Conversations with a shopkeeper: willow botanic
Houseplants and dried flowers on the outskirts of Loch Lomond
a HOUseplant paradise
Part two of a conversation with a shopkeeper series: I am introducing a small handful of some of the best stockists of Wildwood Paper goods, and next up is the beautiful Willow Botanic; ‘a haven of peace and tranquility’, a specialist houseplant, dried flower and gift shop based in Callander, (another of my lovely stockists based in Scotland, one of my favourite places!) owned by Janine & Neil.
I am thrilled to have had my botanical greetings cards stocked there and flying off their shelves from the very first day they first opened their doors in 2020. Sadly, they were to close just a few days later when the lockdown hit, but luckily their local community rallied and kept them busy with plant deliveries galore, and they have been thriving ever since, which is a joy to see. I caught up with Janine & Neil about their favourite seasons at Willow Botanic and the highs and lows of running a business.
What first inspired you to open up your own green haven of a bricks and mortar shop?
Although there were a host of reasons for establishing Willow, the decider was seeing a growth in demand for specialist houseplant shops, and an awareness that they were all in large urban areas. We Live in a beautiful rural area on the outskirts of Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park, with no large cities nearby, and felt we could do something to provide the same options for people in the many villages around us - and further afield.
What does a typical day look like for you both as a husband and wife team?
That's one of the great things about owning and running Willow - every day is different, and we don't always know what it will bring! We work well as a team. We both have our own individual and collective strengths that seem to come together well. Other than the daily routines of houseplant care and shop admin there are countless other things. We might start the day heading off to deliver and set up wedding flowers (there are some stunning locations around us), or Janine might have to spend the day in her Dried Flower workshop preparing orders for bouquets, hoops, wedding flowers.
Time spent in the shop, with customers, is just as important of course. People respond well to finding a wife & husband team behind the counter, and enjoy the inevitable banter that comes with that! Being together 24/7, more or less, can be difficult at times of course, but we get there – with remarkably little fuss :-) The strength of our relationship still comes through in our interaction with customers, and is reflected in the passion behind everything that makes Willow the wee green haven it is.
It’s been a total joy to see your business grow over the last 4 years. What has been your biggest high and low at Willow Botanic over the years?
Our lowest point (and we're lucky to have experienced very few) would probably have been just after we first opened, in March 2020. We'd spent just about every waking hour of January and February planning and preparing to open Willow, so news of the impending COVID pandemic was, to an extent, in the background.
We opened just a few days before the first lockdown was announced and were, needless to say, completely gutted that our lovely new shop would have to close. After a hasty re-work of our web site (selling online hadn't been part of our plan) we started offering our plants, pots and plant care products for sale and local delivery. Thanks to tremendous local support, word spread and we spent most of lockdown driving round near-deserted roads delivering plants! We survived :-)
Every day at Willow gives us something to be grateful for but, after that shaky start, our high point has to be seeing Willow survive, grow and succeed. During the summer of 2022 we had been on the hunt for larger premises, and just as Neil took the huge step of giving up 'the geeky day job' so we could work on the shop together full-time, the shop we now occupy in Callander became available! We’ll remain tight-lipped on which was more daunting, giving up the security of the 9 til 5, or being together 24/7 :-)
I am super proud that Wildwood cards have sold so well with you from the beginning of your journey. Which design can you not restock fast enough?
Birthdays and House Warmings seem to be the most popular. Of those, probably the ‘Happy Happy Birthday’ (the dark one with the cute wee hedgehog) is the most popular, and visitors from the USA love ‘You’re a Peach’!
Before we discovered Grace's beautiful art work, we had been trawling through cards with a botanical theme from various wholesalers. As soon as we saw Wildwood cards we knew they would be a perfect fit for Willow, allowing us to work with a single, independent supplier, producing unique, hand-crafted work. That's an important aspect of our approach at Willow - as a small, family business, it's important to us to shop small whenever possible. Wildwood cards are a perfect fit for the shop, and our customers seem to think so too. Our local customers are familiar with our Wildwood stock and regularly come back for more!
Plants/flowers and a card are the perfect gift in my opinion. Which occasion are your customers typically shopping for?
Luckily, lots of our customers seem to feel the same about the perfect gift! That’s especially true of Birthdays, House Warming, Mother’s Day, Anniversaries, and Thank You gifts, so it’s great that these are all well covered by Wildwood cards!
What qualities are you looking for when buying in stock?
Above all, authenticity - which encompasses many things. As we've mentioned before we strive to work as much as possible with small, independent suppliers. There's far more to that choice than the obvious empathy, being a small business ourselves. Independent suppliers care about their products and their customers. We're on first-name terms with all the small suppliers we've chosen for Willow, and those relationships go beyond simply placing and fulfilling orders. It's almost like having a support network of like-minded people, and it makes 'doing business' a pleasure, rather than a chore. Working with Grace at Wildwood epitomises that important relationship, especially when she sneaks a wee chocolate treat into our order :-)
What’s your favourite time of year at the shop and why?
That's a really difficult one to answer! Callander is such a changing place from season to season. Although there are visitors all year round, it's busiest in Summer and meeting people from all over the UK, and the world, is always a joy.
There's always a great buzz around Christmas. We love hosting our wreath workshops, and the shop itself is brimming with Festive warmth from Wildwood’s gorgeous seasonal designs, our wee Fair Trade felt cuties, festive scented candles (hand-made, soy candles, of course) and LOTS of fairy lights!
Spring is, very much, wedding season, and Dried Flowers lend themselves particularly well to Janine’s Vintage and Boho inspired designs. Regularly being an important part of so many couple's big day is very, very rewarding.
When our hills and forests are full of glorious autumn colours it feels really special too. Callander has a fantastic Jazz & Blues festival every October, which adds to the vibrant colours. Every possible venue is used to host live music - we even have a Sunday afternoon session in the shop, which is great for encouraging visitors to pop in.
I can’t wait to see what happens with Willow next - can you share any plans you have for the next few years?
One thing we've become certain of, since we opened just over four years ago, is that we'll have to adapt. We chose the name in memory of Janine’s Mum, whose favourite tree was the Willow – but the willow’s graceful profile and habit of bending with the wind, rather than staying rigid, also makes it a very apt choice.
Janine has always been a florist, and had her own florist business in Derbyshire for many years. The traditional florist shop, though, is becoming a rarity because they can't compete with big business on sales of cut flowers. Opening Willow itself was adapting to a changing market – with sustainability at its heart; houseplants and dried flowers to the fore; cards, candles and Fair Trade gifts to complete the package.
As for the future... Janine's reputation for Dried Flower Design, whether for weddings or home decor, is growing, and so is demand. We're working on the best way to develop that aspect of what Willow has to offer, so watch out for more news on that!
Whatever the future holds for Willow, there’s no doubt that Wildwood Paper will always be an essential part of our shop.