Today we’d like to introduce you to Meggie & Aris Campbell.
Hi Meggie & Aris, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Feral Flora is pretty much the result of all the weird lettle things we’ve loved our entire lives. Long before there was ever a shop, there was collecting, creating, & following whatever sparked our curiosity.
Meggie started bringing home bones & odd finds as a toddler while wandering her grandparents’ farm, which eventually turned into a lifelong love of taxidermy, insects, plants, art, & found objects. Over the years that creativity showed up in a lot of different ways, from traditional art & Blythe doll customization to graphic design, band artwork, & oddities work through a pandemic project called Cucumber Castle. No matter what form it took, it always came back to a love of strange treasures & making things by hand.
Aris has always bounced between hobbies & projects simply because they sounded fun to learn. From pottery to countless other creative adventures, he loves the process of making things almost as much as collecting the supplies for them. He’s also the more practical one, and has been the driving force behind the research, planning, problem-solving, thus turning ideas into reality.
Feral Flora became a way to bring all of our interests together under one roof: plants, art, oddities, handmade goods, nature, humor, & community.
Owning a storefront never felt like something that was actually within reach. We spent years dreaming about building something of our own, but it always seemed like the kind of thing other people did. That changed when we watched friends open their own businesses & realized maybe it wasn’t as impossible as we’d thought.
Once we put the idea out into the world, things moved quickly. A friend’s shop space became available, and suddenly we had a very small window to decide whether we were going to take the leap. Through a combination of panic, determination, family support, and sheer stubbornness, we made it happen.
More than anything, we wanted to create a space that feels welcoming, inspiring, and genuinely us. We feel we’ve accomplished that with Feral Flora’s part plant shop, art space, oddities shop, and gathering place atmosphere. In a lot of ways, the shop is a pretty honest reflection of who we are: creative, a lettle chaotic, endlessly curious, & always learning.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not. While we’re incredibly grateful for how far we’ve come, there have been plenty of challenges along the way.
The biggest hurdle was probably taking the leap in the first place. We had a very small window of time to come up with funding & figure out how to turn a longtime dream into an actual business.
Since opening, we’ve faced a lot of the same challenges that come with any small business: rising costs, learning curves, long hours, shop lifting, and the constant balancing act of trying to be owners, creators, parents, & actual humans at the same time. There have been plenty of moments where we’ve had to figure things out as we went, often with very little sleep & healthy amounts of caffeine & anxiety.
We also don’t think most people realize how much work goes on behind the scenes of a small business, let alone a plant shop. A huge amount of our time is spent watering, pruning, repotting, checking for pests and diseases, and generally making sure hundreds of living things stay healthy & happy. Plants don’t really care if you’re tired, busy, or need a day off.
Since it’s just the two of us, days off are pretty rare. Most of the time, we take turns covering the shop, but even then we both often end up there because there’s seems to be a never-ending list of projects, maintenance, paperwork, & plant care waiting for us.
One challenge that’s a little unique to Feral Flora is that we’re not easy to fit into a single category. We’re a plant shop, but we’re also a place to find local goods, a bit of a museum, an event venue, & a community gathering place. While that’s one of the things people love about us, it also means we’re constantly experimenting, adapting, & finding creative ways to make all those pieces work together.
That said, many of our biggest challenges have also led to some of our best opportunities. Every obstacle has pushed us to get more creative, build stronger community connections, and grow into something we never would have imagined when we first opened the doors.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Feral Flora can be a little difficult to describe because we’re intentionally not just one thing. At our core, we’re a plant shop… but we’re also an oddities shop, a classroom, an event venue, and a gathering place for creative & curious minds.
We’re probably best known for combining plants, insects, bones, local art, taxidermy, handmade goods, & other unusual treasures in a way that feels welcoming & approachable. We love introducing people to things they may not have explored before, whether that’s their first houseplant, an insect up close, or a creative workshop.
What sets us apart is that the shop is a pretty direct reflection of who we are. We don’t tend toward trends, and we didn’t build the business around what we thought a plant shop should be. We built the kind of place we’d want to visit ourselves, & it turns out a lot of other people were looking for that too.
What we’re most proud of is the community that’s grown around the shop. The plants & oddities may bring people through the door, but the relationships are what keep us going. We’ve watched friendships form, artists connect with customers, people discover new hobbies, & community members find a space where they feel comfortable being themselves.
More than anything, we want people to know that Feral Flora is for everyone. You don’t need to know anything about plants, art, taxidermy, or oddities to walk through our doors… curiosity is enough. If you like the weird, beautiful, creative, or just enjoy learning something new, you’ll probably fit right in.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
If there’s one thing we’d want readers to know, it’s that life is a lot more fun when you allow yourself to be curious. Some of our favourite conversations start because someone picked up a strange object, asked a question about a plant, or wandered into a workshop they didn’t plan to attend.
Feral Flora was built on curiosity, creativity, & a willingness to embrace the weird… and we hope people leave feeling inspired to do a little more of that in their own lives. Support local businesses when you can, try the hobby you’ve been thinking about, buy the weird thing that makes you smile, and don’t be afraid to follow interests that don’t make perfect sense to anyone else.
That’s basically how we ended up here.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://feralflorapnw.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/feralflorapnw
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/feralflorapnw
