When Mr. Garcia gave his daughter two plants five years ago, he may not have realized he was planting a seed that would someday blossom into the Raiz Plant Studio.
“My dad gave me a big snake plant and a fiddle leaf plant…I think [receiving them] was a part of what inspired everything,” says Rufy Garcia, co-owner of Raiz Plant Studio.
“He would get so excited about the plants he would bring home,” Rufy recalls about her father. “Flowers always surrounded our house. We always had the prettiest front yard.”
Mr. Garcia’s love for plants, and his success in his own landscaping business, inspired Rufy and her sister Twiggy Garcia to launch Raiz Plant Studio in 2020.
“We have the perfect mentor in my father, so that is what we went for,” Rufy said.
According to the Raiz Plant Studio website, the business is the first Latina-owned plant shop in Dallas. Rufy said it was essential to tie in their new business with their Mexican culture. The family chose the name Raiz, the Spanish word for “root.”
“We believe [Raiz Plant Studio] encompasses our roots perfectly. It is a name that allows us to carry a part of our heritage with our brand, which was so important to us and why we wanted to have a name in Spanish. We believe that plants take us back to our roots with ourselves, [our] culture, and the planet,” says Rufy.
The Garcia sisters created their Design District plant studio as a welcoming retreat where people could relax, learn through planting workshops, enjoy a mimosa while painting pottery, and calm their worries while shopping for their first plant.
While the sisters had big aspirations for their new business, they did not anticipate that a global pandemic would stop the world. “We launched Raiz Plant Studio in February 2020, literally a month before lockdown. February 13, 2020, was our grand opening, then lockdown shut us down on March 13,” explains Rufy.
“I think that period humbled everybody because it didn’t matter if you had 30,000 followers or [if] you had 1000 followers, we were all locked down, and I think that humbled a lot of people. It became an even playing field,” says Rufy.
When lockdown forced everyone inside, and foot traffic in the Design District slowed, the Garcia sisters had to make some tough decisions about Raiz Plant Studio.
As an upstart, the women did not believe it was time to close shop, so they decided to get creative. They partnered with other businesses that remained open by doing pop-up events at local coffee shops, The Katy Apartments, and even a climbing gym.
Rufy says she and her sister found that small businesses were eager to help other small businesses. They all had the same goal: keeping the lights on and the company running.
“I used to live in New York, and it is so much more open about everything. So much more diverse. I feel like Dallas could be very cliquey in a sense, so we wanted to kind of bite that stereotype a little. So we did our first pop-up with Peaberry Coffee in Oak Cliff,” explained Rufy.
The Garcia sisters’ first pop-up was a bit of a scary experience because there were many pandemic restrictions in place, and it was unknown if people would show up and if the business partner was a good match.
However, Rufy says, “Once you do [collaborate], you can very much create a culture of community. You’re gonna see who’s down to help you. And who’s a partner and who’s not. It was a very interesting time,” says Rufy.
During the pop-up events, plant lovers could come to various locations throughout the city to learn about and purchase plants. The success of the pop-ups allowed Raiz Plant Studio to sustain its business, network with other small businesses, and meet people who became regular customers.
“There was a huge boom of people that were all of a sudden alone in their homes and needing something to do,” explains Rufy. And I honestly feel like I hear more people say that they enjoyed that lockdown period. Obviously, there was chaos and uncertainty, but people started channeling their energy and felt like, ‘I can take care of a plant for now.’ Like pet adoptions were at an all-time high. But if you’re not willing to make a commitment to a dog, let’s say, a plant was perfect.”
The sisters found that people who would not have considered buying plants in the past were now taking an interest in them. “So, we saw a different demographic of people than what we saw before the lockdown. We have young guys that are so cool, and they have a collection of plants and are plant experts,” Rufy laughs. “It was awesome for us.”
The business pivot allowed Rufy to put her advertising and marketing skills to work as they introduced clothing and high-quality print photography to the Raiz Plant Studio, which has since become an exclusively online endeavor. Their plant shop also offers smaller potted plants as people create unique designs for their desks at home and in the office.
Even though Rufy and her sister’s plans for the business changed, she says it was a lesson in “how bad do you want it?”
“We can split things up between ourselves. But at the end of the day, I think it’s the drive. If you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to, but those are going to be direct results,” advises Rufy. She shared that while it is easy to plan campaigns and events, there is work that comes on the heels of every good idea. “I think that that has been the biggest challenge and knowing that you have to motivate yourself.”
Rufy will soon be looking after a sprout of a different sort, as she is expecting her first child within a couple of months. She plans to introduce her son to the joy of plants at a very young age.
“With his nursery, I’m already looking at having an oxygen plant and a big snake plant. So, I want him surrounded by trees and to be okay with dirt. So I know that that’s something that my son and my dad will be able to bond over. I would love for him to be into plants,” says Rufy.
As for Raiz Plant Studio, Rufy hopes to come back to a brick-and-mortar location eventually, but first, she plans to bond with her son for a while and play in a bit of dirt.
