Sometimes passion is all that’s required to create a successful business, and formal education and training is less important or not necessary at all.
Erin Volovnik, owner and founder of Just One More Plant on Clay Avenue in Quakertown says, “I was never a school person, but I always learned very quickly when doing things hands-on. Everything I know I have taught myself through hands-on experience.”
Erin started selling plants online to Facebook plant groups and attending local farm markets back in 2020. She says once her house was overrun with plants and shipping materials and she no longer had the room for “just one more plant,” “I took the plunge and opened my store.”
The pandemic turned out to be kind to her nascent plant business. “We were lucky because many other businesses were unfortunately struggling during COVID, but we were the odd statistic that flourished due to everyone being stuck at home.”
Kate Garrity is the store’s manager. She brings years of horticultural experience to the team with her knowledge of many different plant varieties. Kate is responsible for organizing as well as running Just One More Plant’s numerous and varied workshops and events. She has more than 75 plants of her own.
Erin speaks highly of Kate who “does an amazing job teaching attendees how to create their projects and guiding them through all the different steps, as well as educating them on aftercare.”
Just One More Plant also does corporate events and private parties, in-house and off-site for those who want a more intimate experience.
Their work usually involves research looking for new trends in plants, keeping up with the shop’s social media platforms, scheduling and planning workshops and booking private parties.
Some upcoming workshops in late June and into July include Create Your Own Swinging Potted Gnome, Create Your Own Jellyfish Terrarium and Create Your Own Hanging Orchid Sphere.
Parties for both kids and adults are held. They are all-inclusive and include all materials, plants, and decorations.
From June 24 to 28, kids ages 8-14 can attend Plant Camp. Activities are themed around Botany Basics, Nature’s Art, Seeds and Bees, Ecosystems, and Terrarium Building.
Though houseplants are the specialty, the store offers so much more, in fact everything you need “to be a successful plant parent.”
Just One More Plant even sells plant party favors with customizable tags for weddings, bridal and baby showers and other occasions.
It offers an interior design service that will come to your personal or professional space to add greenery and to recommend plants based on available lighting and care needs.
“As with most small business owners,” Erin says, “the work doesn’t end when I leave the shop.” Always there is the ongoing maintaining and watering of the plants. “Most weeks we get a delivery, so unpacking, labeling and inspecting the new plants that come in each week is also a big part of the work but probably the most fun.”
Erin came to Bucks County from Maine because of her dad’s job when she started 5th grade. She is married to her high school sweetheart, and they have a 10-month-old daughter, Brynn.
I ask how she spends her time when not working, and I have to laugh when she says, “I love to spend time in my outdoor garden,” so even when she’s not technically working with plants, she’s still working with plants.
No trip to the shop would be complete without a visit to the store mascots, Milo, a cat, and Loki, a pup. Erin issues an open invitation: “Come visit these crazy boys during business hours!”
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