THE RECAP
I still can't believe we actually did it.
Okay, I need to talk about PlantCon Houston because it was one of those weekends that feels like it happened in a dream and also completely changed the trajectory of what I think House Plant Clubbin’ can become. We loaded up, drove from Corpus to Houston, set up our first ever exhibitor booth, and spent two full days surrounded by people who understood everything we're building without us having to explain a single thing.
If you've never been to a plant convention, it's genuinely hard to describe what the energy is like. It's not like a regular trade show or a craft fair. Everyone there is already your people. They walk up to your booth and they're not just being polite. They're leaning in, picking things up, asking real questions, telling you about their own collections. Plant people are built different and PlantCon is basically the Olympics of that.
For us, this was our first time exhibiting as a small business. Like, ever. We weren't just attendees. We were vendors. We had a booth. We had a table full of things I made. And the whole weekend kept reminding me why I started House Plant Clubbin’ in the first place.
FROM THE FEED | Friday Night: Setting Up & Showing Up
We left Corpus Christi early, made it to Houston, and headed straight to NRG Arena to get the booth set up before the opening ceremony. There's something about unboxing your products in an actual convention hall and watching your table come together that hits completely different than setting up in your living room for a photoshoot. This was real. We were really here.
I dressed up for the opening ceremony because obviously I did. I planned all my outfits carefully for the entire weekend and the opening night was not going to be a casual moment. PlantCon brings out some serious fits and I was absolutely not about to be the vendor who showed up in a plain t-shirt.
WHAT WE BROUGHT | The House Plant Clubbin’ Booth
Our booth was stocked with everything HPC makes and I want to talk about each piece because these are not just products. They're things I genuinely created because I wanted them to exist in the world.
REAL BLOOM JEWELRY
Made with actual blooms from my own plants. Not synthetic. Not printed. Real flowers, preserved and set into wearable pieces. Every single one is different because every bloom is different. People stopped at the booth just to figure out how they were made and the answer is always a little magical.
PLANT WRAPS
This is the tool I created because I needed it and it didn't exist. Instead of using string or twist ties to support your plant, a Plant Wrap does the job and looks beautiful doing it. Functional plant jewelry. It holds your stem, stakes your trailing vine, adds personality to your pot and it actually works.
& EVEN MORE
We also had beaded necklaces, plant-inspired home decor, and a few other pieces that round out the collection. But the real bloom jewelry and plant wraps were the conversation starters every single time. People would pick up the plant wraps and you could literally watch the lightbulb moment happen. They'd start mentally listing which plants at home needed one. That's the best feeling in the world as a maker.
THE MAIN EVENT | Saturday + Sunday: 10am to 6pm and Not a Single Dull Moment
Vendor hours were 10am to 6pm both days. That's a full day when you're behind a booth. And it genuinely flew. There's a rhythm to a convention floor that's kind of addictive. Someone walks up, you connect, they move on, someone new comes. Over and over. And the plant community specifically is so genuinely curious and warm that it never felt exhausting the way I expected it might.
What I didn't fully anticipate was how much of the weekend would be about connecting with other vendors and creators, not just customers. Some of the best conversations I had all weekend were with the people in the booths around us and the creators walking the floor. There's an unspoken understanding at events like this that everyone is rooting for each other. Nobody was competitive. Everybody was celebrating.
NEW FRIENDS, NEW FAVORITES | The Plant Shops We'll Be Ordering From Forever
One of the things I was most excited about going into PlantCon was meeting other small businesses in the plant space. I came home with new friendships, new follows, and a wishlist that's going to take a minute to work through.
TERRALUXE CREATIONS
Instagram: @terraluxecreations
Serious taste, a stunning setup, and incredible energy. So happy we connected at PlantCon. Go follow them immediately! We didnt get any pics with them :(
FLORA VIBE
Instagram: @floravibe.fl
The vibe is literally in the name and they fully deliver. Plant people who clearly live and breathe this the same way we do.
