It's the 4th of July weekend and everyone is out in their summer dresses, rompers, shorts, tees and sandals. We were very fortunate to become a 1st time vendor at Maker's Market in Santana Row on a gorgeous holiday weekend. We had been busy creating arrangements in June and coming up with ideas to display the table with our personality and Brand. The end results turned out well with great feedback from customers, neighboring vendors and Claire from Maker's Market. I haven't worked in a Retail Store in a long time and had remarkable time interacting with our customers. Here are my two fondest memories from this Saturday. 1) Our youngest customer who was about 5 years old told her mom she was responsible enough to take care of her plant and that she wanted one in her room but didn't know where to place it. I told her maybe on your dresser? or desk? Her mom said they would find a spot once she cleaned up her room. The young girl finally settled on Blue Echeveria in a concrete pot and promised to water it weekly. 2) Suga and Jedd were full of optimism, ideas and fun. They mentioned that I should start naming all the plants and give them profiles so people can "Adopt" them. Suga asked me why we chose Monarch 12 as our company name. I mentioned to her that my mom is the eldest of 12 children and Monarch can be loosely referred to Butterflies or Royalty. Suga's eye's lit up and she quickly told me to name all the plants after the Royals. I honestly loved both the ideas to "adopt a plant - profile" and naming them. I went ahead and started naming the plants after nonfiction/fictional royalty on Instagram. I really have to thank both Suga and Jedd for keeping things light and vibrant.
Independence Day is tomorrow and having this business with my aunt helped me realize that we truly are LIVING the American Dream. The one where people from other countries seek for in the US because they don't have such an opportunity in their homeland. My family immigrated to the US in the 70's after the Vietnam War ended. My mom, her siblings and my grandparents arrived here in one piece and started over in this great land with some ups and downs of course. Plus, they were very fortunate as not all refugees made it here with their entire family. I was born here so I don't know what it was like to experience such a journey but my mom has told me many stories about it. Thus, I am grateful that my family and I have opportunities to start and run our own business. I know the times are strange right now and immigration has become a hot topic. I hope that we can continue to be open to help out those in need. America stay Beautiful, inside and out!
