunity to work in a greenhouse in Rhode Island, and a true love of caring for plants was born. Upon moving to California in 2004, I was lucky enough to get a job at the former Cedros Gardens in Solana Beach, where I became Nursery Manager. Under the guidance of my mentor, I learned an invaluable number of important tips and practices of horticulture blended with creative design. Using the colors and textures of plants to make creative displays in the Nursery was a perfect enhancement of what I learned studying art at The Savannah College of Art and Design.
The dream of having my own plant shop slowly evolved, and in 2019 Ornamental became a reality. I started selling a small collection of houseplants at a well-known handbag maker’s shop called Rais Case in Oceanside. I then made the transition to being one of the merchants at Rising Co. which is a cooperative retail shop. We are a community of merchants that collectively uphold a retail experience by supporting each other’s brands and sharing the hours and tasks involved in keeping the shop up and running. Being able to sell my plants alongside other creative small businesses has been a huge inspiration.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Knowing that I wanted to have my own plant shop seemed like a simple idea at first, but the reality of the rising costs to lease a space in Oceanside became increasingly burdensome to my dream. I had already sought out guidance from the Small Business Administration so I knew that this endeavor would involve a lot of risk and a lot of effort. In the beginning, it felt like there were so many road blocks and dead ends. It was only after I took a small break from trying to force things to happen that the pieces fell into place and I was able to open my shop and provide plants for my community as I had imagined.
Ornamental Plant Boutique – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Ornamental Plant Boutique is a houseplant shop that also carries locally handmade ceramic pots. We like to source plants that people can be successful with, and we know that in order for that to happen our customer needs to know what kind of care each plant needs and if it suits their lifestyle. So many people want to be surrounded by plants but are intimidated to do so. Maybe they had failed experiments in the past so they think they can’t do it. In reality, people just need to be paired with the right plant for them in order to have a good experience. For example, if you travel for work frequently or spend a lot of time away from home, a fern is probably not the best companion… but if you dote on your plants and can’t wait for the next time you get to water them, a fern will thrive in your company. Every plant that you buy from Ornamental comes with a specific care card for that particular plant so our customer is armed with the knowledge of what the plant needs before they even get it home.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
To put it simply, I define success as being happy with a thing you’ve created and knowing that it can evolve and continue to teach you more as time passes. The best things are never really finished or complete, but rather changing every day and requiring you to meet the demand of the present moment.
Contact Info:
- Address: 332 South Coast Highway Oceanside CA 92054
- Website: risingco.co /ornamentalplantboutique.com
- Phone: 4012076144
- Email: ornamentaloside@gmail.com
- Instagram: ornamentalplantboutique
Image Credit:
Becka Vance Photography
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