Meet Emma: The Plant Shop Owner

Emma’s greenery store is far more extraordinary than its name might give away at first. In the old town of Stockport she has created a colourful space with special keepsakes from near and far. Everything in there is carefully chosen: pots, ceramics, cards, candles, and jewellery. Some products are made by local artisans, others are handcrafted in and shipped from buzzing metropolises all over the world. Emma picks up a bundle of dried sage out of a shelf and comments: „I get this from a man, who sells at a farmers market in Los Angeles.“

A lot of these treasures Emma encounters on her numerous travels. Before starting her plant business, she has been a booker for bands and toured with them around the world. „I did Estonia, France, Canada, Australia – in less than a month“, Emma explains. Two years ago, on a trip for her 40th birthday, she falls in love with a quirky plant shop in Melbourne. „I visited it three times during the stay – I was just drawn to that shop,“ she recounts. „As soon as I got back home, I ordered 100 cacti of the internet, put them outside of my office and started selling them.“

„I love Stockport, especially the old-town. The mix of old-fashioned and adult shops – to me, that makes the beauty of it.“

Emma decides to quit the touring life. And exchanges it for a much more personal project: her very own plant shop. „I’ve always been a hustler …  in a creative way“, she says jokingly. From the moment she found an empty shop space in the centre of Stockport, she knew: that’s the place to plant her business. „I love Stockport, especially the old-town. The mix of old-fashioned and adult shops – to me, that makes the beauty of it,“ she says.

Emma grows up in the countryside, in a small market town in the North-East of England. After studying Fashion and Textiles in Leicester, she moves to Leeds, where she creates her own jewellery brand „Hiya Luv“. „It was a lot of beads and peacock feathers“, Emma remembers. The collection is successful – some pieces are getting stocked in Urban Outfitters. With a new job comes a new city: 12 years ago Emma starts working as an Assistant Producer at the  Craig Charles Funk & Soul Show on BBC 6 and moves to Manchester.

„I enjoy being part of the community in Stockport“

In August 2018 The Plant Shop celebrates its first anniversary. Emma still works as a booker but with an extremely reduced workload. Always by her side: Herbie Hancock, a black-curled Poodle-Bichon-Mix, who likes to relax on a bright Mexican blanket. Sitting on a bamboo chair in between two massive cheese plants Emma says: „It is the happiest I felt since moving to Manchester.“

Like the plants the concept of her store is growing steadily. Emma always comes up with new ideas, such as a delivery service for bigger botanicals. Soon, she is going to host small events, which will transform the Plant Shop into a communal hub. „I enjoy being part of the community in Stockport“, Emma explains. A little fridge with cold beers and a new coffee machine are now waiting for neighbours to come around. Besides all those other beautifully curated things in her colourful refuge.

Say Hiya!
Plant Shop
8 Mealhouse Brow
Stockport Old Town
SK1 1JP
www.plantshopmanchester.com
Instagram: @plantshopmanchester