Today marks the start of our biannual Customer Appreciation Weekend.
We’ve been hosting these weekends for a couple of years now, and as is true with everything we do, we’re constantly listening, learning, and tweaking our offerings in an attempt to create something meaningful and interesting – something that will encourage you to plan to visit and support our local, independent business.
Before I get to the juicy details for this weekend (and yes, we have some big ones to share this time), I’ll confess I’ve struggled a bit in terms of the story I want to share with this moment. Why?
From the very start of The Botany Shop back in early 2021, I’ve struggled to reconcile our role as a retail destination in terms of participating in or promoting a culture of consumption and consumerism – the notion that “if I just buy one more thing, I’d be happy.”
And then, a couple days ago, I saw that Netflix is releasing a new documentary on this topic, and I felt my heart sink. Somehow, saying “35% off this weekend to help us make way for new holiday goodies!” just feels like we’re perpetuating a broken cycle. If that’s the only thing we shared, it wouldn’t feel genuine.
I felt myself shrink, go small, and dare I say even feel a little bit embarrassed. What’s that feeling? Oh, yeah… shame. (For any of you Berne Brown fans reading right now, you feel me).
Shame can be a complex and tricky feeling to unpack. It’s layered and nuanced, full of trap doors and dead-ends. Whenever I feel myself slipping in to this maze, for me, I’ve realized that my mindset makes a huge difference when it comes to finding my way out, and here’s the mindset I’ve ultimately chosen to bring forward today:
The “icky” feeling of amplifying consumerism and consumption is not our authentic story.
The first and most critical thing to realize is that we are not Amazon. We’re not a big box store or giant home-goods store in a strip mall receiving palette after palette of imported, poorly made goods, so many of which just end up in a landfill before they ever make it into our homes. We do everything we can to ensure the products we feature in the shop aren’t thrown away and go to a good, loving home.
I also need to acknowledge the incredible amount of attention and energy we devote to curation – in this case, how we choose what products to bring in to the Shop, when, and from where/whom. The longer we’ve owned this business, the more I realize curation is also one of our superpowers. Curation is a skill that can be learned and honed to be sure, and to a degree it’s informed by data (what’s selling and what isn’t), but there’s also a “gut instinct X factor,” too.
We bring products in to the shop in small batches, sometimes just a few at a time. Anytime we order product, we think about whether it’s something we ourselves would find useful, valuable, or joyful, and since we’re working to live a more minimal lifestyle as well, this means that the items we surround ourselves with matter more than they ever have.
We also think about price point and affordability, certainly – that’s the “business” side of all this – but we begin by asking ourselves, “Does this item feel essential? Will it solve a problem for someone? Will it spark joy? Will it inspire creativity and curiosity? Would we buy it if this weren’t our Shop? How does this item contribute to a botanical lifestyle and a more connected community?”
Intention matters.
We can’t escape the “business” of retail – we need to sell products in order to keep our lights on and pay our team. But we can also choose to do things differently, to show up with a different mindset, to focus on solving problems and fostering joy, and on expressing our gratitude to all of you, our customers, for enabling this seed of a dream to grow and thrive.
In this spirit, it’s my sincere joy to invite you to visit the Shop between now and Sunday. We’re trying a few new things this weekend, including Mystery Bags, bonus rewards points (10 points per customer, chosen at random – we’re drawing names each day, and the Shop team will send you an email if we select your name), and… 35% off everything in the Shop.
Yes, 35% off everything. Plant care, pottery, gifts, and plants… WHEW!
Yes, we need to make way for all the holiday goodies coming our way. We’re “flipping” the Shop into Holiday mode first thing next week, and there are so many awesome products I can’t wait to share with you, so things will look very different by next weekend for our Holiday Open House on the 23rd.
This is a great moment to stock up on essential plant care products like our organic fertilizers, tap water conditioner, and soil amendments. While our holiday products aren’t out yet, we have plenty of awesome gifts on the floor, and maybe you can snag something for your special someone.
It may be worth noting, this weekend will be our last sale of 2024, and that it’s the first time we’ve offered a discount for an Appreciation Weekend. Let us know what you think…
We’re always grateful to you, now perhaps more so than ever before. When you shop with us (or any local business), you’re casting a vote for the type of community you want to live in, and that’s powerful.
You allow us to keep growing, keep dreaming, and continue sharing things that bring us joy, creating spaces and invitations for community, and empowering more people to grow more plants in more places.
I really never get tired of saying this.
It takes a village, and I remain ever grateful that you’re ours.
See you soon, plant lovers.
Ben | Botany Founder & CEO