We came across the online shop Juanita’s Plants on Instagram and were instantly obsessed—and curious if founder Kat Hernandez would come up to Westchester to share her plant knowledge with us suburbanites! Her mission, while aimed at city folks, is universal—to help people enhance their indoor spaces with vibrant houseplants. Lucky for us, she’s popping up this Wednesday, 2/16, at our next HudCo Provisions.
The illustration of your grandmother Juanina is beautiful and your website is flawless. Do you have a background in design, or did you collaborate with a designer?
Great Question! I don’t have a background in design, but I am someone that is very intentional about what I do. I worked with an illustrator and photographer to achieve the look we have today. I knew that if I was going to launch my plant shop, I wanted to make sure it was curated and designed in a way that was visually appealing. I wanted to work with talented people to design a brand that was fun with bright colors but also, homey, and modern.
How much time goes into sourcing and preparing your plants?
It’s a whole day of prep for me to get my houseplants ready for delivery. First, we drive out to our greenhouse to pick up plants, then take them to our space in Brooklyn where we inspect the plant, clean the plant, add any packaging materials, and bag them up for delivery.
We love incorporating plants in interior design. Are there any social accounts or plant educators that we should be following for inspiration?
I am a huge fan of @plantkween. Christopher is just amazing. He is an educator but also great at giving advice on how to decorate with plants.
What is your favorite thing about the career that you have created for yourself?
My favorite thing about the career that I have created is I’m living a life with intention every day. I never wake up and say, I don’t want to see a plant today. I always want to be with plants, compared to other jobs I have had. I am also bringing joy to people’s lives. People brighten up when they get a new plant or when they are around plants. It feels good to provide this joy in a world that can be very unstable sometimes.