Meet Janet Cabral | Owner of the Little Plant Market

We had the good fortune of connecting with Janet Cabral and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Janet, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
I’m very passionate about houseplants and always really enjoyed having them in the house, and I thought it would be a great way to spend my days. One day we’re were on our way home from a small family trip and we stopped at a plant shop, of course I would be that person to buy plants on vacation, and it just clicked and I said I want my own plant shop. 8 months later we are signing a lease to a retail shop in Sun City! My husband and I have always wanted a business and felt like it was the perfect time in our lives to try and make this dream a reality. Vicente is a welder fabricator and can take my ideas and turn them into anything! Objects such as the cactus water drips and plant stands. Now with our own shop he can fabricate and I get the fun job of picking out houseplants and doing workshops with happy customers. You know what they say, plants make people happy!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
We started this business in July of last year and I really started feeling creative again once I was able to start making my own pots. I love the different mold shapes and colors and adding different powders to make fun one of a kind pieces. It’s turned into such a success we are now doing workshops! For example Houseplants 101, Plants and Pilates night, and Sip and Pour where you can make your own pots! My husband comes home from work one day with an ugly welded up cactus and says what can we do with this? It took me all of a day to think “how cool would it be to turn it into a water drip?” Plants need water, we live in Arizona and everyone loves cactus decor. He tweaked his design and materials, and we now use aluminum and a sealer so they don’t rust or hurt the plants. We also have a trademark on custom pieces people can order online or in the shop along with their plants and pots! This shop allows me to have a creative outlet with the workshops and introduce art to houseplants and help people learn to care for their plants! It’s a win win for everyone. The plant market is a market full of plants yes, but it’s a space for other small businesses to sell their products as well. Little Plant Market will have handmade soaps, candles, honey, jewelry, and cards to name a few. Little plants and home decor pieces for a more fun shopping experience. Each member has a fun workshop they want to host at the shop and it will be a great way to bring the community together to learn and create. It’s a wonderful way to start a business and I am so thrilled to be sharing this with local small business owners like myself.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Obviously the first stop would be to the newest Little Plant Market in Sun City! It’s very exciting to open a retail shop for the first time. I would also say my favorite places are the Botanical Gardens and the Wildlife Zoo. My son’s a big fan of animals. Part of the reason I want to open a plant shop on the west side is because we don’t travel into downtown Phoenix often. We’ve had a lot of conversation with locals and they all agree that it would be nice to have a plant shop in the West Valley! They also get very excited when we talk about the different workshops coming to the shop. I’ve had friends from out of town come over and visit and we’ve gone to the Cardinals football games and Park West is always a great place for shopping and restaurants.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
A huge shoutout to my partner in all things my husband, Vicente. He creates any and everything I need from shelving to plant stands to cactus drips. He thinks my ideas are crazy at times, but he lets me be unapologetically me and is my biggest supporter. He is the best dad and hardest worker and we would not be able to open the shop in April if it weren’t for him and his support. Along with my husband I want to send some credit to the small merchant members we will have in the shop! I can’t wait to see how the community comes together to celebrate a new market and workshops in this area. This area is growing so much and so many new people are arriving here daily and now won’t have to drive an hour to a fun plant shop!

Website: www.littleplantmarket.com

Instagram: Littleplantmarket_az

Facebook: Littleplantmarket

Yelp: Little Plant Market