The Start of it All
Hello, some of you may not know me yet, my name is Zach Drew, well technically it's still Zach Lesniewski, but I liked the idea of taking on my fiancé's name early, and I am the sole-proprietor of Pixel Plant Co. A shop that, as you can see/read, sells houseplants, supplies, terrariums, and more.
To help you get to know a little bit more about me in relation to my store, I started collecting houseplants in early 2023. (Not that long ago, right?!) Growing up I always had a fascination with nature and used to help my mom garden vegetables and plant her flowers in the Spring and Summer. At various points after moving out I tried taking on various plants in my apartment and accidentally killing them all (including a bonsai). I even did extensive research and had started buying parts for a hydroponic...or was it aquaponic... setup where I could grow produce in a barrel with fish for both meat and veggies. Eventually, once I moved into the apartment I am in now (July 2024), my roommates dad had gifted us a big Aloe Vera plant from his home to help brighten up the space. I'll be honest, I neglected this plant. I barely remembered to water it and it sat in a window that barely got any sun. Eventually I started taking a liking to it and would water it a little more often, not too often to kill it, and would sometimes give it a treat of rice water from when I made dinner. This slowly rekindled my joy in growing plants and I started to keep seeds from store produce like bell peppers, lemons, and apples and would grow them in cleaned out jars and milk jugs. Suffice to say, I only got 1 pepper off my plant and killed the lemon and apple seedlings... But this new fascination introduced me into the world of houseplants.
I don't exactly recall what my first houseplant actually was, I want to say it was a "Mini Monstera" (Raphidaphora tetrasperma). I was obsessed with them at the time, I just loved how they looked like a giant Monstera but...well...mini! I remember I managed to get 2 cuttings for cheap and they grew soooo slow for me. Looking back I can see all the things I was doing wrong now like a lack of water, airflow to the roots, fertilizer, and more. Only 1 of them made it and it belongs to a close friend now as I now have a newer one that is taller than me! But from there my collection grew, and grew, and grew, more, and more, and more. It became like an addiction, and without any warning to my innocent mind when I started this journey, within a year I had collected over 200 individual plants and cuttings (some doubles) and I now have 3 IKEA cabinets converted to greenhouses between myself and my fiancé with maybe some more coming.
Shortly after I had started, probably in mid to late Summer, I had this yearning to start a plant business. Back then it was just a kookie idea I had, I mean, how could I start a plant business?? I barely knew what I was doing and I felt more like a collector than someone who could let my plants go to someone else! Not to mention almost all my plants were just cuttings and not full grown due to my restricted budget from college (I actually started donating plasma to offset the cost of plants and the price increase of groceries). Late this Spring though, my fiancé and I had gone on a trip to Billings, Montana to visit an online friend who we had yet to meet in person. We were going to be attending the Montana Renaissance Faire together where they were going to have a booth selling their crafts which included felted terrariums, faux flower crowns, stickers and shirts with their art on it, and more. Around this time I had also started getting into making terrariums and isopods (more hobbies!), so I had asked my friend if they wouldn't mind if I tried to sell some of my terrariums at their booth. They didn't mind at all and so I gathered some supplies to make a bigger batch of them. Well, the terrariums did REALLY well! I almost sold out of all my containers I had brought and made around $300 (quickly figured out I was underselling myself too). After coming back home, I had discussed with my partner about the idea of starting a business selling terrariums. I looked into the cost of registering a business and within 2 weeks I had it registered. Best $22 I've spent yet. But where did the name come from? Well back when I was tossing the idea around still in 2023, I was discussing it with a business major friend of mine and I had settled on a name of "Pixel Plants". Technology is my third love (behind my partner and plants), so I always wanted the theme to be a bit tech-y. They even designed some logos/stickers for me, which is one of them you see today! When I went to register, the name "Pixel Plants" just didn't sound right to me for some reason, so I decided to work on a business card. Figured seeing the name on something may help spark some inspiration. And just like that "Pixel Plant Co." was founded (even though I am not technically a "company").
The featured picture you see was my first pop-up/flea-market booth ever. It was the Moonlight Market in Salt Lake City in June 2024. I got an ad for the event on Facebook and on a whim decided to hop on the only spot remaining for vendors. While it didn't go as well as I had hoped, it was really fun and I will be attending the July one next week! But this time I have a lot more to bring to the table since I have more than 4 days to prepare!
I am excited to see where this all goes. Even if it doesn't go well, in the end I can say I at least tried and put my name out there a bit. But the dream would be to have a brick and mortar shop one day and help spread my love of nature to whomever walks in.