We recently connected with Sharon Grant and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Sharon thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

What’s in a name? It seems quite a bit. Something catchy? Perhaps something that encapsulates the business culture? I began my succulent arrangement business with the name Leaf and Thorn. It worked nicely reflecting the succulents and cactus I used in my designs and classes. It also fit that 10 years ago many business names were using the blank AND blank template.
As I began to explore opening a brick and mortar shop I felt like I wanted a fresh name to mark this new venture. I chose to create an LLC with Leaf and Thorn and think of a DBA. Has I was expanding into offering houseplants and creating a plant bar for customers to enjoy making their own creations I felt I still wanted to invoke that image.
It was a drive to see my sister that while listening to the radio a Joni Mitchell song called “Little Green” came on the air and it settled right in to my heart and that was the name for the shop. Little Green A Plant Bar. When we first opened we were mistaken a few times for a cannabis supplier, lol – names certainly mean different things to different people.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I used to think I had stumbled upon what I am doing in a happy accident sort of way but on further reflection it really has been many steps of growth, experience and taking leaps.
Friends have asked why I chose to open a shop just slightly post Covid and jokingly I say that I just didn’t think too much about it – just leapt. It does seem a lot like hubris and yet I often feel that imposter syndrome. I honestly don’t quite know but it does feel like our shop is whole lot of what has resonated with me through my life paired with a hope that it gives to the community while making enough money to keep it going.
I grew up in rural Napa Valley with a gardening/teacher mom. It shaped me in so many profound ways(I taught young children for 30 years) and if you are to enter our space, it is filled with the natural world and you will see a bulletin board with the many varieties of classes we offer to young and old. We believe that the power of working with your hands is a direct path to settling the mind.
We also support local singer/songwriters by hosting monthly open mics and musical evenings that bring people together.
Continuing our support of local artists – we carry jewelry, candles, cards, pottery and more from our community as well as giving creators direct oppportunities to sell with our monthly pop up markets.
To top it off we have a small coffee bar so that customers can come in for a delicious cup/pastry and sit in a relaxing/artful environment.
I love seeing the face of a new customer as they enter the front door and are immediately awed by the space and am always grateful to our returning ones that share their support and love for what we do.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

There was a local coffee shop owned by a family that lived in our area and I frequented it often. They were very supportive of my original succulent business and allowed me to sell my designs in their shop.
Fast forward to the pandemic and after the inital lockdown the shop opened back up but not with any of the seating they once allowed. In collaboration with the manager(Michael) of the shop I took over the front space with local artisan vendors as well as my own creations. It was a great stepping stone and it solidified my relationship with Michael . We would often talk about if we had a space of our own what that would like look.
When the family owners decided not to renew their lease Michael and I decided to take that giant leap and go in to business together putting our thoughts into reality.
Michael knew the coffee/cafe’ end of the business and I came with the plants and a shared aesthetic. After 3 years working side by side we have blended our skillset – myself making a mean cappucino and Michael running plant bars.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I think that everyday of owning a small business is a journey in resilience. There are very few days that don’t require some level of it. Certainly navigating all the processes of opening said business and truly learning along the way.
There is typically something breaking, orders not coming in, employees calling out sick, difficult customers, low sales, and scams.
We did though, have a huge lesson in resilience and patience when we were notified that there would be road construction in our area and what was supposed to be 2 months of work took 6 months and deeply affected our shop. The noise, dirt, lack of parking created an unhospitable place for customers as well as ourselves.
I spoke to the city many times trying to receive rent relief to no avail. We felt left out on an island. Thank goodness for our loyal fans and we became fast friends with the construction crew.
We kept plugging along. I had to recieve a small influx of money to continue and am hopeful that customers will find us again.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.littlegreenaplantbar.com
• Instagram: littlegreenaplantbar