We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful John, Jonathan Flanagan, Clough. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with John, Jonathan below.

John, Jonathan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Finding those key vendors can often be make or break for a brand. Can you talk to us about how you found your key vendors?

Like any small, brick and mortar business built on a dream, we set out to find perfect space and fill it with interesting product. With over 250,000 varieties of plants growing on the planet, we had our work set out for us at The Faun’s Daughter. So we got all our licenses and hopped in the car to meet the nurseries and growers of Southern California. Of course we knew we would carry monstera decliciosa, fiddle leaf figs, and orchids, but we wanted more. We suspected our customer would be the collector, the type of plant parent who wants to show off his, her, or their ability to grow something unique, something rare. Wasn’t that why we got into collecting plants ourselves?

So about two weeks before soft-opening in June 2022, partners Jonathan and John started filling the shop with plants. Our shop sits in a storybook old-Hollywood cottage. It’s a magical, light-filled space that feels like stepping into history. But we had just one problem: how were we going to find these coveted rarities? That’s where the plant community is the best! Every small grower has their bulk product, big sellers that keep them afloat. But get them talking about cool rarities, and good luck getting them to stop. In fact, most have a back room, a green house, a humidity tent full of incredible stock that they love to show off. It’s there that we found some of the most interesting, breathtaking plants we’ve ever laid eyes on. It’s through human-to-human relationships with small growers that our small business found it’s niche!

Unlike other physical product like a collectable pair of shoes, plants can be propagated. Rarities are only rare before everyone starts sharing them with their friends and neighbors. That’s something we love about plants – the ability to grow more, to swap and gift them to your community – but it poses something of a challenge to our business model. However, by developing relationships with the vast plant community of SoCal, we know we’ll have cool rarities for years to come. And all because we share a passionate love for the same thing: plants.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Founded in 2022, The Faun’s Daughter is a plant shop specializing in rare tropical flora. Created with the more adventurous collector in mind, owners John and Jonathan wanted to create a space for plant enthusiasts to grow their indoor Eden with rare tropical botanicals not found in the average box store.

Jonathan began growing and competing in orchid shows before leaving high school, and John is an avid collector of foliage plants. The two friends came together after the explosion of plant interest during the global lockdown. The shop is an assemblage of hand picked specialty plants aimed to take any home gardener to unexplored corners of the urban jungle.

Concierge service helps differentiate us from our competitors and provide an experiential element for our customers. We are offer an in-store potting service where we can repot plants into pots that are purchased or customers can bring in their plants for us to repot. In addition, we deliver and offer in-home repotting and consultation.

Workshops are the lifeblood of our operation, bringing education and entertainment to our neighborhood and city. Our mission is simple: to create good. Plants make us happy, and we want to share that happiness with the West Hollywood community and beyond.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

Jonathan and John met at a concert. John is a career musician, and Jonathan is a lover of nightlife. In fact, shortly after first meeting Jonathan became the manager a venue space at Hollywood & Highland where he booked John’s band to perform over the course of half a decade. A friendship sprung from the years of musical collaboration, but it was during the pandemic lockdown, with gigs canceled for almost two years, that the two friends decided to combine their shared love of plants into a business idea. From the nothingness of a shutdown, The Faun’s Daughter was born.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Let’s begin by stating we still have a very modest social media following. We’re only beginning to push 800 instagram followers and 300 on Facebook, But we have fun with it. Little tricks like including ourselves in the posts seem to boost engagement, and our reels have varying degrees of success. Of course, the most gratifying part is meeting people who say “you’re The Faun’s Daughter guys!” We’re small but mighty, and we’re proud of all we’ve accomplished in a year of lesson learning.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thefaunsdaughter.com
• Instagram: @thefaunsdaughter
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/thefaunsdaughter

Image Credits
Ashley Morgan