Flower business grows hope for good cause
By Sean Gossard
Although smaller stores and shops are beginning to open back up amid the COVID- 19 pandemic, the threat of spreading the virus is still very real, and it will take time for local businesses to fully recover from the months-long shutdown.
That’s why local flower business Indigro Plant Design is continuing to raise funds for Takoma Park’s Citywide Small Business Mini-Grant Program and the Old Takoma Business Association (OTBA) through sales of specially made arrangements.
Indigro owner Agnes Traynor says she was inspired by No Plan Press founder Jesse Kirsch, who was selling one-of-a-kind prints he designed and made on an antique printing press in Takoma Park to raise funds for small businesses in the area. “When the pandemic started, I was feeling like I needed to help out, and I was brainstorming on how to do that using plants,” Traynor said. “I saw what No Plan Press was doing, so I reached out to Jesse and asked him to connect me with the folks in the city.”
Traynor next came up with a set of four arrangements. From the $30 herb and succulent gardens to $60 packages featuring flowering pink kalanchoe succulents or anthuriums in a gold planter and prints from No Plan Press, these sales are helping to keep Takoma Park businesses that have been affected by COVID-19 afloat as part of the Takoma Park Together campaign.
The Takoma Park Together campaign is helping to support the local community by spreading the word about the city’s many small businesses and raising funds to help keep them running. Traynor said the fundraiser has been going well and that the community’s response has been incredibly positive.
“So far we’ve raised around $1,000 for local businesses,” Traynor said. “That’s a lot of plants!”
The planters are available through Indigro’s website or at Takoma Beverage Company, 6917 Laurel Ave. You can also follow Indigro on Instagram @indigroplants.
This article appeared in the July 2020 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.
