We are halfway through June, a new month so that means a new shop! In January I started the idea of #12shopsof2021, in short I'm going to put a Belgian shop in the spotlight every month to encourage local shopping. To make it a challenge for myself I try to choose as many shops as possible that I don't know (well) yet. This month it is a slightly different shop, namely a webshop! I made a little trip to Ghent to meet Jos, the owner of Best buds. Why did you choose for an online shop? I think part of it has to do with the fact that I worked in e-commerce for a few years before that as a project manager, anyway I've always been fascinated with everything that has to do with online, but got into it rather by accident. I studied bioengineering in college and then I really ended up in the chemical sector in a small company and grew or got into it, in a technical marketing position. I don't really know how to explain it just yet but it came down to the fact that I was also doing a lot of website work and eventually I came to the realization that I found that much more engaging than everything I had to do there technically. So then I stopped there and out of the blue started seeing ecommerce and marketing companies, but I had zero experience so... somehow I got hired somewhere anyway and so I continued to grow as a project manager in an ecommerce company. I'm a huge believer in the power and future of e-commerce, it's only going to grow and increase in power. And then specifically to a product that interests me, namely plants. But really the collector plants, for the people who are really interested in these species.
It had never coincided before that either that you could do a business in that, only at that moment did it coincide. And then I just knew that that was what I wanted to do and also in the future. It was a nice feeling, you have to be 30 to realize what you want to do. Recognizable) I count myself lucky every day that I have found that direction, that counts me comfortably but also gives me a drive at the same time. Jos gives me the advice to try as many things as possible and not to beat yourself up if it is not yet that. You really are never too old to change or to do what you really want to do. Really. I recognise myself in Jos' story that we need a challenge regularly and that doing the same task every day does not benefit us. Best buds is a one-man business so everything that happens before and behind the scenes is done by Jos himself. From time to time he can count on the help of friends, e.g. to help pack at busy times. My next question is usually why your store is so nice and people should definitely visit it; with a webshop it's slightly different, but what makes this webshop so good? Not a bad question at all, because what I do have with friends who ask for plants and say 'I do like plants'. I always say - and maybe that's who I am - if you're not into more special plants, please don't buy a plant from me. I think that's so important, those are all my babies lol, there are more than a thousand babies in there. And they are high priced but there is a reason for that, but I also don't want them to arrive at the people and be dead two months later. That people are like 'plants always die with me', please buy a €10 plant from Ikea, please those are also beautiful plants where you can have a lot of fun. This is for when you are really crazy, really a plant geek. Because I know how much love and joy you can have and then 100 euros is not much if that really is the plant that makes you warm every day. We chat a bit more about not wanting to give up on dying plants and what a drama queen the calthea can be, our decision sounds a bit like; the less effort you put into it the better the queens do (apart from the fact that they are spider magnets)
The last question is usually asking about a fun story or anecdote that took place in your store, again not super relevant to a web shop; so what are the future plans for Best buds? It's not my intention to do this for years to come, I love doing this, but for me that's not something that's sustainable. My goal is always to grow and improve and I am currently working on a vlajo project to get grants to start my research. My goal is to move from B2C (business to comstumer) to B2B (business to business). And be able to become a grower myself, to do that I want to market my own cultivars. So I would very much like to create my own hybrids and then market them. Currently in the aroid world there are a few hybrids that are known and also sought after, I'm thinking of the glorious and the magestic philodenron. In anthuriums there are many because they hybridize easily, but the idea is actually to use new biotechnology techniques to select new plants and to start cultivating and growing them. So actually I want to become a kind of hot-spot of new plants coming onto the market, because as far as that is concerned in the tropical plant world it is very limited. That's very much done in the traditional way that plants are crossed, with seeds and then ten years later you have a new cultivar on the market. In history there have been maybe ten cultivars on the market in that area, so I want to be a new wind there. It's a big and ambitious plan, I wanted to start it last year but then Corona came along,.... So those are some of the ambitious plans I have and I want to get started on it and I hope to get started as soon as possible. I'm looking forward to it tremendously and I hope that everyone who is already in best buds can follow along with that story. To see that from here to within 2-3 years when the first plant comes on the market, that it can actually be a product in Belgium. For example, the philodendron florida that was made in a nursery in in Florida in the 1970s. They crossed the pedatum and the squamiferum with each other there and that hybrid is called florida. They then made two culivars out of that the Ghost and the Beauty (the variegated variety) So the philodendron Gent of Belgium - will come up with a nice name by then. I like to mirror - there is a one gent botanist, because gent was and still is a world player in terms of plants. The chrysanthemum and the azalea, dent is the big player in that. In the 1900s, gent was world-renowned on the botanical map. Because a lot of flowers and plants were grown and cultivated here, and spread throughout the world. I have ambitions to put gent back on the map in that area with new technology. Because the Netherlands is now one of the largest players, apart from countries such as Indonesia where these plants are grown outdoors. Of course, the offer varies regularly, so I recommend you take a look at the instagram to get up to date with the offer. More Best buds? Website: https://www.bestbuds.be Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bestbudsplants/ Thank you for the pleasant chat Jos, I immediately made a nice afternoon of it in Ghent. A city you should definitely have visited once. This was already the sixth "shop of the month" and so we are already in the half! w I hope you enjoyed it and stay tuned for a new shop next month! YAY! A NEW PLANT, THIS IS HOW YOU TAKE IT HOME SAFELY.5/31/2021
0 Reacties LEES IN HET NEDERLANDS Yay! Purchased a new plant but how best to take it home? The first questions to ask yourself are:
WHAT KIND OF WEATHER IS IT OUTSIDE? You don't want your plant to get cold while being transported, so it's best to wrap it and keep it out of the wind. Plants can be damaged from the cold. This is also one of the reasons that online plant shops do not ship in freezing temperatures and/or add a heat pack. WHAT MODE OF TRANSPORTATION ARE YOU ON?Are you traveling by car or public transportation? Or by bike? Pack your plant appropriately and again take into account the weather conditions, do not put your plant in your bicycle basket in cold temperatures. But don't put it against the heater of your car either. ARRIVED HOMEOnce you arrive at home we advise you to let the plant acclimatize for a while, remove it from the packaging & set it aside from your other plants if necessary. Check it thoroughly for bugs and/or treat if necessary. Repot it if the growing pot is too small, so you get a good view of the roots. And finally you find him the appropriate place. You can of course just put it where you like it, but chances are that will not work. Inform yourself about the best place for your plant, more info about light can be found here. PLANTS BY MAILWhen you choose to purchase plants online they usually come to you by postal package. Packing a plant properly for shipping is an art and very important, once it arrives it is best to let the plant acclimate in the box for a while before unpacking it. Then do the same as described above when you get it home. Enjoy your new plant! Planning to send plants yourself? Read my tips & download my FREE plant proof shipping labels here. Did you like it? Please leave a 👍 below & follow my plant adventures on Instagram!
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AuthorCrazy plant lady who likes to inspire others! Everything I write here comes from my own experience, knowledge that I gained by reading books and on the internet. If I would literally copy someone's info, I would do my best to link it of course! Do you spot typos or do you have other concerns, let me know! Have fun reading! I've only just started writing English blogs since January 2021, that's why there are many Dutch blogs and not so many English ones.
I use DeepL to help me translate. ARCHIVES
Maart 2022
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