How I turned my Hobby into a Thriving Business

In 2021 I packed up my life in London and moved to the Isle of Wight — bringing with me a house full of plants and the need for a slower pace of life.

For nearly twenty years I worked in London hospitality, most recently as an Operations Manager for a large pub group. Opening and closing fourteen pubs multiple times during Covid finished me off. I’d thrived in that fast-paced lifestyle right up until I didn’t — and that’s when I knew a complete change was needed.

Houseplants had always been my antidote to the chaos. They forced me to slow down, to nurture rather than react. Watching new growth appear grounded me. So when I moved to the island, every one of those plants came too.

Finding Space — and Running Out of It

Some of my original designs on my walls in my house

The move from a two-bed flat to a three-bed Victorian terrace should have meant more space for plants, it didn’t. The light was awful in most of the house except for one room, and before long every plant ended up crammed into that one space. I’d filled the windowsill and every available surface was occupied — but there was one blank wall.

I taught myself macramé purely to solve that problem and started making Macrame plant hangers. I quickly worked out that a boho style with tassels and beading was not my thing. Instead I developed a pattern for a more modern sleek plant hanger-  and on my wall adorned with more plants they went.

The First Evolution

Me at my first ever Craft Fair

Trailing plants looked great in my plant hangers but more structural plants didn’t.  So I asked my dad, David, a lifelong woodwork hobbyist, to make simple wooden shelves I could string as macramé hanging shelves.

Friends started asking me to make plant hangers for them. After years believing I wasn’t creative, it was a revelation. Their encouragement pushed me to list on Etsy. They sold, but the platform was saturated — and it wasn’t the right space to explain why my designs were different.

So I booked a Christmas craft market instead and brought my plant hangers along with a small selection of houseplants.

It went well — better than I expected and I left knowing I was going to open a houseplant shop.

Spotting the Gap

Our handmade, easy hang plant shelf.

At the time there wasn’t a dedicated houseplant shop on the Isle of Wight. A space combining handmade plant accessories with carefully curated plants felt like an obvious gap.

I continued with many more markets and fairs whilst also developing our Propagation Stations. As with all our products the inspiration came from looking at very traditional boho designs and developing them into an easy hang modern product available in a huge variety of colours that would look good in any home.

When 3 Shooters Hill came up in Cowes High Street, I jumped at the chance. The location and huge windows made it the most perfect space for a houseplant shop and we opened our doors in October of 2023. It became the Isle of Wight’s first houseplant shop — a bright, welcoming space filled with macramé plant hangers, wooden shelves, propagation units, pots, plant care products and an ever-changing selection of houseplants.

Where We Are Now

Wall hanging propagation shelf

I still trade at markets around the UK and am delighted to be at the Urban Makers Xmas Market taking place at the Ecology Pavilion in Mile End Park.

(Click here for dates and further info)

Our website offers a curated selection of houseplants alongside all our handmade pieces.

What started as simply wanting space for more plants has turned into a business I am genuinely proud of. It’s demanding — high street retail always is — but I love it, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.