Nestled in the heart of Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square, Flora & Fauna offers a unique blend of indoor plants, vinyl records, and eco-friendly products. Ashley’s mission at Flora & Fauna is clear: She is committed to offering a diverse range of products that will help you transform your space into a personal haven. From live plants to eco-friendly goods and soul-stirring music on vinyl and more, she has what you need. In this interview we chatted with Ashley discusses her passion for sustainability, supporting small businesses, and the exciting events like Plant Nights that bring the community together.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Please introduce yourself!
Hi, my name is Ashley and I’m the owner of Flora & Fauna. You can find us in downtown Seattle in Seattle’s original neighborhood, Pioneer Square. We’re located in the historic Pioneer Building on the James Street entrance at James and First Street right across from the iconic Merchant’s Cafe.
How long have you been open in this location?
We have been open in this location for 5 months now, and we have been in business for three years!
Where were you located four or five months ago?
We were in the Stanwood-Camano area, an hour north of here.
What brought you down to Seattle?
We love the Stanwood-Camano area, but as a business, we wanted to grow and find more people who are “our people” – People who love plants, love music, and want to leave planet Earth a better place for future generations.
Tell us a little bit about what you sell at Flora & Fauna.
We are a unique combination of plants. Indoor plants mostly, but they can be brought outdoors.
We also have a specially curated selection of vinyl records and eco-friendly goods.
What are some of your favorite products at the store?
Oh gosh, besides plants, which I absolutely love and adore, I love music and vinyl records. And I specially curate that collection myself. We have a broad range all the way from classic jazz music to current pop to hip-hop, Kendrick Lamar, Tyler, The Creator. I have a very wide palette that I like to fill the shop with.
What was your journey as an entrepreneur and how did you land here?
My family and I just moved to Washington about four years ago from Houston, Texas. It was a huge change but we absolutely love it here, it’s the best decision we’ve ever made even though it’s been one heck of a rollercoaster. I got my entrepreneurial beginning while I was in Housten, just beginning that plant dream of mine by, you know, propagating plants and sharing them with my friends and family. In the company that I worked for when I lived in Houston, I was also in charge of a lot of sales and growing the company, which also got me into, you know, building businesses and relationships, so that’s definitely where it began.
What should a first-time customer expect when they visit your store?
You can expect to be greeted witha warm welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. We’ll ask you if there’s anything that you’re interested in or looking for. We’re always here for you, and we have seating inside our shop so we want you to lounge and just feel great while you’re in our space.
What do you like about being in the Pioneer Square neighborhood?
There’s always something happening in the neighborhood. It’s gorgeous. The historical buildings are absolutely phenomenal. I’m a history nut so I love just walking through the streets and seeing the rich, rich history that still stands out almost everywhere. That and the neighborhood – it’s really starting to bounce back. There’s a lot of vibrant new businesses that are here. Tons of great restaurants, art galleries, retail businesses. And then we’re just a short stroll away from Pike Place Market and Belltown which is even more great stuff to see and do. So it’s just a hub for so much positive energy and I’m so glad that we’re a part of it.
Intentionalist is all about “Spending like it matters” and encouraging people to shop small, especially in this day and age. Can you talk about why this is important to you?
Absolutely, and like you mentioned, small businesses are disappearing. It has been absolutely heart-wrenching to see over these last two years how many small business owners are just, you know, throwing their hands in the air after they’ve given it a real valiant effort. We don’t want to walk away from these things that we’ve built and poured our hearts and souls into, but it’s just, it’s a sad realization, small business is disappearing. So, spending like it matters is keeping these small businesses alive, afloat.
When you support small, you’re doing so much more than lining a huge CEO’s pocket. You’re supporting entire communities, you’re supporting families, you’re helping little children get their activities paid for. It’s so much more exponential when you shop small versus, you know, like I said, making the rich even richer.
It really is very important to us, especially when you shop with us, because not only are we a small business, but we like to fill our shop with products that you are going to feel good about purchasing because if there’s anything that feels so important to us, it’s making sure that we don’t fill more landfills full of plastics and waste and garbage. So, we try to make sure that everything that we carry in our shop is environmentally friendly, and environmentally conscious, and we try to support small local businesses here in the Seattle and western Washington area as much as possible. When we cannot source locally, we are still supporting small.
What are some small businesses that you’d like to give a shout-out to?
Oh gosh, I’m friends with so many small business owners that have just become absolutely wonderful friends along this journey.
- A very good friend of mine who always has a wonderful ear to listen to any kind of help I need with the business is my friend Tina. She owns a company called Hometown Candle Company. She makes custom candles all across the world of different cities and towns that people customize. So I am always turning to her for guidance.
- I also am just in awe of my friends Hugo and Vivian who own El Mariachi Birria y Tacos. They started out in a very, very small little cart and now they have worked their way up to two brick and mortars and I believe they just started another business so I just I couldn’t be more proud of the friendships and the connections that I have made since starting Flora & Fauna.
What’s your elevator pitch?
Come on down to Flora & Fauna in the historic Pioneer Square, where you will find a specially curated selection of plants, vinyl records, and eco-friendly goods. We’re here seven days a week for your shopping needs.
Anything else you’d like to add?
So on top of all that we do here in Flora & Fauna, we also host something called Plant Nights. We hold them here at our location in Pioneer Square, but we also co-host them with different businesses around the Seattle area. Plant Nights are where we get together and we make some type of plant art. It’s all centered around plants and getting our hands dirty, and we learn about plants and talk about plants, and we just get together, enjoy each other’s company, and they’re always a great time. We have six different classes that we offer this year for 2025. Some of them include succulents and sips, air plant terrariums, moss art. Space is limited at our Plant Nights, so if you and your crew decide that you want to join us, get your tickets early, but you’re going to have a ton of fun when you join us.
We also do private parties, too. We’ve done baby showers, birthday parties, corporate events, all types of things.