Today we’d like to introduce you to Shana Sanders.
Hi Shana, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
As most, “How did you fall in love with plants” stories goes…it began with my mom! I remember her putting on her sweatsuit most weekends and going outside hours on end to work in her front garden. Pruning roses and planting annuals she’d picked up from the AF base. Surprisingly she rarely asked me to come out and help. I think it was her own quiet time. I never felt unwelcomed to join her because the moment I stepped out to check in, she’d begin sharing what she was doing. That was the beginning of my love of porches! Give me nice weather to sit outside and just BE on the front porch any day.
It wasn’t until many years later, after moving to Atlanta, I began buying fresh flowers. Every week I would refresh beautiful arrangements from my local grocery store for the dining table. I think it was my way of having a piece of “her” in my home.
Fast forward to about five years ago, my husband and I purchased our 2nd home. We decided to leave everything we’d accumulated and start over with a clean canvas. We were gifted our 1st large houseplant from his parents, and sadly it did not make it in our previous home. Dang low light! (Note, I did not know that was the problem at the time). During my scroll through one of Instagram’s many #homedecor hashtags, I came across a picture of a huge bird of Paradise in someone’s bedroom. Immediately I questioned how was it surviving in their bedroom?! I decided to send a DM and just ask. She quickly replied, and it all was uphill from there!
I’ve always wanted a store of some sort, but I hadn’t honed in on the full concept until my husband and very close sister-friend really put the fire under my feet that I needed and said JUST DO IT. It wasn’t until after I retired from my 15 years of corporate career and the experience of the pandemic that I considered opening a plant shop as something possible!
It was like my husband was just waiting on me to say the word. The next thing I knew, we were off to find the perfect space!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There were definitely HARD lessons learned. From almost closing on the 1st location but having to “kill” that deal because of things we just didn’t know to having a contractor who was referred, with good intentions, but caused delay after delay, I would say the road was bumpy at the beginning but got better!
Research, research, research! I’m more of a “start and figure out the kinks later” kind of person, so it can be a bit frustrating ironing things out on the fly. But I’m a firm believer that if there is a fire in your belly to do something, then it’ll work out! This could also be the entrepreneurial blood running through my veins. Thanks to my mom!
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
A Pot To Plant In is your community plant shop bringing people together through the love of houseplants, shared interests and conversations! We like to get to know everyone who walks in our store so that the “match-making” of plant to parent is long-lasting! We encourage persistence and patience with plants because we believe they afford us the same when bringing them out of their natural environments into our homes.
I believe I’m known for plant styling in my home on Instagram. At least I know I am with my friends and family! Instagram is where I grew, researched, observed, learned and ultimately branched off to opening the plant shop. Just sharing the many ways I loved arranging them throughout our home, each season,(add comma) took the interests of many other plant enthusiasts and hobbyists, and so here we are! During the pandemic, is also when I started virtual consulting and meeting other plant lovers via IG lives.
I want people to leave our shop feeling empowered to care for their new plants and with more knowledge about any plant they are interested in adding to their collection, even the ones already in their space.
Other services offered are: In-home plant consultations, plant maintenance & styling, and plant sitting!
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
To maintain faith in God’s plan for what he has for us! Though there were challenges prior to opening, we never wavered. Our faith kept our hearts and minds on the goal. Learning how to pivot and regroup was a huge takeaway after it was all said and done. The support from the houseplant community has been amazing. My husband and I are enjoying this new chapter, and we are ecstatic about sharing and growing with everyone.
Contact Info:
- Email: shop@apottoplantin.com
- Website: www.apottoplantin.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apottoplantin/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopapottoplantin
