A View On: Friendship Plant Co.
Give a friend a plant, a hug, or both. Hey, you decide. No judgement here!
What do you get when you mix an amazing story of friendship and community with the trendiest of household plants? You get Friendship Plant Company! This wonderful little succulent shop has captured our hearts and our wallets (and if you don’t know about them yet, be prepared to get your green thumb on).
We are obsessed with this small, farmer’s market start up. Read on to find out why.
Q. Tell us about Friendship Plant Co. in about 10 words.
A. Encouraging the community through the giving of plants!
Photography by ZoZo Photography
Q. Why was it started and what was the vision?
A. A few years ago, we took a trip out to California. While there, we stumbled across this fun little succulent growing along the cliffs of Torrey Pines Hang Gliding Port. Evan pinched a stem and a few leaves off, brought them home and planted them in a mason jar. The plant thrived, and it soon became large enough to multiply into new plants. This small plant became our original “Friendship Plant.” As we starting sharing the propagated plants with family and friends and encouraging them to pass it on when their plant became strong enough to share. Over the next few years, friends shared their favorite plant cuttings with us and we started growing more plants. We also learned about the new and improved High Point Farmer’s Market at the downtown library. We thought, “What if a plant could build a community?” We decided to go for it and started a little booth the next week. Moving forward, our hope is to cultivate connections in the community by encouraging people to give a friend a plant.
Q. What is one thing people would be interested to learn about Friendship Plant Co.?
A. Friendship Plant Company is more about friendships than plants. Plants are a way for us to cultivate what we are really passionate about. Plants are the medium to foster connections between people. We want to encourage people to give a friend a plant. We also want to see people develop deep connections and, in turn, roots in High Point.
Heather and Evan Blackerby, Co-Founders and Husband Wife team of Friendship Plant Co are pictured below with their three adorable children at the High Point Farmers Market located in the High Point Public Library plaza.
Photography by ZoZo Photography
Q. What are the highlights and challenges of owning/operating your business in Friendship Plant Co.?
A. The highlights: We have three children 8 and under. We love being able to do this thing as a family. We spend most Saturday mornings at the High Point Farmers Market. Neighbors stop in and hang out with us for a while. The kids mingle at different vendors making new friends and buying tasty treats. It’s a beautiful relationship-building time for all of us.
The challenges: We are still learning. It’s quite a learning curve for us as we don’t have extensive experience in business startups, or in propagating plants on a massive scale. In a good, but challenging way, we are learning how to balance sustainable business growth without compromising the needs of our family. Our priority is our family and our neighborhood. You can feel the excitement and energy and passion of the people of High Point. We have received so much support from other local startups, and from the community!
Q. Why did you choose to locate Friendship Plant Co. in High Point?
A. Well, simply put, because we are here. We believe if you are here you have something you can offer your city. You can invest where you are. If you want to see change in High Point, then do something about it. That’s what we’re trying to do through Friendship Plant Co.
Photography by ZoZo Photography
Q. How has High Point changed since you started Friendship Plant Co.?
A. We are such a new company, this question is kind of difficult for us! But, we are looking forward to seeing what the future holds!
Q. What has been your biggest challenge and how did you overcome it?
A. We are still looking up the mountain at it! High Point Discovered Insider Tip: Shhh, We have purchased a truck that we’d like to fill with plants for a local pop up shop. Stay tuned! Honestly, the biggest hurdle is being okay with starting small and going slow! It’s easy to feel pressure to be at a certain point in order to meet someone else’s demand, but we are trying not to compromise our values in the process. In order to overcome this, we’ve got to constantly go back our core values before we say “yes” to anything. Also, we are learning, like most people, how to keep plants alive!
Photography by ZoZo Photography
Q. How have the citizens and community of High Point supported you?
A. We have one guy that has come and bought a plant from us almost every week. We have other supporters helping to spread our message through Instagram. Local entrepreneurs, whom we have a lot to learn from, have also encouraged us in this journey. It has been humbling to see how High Point honors creative people who are willing to step out to do something new. We are still such a small business, but we’ve felt this big support from our community.
Q. If you had one piece of advice for someone just starting out in High Point, what would it be?
A. First of all, notice the jewels High Point already has to offer. This is just one reason we love High Point Discovered. There are so many ways to get involved and opportunities to start something new. Everyone has something that they can contribute and it’s often something small. Don’t discount yourself doing something of value (not just monetarily) for this community. For us, it’s been amazing to see what a little plant can unlock!
Photography by ZoZo Photography
Q. What are you excited about for High Point’s future?
A. Everything. The stadium. The children’s museum. The parks. COHAB. Also, ALL the small businesses like us that feel like that have a support of a city to step out in faith and give their idea a shot. Good things are coming and we can’t wait!
Be sure to follow along with Friendship Plant Co. on Instagram.
And don’t forget to check them out most Saturday’s at the High Point Farmer’s Market another gem in our community!
Editors Note: Like many of the businesses we feature on High Point Discovered, I found Evan and Heather on Instagram, sharing their message and their story about community, friendship and support. This blog was started to share stories like theirs. We hope you are enjoying reading each week and if you do, we invite you to invite your friends, family, neighbors and the like. The more we grow this community of HPD the more we can support the creative and cultural life in our great city. With sincere appreciation of your support, Christi
A View On is a series where High Point Discovered asks questions to High Point businesses to share their view. Past guests have included Brittany Hall Hair & Makeup and Culp Fabrics.
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