We were lucky to catch up with Dawn Ash recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dawn, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

Opening my own houseplant store was a huge risk for me and my family, I have worked for someone else since I was 16! It was something I had always dreamed of but never thought could be possible. It came about naturally though and I feel that when things align a certain way it is meant to be so we went with it! A little backstory, I started collecting plants as a hobby for myself, I wanted to grow my collection but my husband was out of work with an injury so I starting propagating my plants to earn money to purchase more plants. I created a forum online for these sales via a facebook group and from there came a huge plant community with like minded people. We found a small little cozy store front and saved for a year to make it a reality and that is how The Wicked Botanist came to be, plants and magic!

Dawn, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have always been a person who did a little of everything, when I found houseplants it woke up a passion inside of me that I did not know was there. I started gardening and when cold weather rolled around I needed to bring my passion inside. I found plants that thrive off moderate light, plants that do not need a ton of work to be happy and in caring for them, I found a way to care for myself. Nurturing nature has a way of soothing ones soul. I love sharing my knowledge (self taught by experience) with other plant enthusiasts. After opening the plant store we branched out to hosting the Lehigh Valleys first Plant Festival based around our stores eclectic feel , full of plants, local farms, local artisans, food trucks and entertainment. What sets us apart is a desire to put people over profit and help each person find the satisfaction and peace in caring for plants. We cater to our customers who appreciate all the earth has to offer, plants, crystals, herbs, organic candles filled with pure intentions, and learning that there is a silence in growing things that helps repair our spirit and invigorate our soul.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

We hand raised every dollar to start our store, although I was the first in the area to really sell plants, I was a little late on opening a brick and mortar. The reason for that is primarily because we have 5 kids that are young, and my husband was out of work so money was not something we had the luxury of having a surplus of, so we had to save and find ways to create our brand on a very tight budget. I propagated my plants, sold off some favorites and stashed aside a few bucks here and there. We found a very cozy store for rent direct through the property owner which was helpful as corporations can be challenging to work with when you are starting out. We custom built the store shelving, found some things we needed second hand on marketplace and the rest is history. Staying ahead is still challenging as houseplants can be seasonal but with other events we curate it helps keep the dream alive.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I found a small group on facebook that had only a hundred or so members, called the Lehigh Valley Plant exchange. We shared stories, helped each other diagnose issues, shared plants we found online that we wanted to have, and through all this we built relationships. You cannot fake passion, if you love something it comes through, being a member of that group grew to moderating and eventually advancing to an admin role. With that naturally came relationships within the community, we shared our group every way possible, offered members cuttings and prizes for helping us recruit more members, we do holiday trades and build friendships. Advice to someone starting any path would be to follow your passion, when you love something you want to learn about it – it does not feel like work. People love genuine people, be yourself and never stop working and sharing your mission. Things that come organically have a way of sustaining themselves, put in the work and let the magic happen.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thewickedbotanist.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewickedbotanist/
• Facebook: facebook.com/thewickedbotanist
• Other: www.etsy.com/shop/thewickedbotanist