PlantHouse opens in downtown Decatur, offers plants, terrariums and cocktails
Bailey Ryan (center) founded PlantHouse with her parents in 2018 in Virginia Beach. The company recently opened its fifth location in downtown Decatur. Photo submitted by PlantHouse.
This story has been updated.
Decatur, GA — Downtown Decatur has a new plant store where customers can sip cocktails while building a terrarium or buying plants. PlantHouse opened in downtown Decatur on Oct. 23 and this is the fifth location for the Virginia-based business.
“You can come in any time and build a terrarium,” PlantHouse CEO Bailey Ryan said. “Our pricing is all-inclusive. You can walk in any time during the day, pick a glass off the wall and build a project. Our staff walks you through it. [You can do] succulents. You can do foliage, ferns, whatever we have available at the time, you can build in your terrarium.”
The store carries modern ceramics and all kinds of houseplants from collector’s items to the basics, Ryan added.
“We’re the plant store for everyone, and we have a free potting service,” she said. “With any purchase, it’s free. Even if you bring in your own pot and buy a plant, we pot it up for you. We also have a bar, so you can come in and have a mimosa while you’re shopping.”
PlantHouse offers evening workshops on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 6:30-8 p.m. The workshops are specialty classes that the store doesn’t offer during the walk-in hours, like carnivorous terrariums, wreath making, floral arrangements. Some workshops, like yoga, are also held on Sunday mornings. The workshops are for individuals who are age 16 and up.
Ryan founded PlantHouse in 2018 with her parents in Virginia Beach. Ryan’s parents had an online plant company in 2010 and were the first to sell live plants on Amazon. She helped pack orders for the online shop in high school. After graduation, she wanted to turn the business into an experience and something customer-facing.
“They actually let me turn their shipping facility into a terrarium workshop facility,” Ryan said. “We opened it up to the public. People could come in and shop our product. We started hosting classes and it did really well. We took a step back and realized this is the concept we should focus on.”
The family scraped their online business and opened the first brick-and-mortar store in 2018 and went all in with hosting workshops and focusing more on foliage.
“We stumbled into it, but we quickly realized that we are 100% an experience and not just the store,” Ryan said.
Ryan realized with the classes that people would bring their family and friends, and some groups started participating regularly.
“It just turned into an activity that everyone could find a common ground on and just be in the moment,” she said.
PlantHouse opened in downtown Decatur on Oct. 23 at the Amli apartments. The store offers a variety of plants and terrarium workshops. Photo submitted by PlantHouse.
Ashlyn Markland, PlantHouse marketing specialist, said she wasn’t a plant person before joining the company, but the workshops provided a unique date opportunity for her and her husband.
“My husband, who is a sports fanatic, had so much fun helping me pick out the plants,” Markland said. “It was a unique date opportunity for us, and I think that we get that feedback often.”
She added that each store has been able to touch different audiences and reach plant gurus and those who want to be a plant parent but aren’t sure about it.
“It’s not intimidating because you come in, and our staff is very receptive,” Markland said. “You can start with a terrarium, and then you can work your way into everything else we offer.”
Most customers are unfamiliar with plants. When customers enter the store, the staff is there to help them figure out what they are looking for based on their goals, lighting in their house and the style of their home.
“At the end of it, you end up with a custom pairing for you and whatever your situation is at home and where that plant’s going,” Ryan said. “It’s a highly personalized experience.”
Customers can also contact the store or bring plants into the store to receive tips on how to take care of their plants.
PlantHouse is located at 112 W. Trinity Place, Suite 103, in downtown Decatur. The store is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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