NATURE'S NOOK CO
Instagram: @naturesnookco
Warm, genuine, the kind of people you talk to for five minutes and feel like you've known forever. We will absolutely be crossing paths again.
PLANT PAPI
Instagram: @plantpapi_llc
A young entrepreneur sharing his love of plants & absolutely killing it in this space! His vendor set up looked great, had a big raffle for a stunning plant & I bought a beautiful diffenbachia from him!
Go show all three of them some love. Small plant businesses doing real things deserve every follow and every order. These are exactly the kinds of people who make the plant community what it is.
CREATOR MEETUPS | Meeting the Creators I've Admired from My Screen
Okay this section. This is the one I've been looking forward to writing. PlantCon wasn't just a vendor event. It's where plant creators show up too, and getting to meet people in person who you've followed and admired online is a genuinely surreal experience every single time.
PAIGE · THE BLOSSOM EFFECT
Instagram: @blossomeffect_
Paige is the kind of creator who makes you feel like the plant world is even more beautiful and intentional than you already thought. Getting to meet her in person was a full-circle moment. Exactly as warm and genuine as you'd hope.
BOTANICALLY BRITTANY
Instagram: @botanicallybe
Two Brittanys in the plant space was always going to be chaotic and wonderful. Her knowledge is next level and she is so genuinely talented. I could have talked plants with her for hours. An absolute gem.
BOTANIC BRANDON
Instagram: @brandonbotanical
Brandon brings a completely different energy to plant content and it works so well. We didn’t get to chat as much as I hoped but I love his plant content! The plant community is genuinely better for having him in it.
Rocco Elliot Instagram: @rocco.elliot_music
He performed at the oening ceromny on Friday, it was so much fun! We love plants & rap in this house
Met the founder of PlantCon - Kenny!
Met Sam, she posts the cutest aesthetic content! She got a matching lighter & roach clip Instagram: @cheesyplants Sam
Instagram: @sampantsandplants Another iconic Sam <3 Loved her energy & amazing outfits! She got some ladybug clips & they are perfect!
If you're not following all of them, fix that right now. The plant creator world is full of incredibly talented people and these three are standouts.
THE PART THAT MATTERED MOST | On Being Part of a Community That Just Gets It
I want to take a second to talk about something that's harder to photograph but might actually be the most important thing that happened this weekend. The plant community is genuinely welcoming in a way I've never quite experienced at any other kind of event. Nobody needed me to over-explain what House Plant Clubbin’ is or why plant jewelry exists or why someone would want functional plant accessories that also look beautiful.
They just understood. They picked it up, they got it, they wanted it. And the simplicity of being seen without having to explain yourself? That's something I'll be chasing forever.
As a first-time exhibitor and small business owner, I walked in with all the nerves of someone who isn't sure if the thing they made matters to anyone besides themselves. I walked out knowing it does. That's not a small thing. That's actually everything.
Being an exhibitor for the first time at a convention this size was genuinely intimidating going in. Two full days on your feet, talking to strangers, representing something you built from scratch. But the plant community is so uniquely warm that by hour two on Saturday I felt completely at home. That's a credit to the people who show up to these events and the culture PlantCon creates.
PLANTS I HAD TO BUY | The Plant Haul
You don't walk into PlantCon as an exhibitor and come out empty-handed. I may have been there to sell but I am also still a plant person and plant people do not leave plant conventions without bringing something home!
WATCH THE FULL THING | The Full PlantCon Vlog
I filmed the whole weekend and I'm putting together a full YouTube video so you can see everything: the drive up, setting up the booth, the opening ceremony, the vendor floor, the creators we met, the plants I came home with. All of it. Editing is underway and it's going to be worth the wait.
COMING SOON
Subscribe to the channel so you get notified the second it drops. And if you've been following along on Instagram all weekend, thank you. Your energy going into this was everything.
PlantCon Houston, you were something special. To everyone who stopped by the booth, bought something, followed along, said hi, or just shared in the energy of the weekend: thank you. House Plant Clubbin’ is just getting started and this was the perfect reminder of why. It means to much to me! See you at the next one!
