When we were in Milan for Milan Design Week last week, we hopped by the brand new WildMilano boutique. They are one of the first plants-only urban gardening shop in Italy’s capital of design. On Instagram we had a few peeks of what the shop looked like before the grand opening (on Saturday April 21st), but little did we know we were in for a colorful treat: a luminous plant shop with sunny touches of vibrant yellow… and lots of beautiful greens.
Valeria and Pasquale previously worked at more traditional florists in Milan but felt so inspired by plants and greenery that ideas started to blossom. Also, their clients kept asking more specifically for houseplants, rather than floral compositions, which made them feel excited to open their own Wild shop. Unfortunately we missed the opening event on Saturday April 21st, but we snapped a few pictures for you to enjoy!
A mini terrarium with a mini Fittonia verschaffeltii:
If you are living in Milan, or visiting the area, go meet Valeria and Pasquale at Wild and spoil yourself with a new plant friend, a colorful watering can, a handmade terrarium or a beautiful new planter. They can also help you if you have any doubts of questions about your plants. For some advice and tips, take your plant (or a photo) and go see them at the shop!
It’s nearly impossible to leave Wild empty-handed: why not gift your plantloving friend a botanical book (like the #urbanjunglebook that will be soon available!), a totebag with a botanical pattern, or a handmade terrarium. At Wild you can also stock up on different types of soil, dirt and organic fertilizers and they will be hosting plant workshops soon as well. Follow them on Instagram to keep in the loop about updates!
Wild Milano– Via Giuseppe Sirtori, 11 – 20129 Milano, Italy Tel. +39 02 29.52.67.32 Open Monday: 3:00pm – 7:30pm. And Tuesday to Saturday: 10:00am – 1:30pm and 3:00pm – 7:30pm
Join us for a virtual visit of London’s most wellknown plant shops: Conservatory Archives. For a minute you’ll feel like in a real tropical jungle, where you can actually buy all the plants to take home with you!
‘Leaf’ it to us to bring you the hottest, prettiest, and newest plant shops from around the globe. Today we are taking you to one of our almost ‘native’ cities, to Paris. A few weeks ago Paris got a tad more green with a brand new plant concept store named ‘LEAF’. And we can tell you one thing: We love it! Located in a buzzing part of Paris’ 10th arrondissement, LEAF is the creative outpost of Axelle, a young and charming plant lady. All her passion, love, and devotion for plants and unique ceramics has been brought to a tangible life in her new concept store. It deserves the term concept store as Axelle is not only selling beautiful and lush plants, but outstanding ceramics from various artists and potters around the country.
As an Urban Jungle Blogger you enter this space and you know one thing: You will not leave the space empty-handed. Too many temptations lure in every corner: richly patterned Philodendrons, colourful Fittonias, bushy Fiddle Figs, elegant Strelitzia, juicy succulents, and prickly cacti are lined up from one end to the other. Additionally, the beautiful ceramics planters are a decorator’s dream. You can actually play mix & match and Axelle will happily pot your new plant in your chosen ceramics planter. Moreover, Axelle offers a selected range of further objects and accessories focused on plants and ceramics like illustrations, stationery and books. Don’t even ask, our Urban Jungle Book is available too bien sûr. So this shop is a must visit if you come to Paris. Because let’s be honest and put it this way: It is OUR kind of candy store!
Once you surpassed the first moment of awe while looking at all the plants, you might notice how bright and contemporary the space looks like. White and pastel hues, terracotta colored doors, wooden accents, pale pink walls – for those familiar with the French design scene the conclusion lies on the hand: The creative team of HEJU STUDIO worked their wonders into the wonderful LEAF concept store. And since this space is so inviting, do not wonder if Axelle simply invites you to enjoy a cup of tea while you are pondering about how many plants you can actually juggle through the streets of Paris (we managed 5 plants by the way).
We love all the wonderful plants and ceramics in shops like LEAF, but what we love even more is the green passion that brings all that to life. Meeting people like Axelle is a real delight. It confirms our firm belief that we are all riding a big green wave. One that embraces nature, plants, handmade pieces and presents them in an adequately beautiful way.
But enough talking. We will ‘leaf’ you with these beautiful shots of LEAF. And we can only reiterate our recommendation: Come to Paris and visit LEAF. You will enjoy it and feel invigorated, inspired, and – we do believe – you will bring a little new green friend back home. And you will make friends with another plant fan – with Axelle of LEAF.
Find LEAF shop végétal at 46 Rue Albert Thomas, 75010 Paris. They’re open from Tuesday to Saturday, 11am – 8pm.
What the Flower! A brand new planty location has opened in Paris! Our friend Justine from Sweety Oxalis told us a while ago that she was working on a secret project: a new place where she would combine her love for plants and her job as a hairdresser. She found her ideal location in the 11th district in Paris and worked the entire summer with her team to open their new plant shop and hair salon. We followed sneak peeks on Instagram and saw a giant mirror being hoisted into the space, which made us even more curious of what it would look like. Justine teamed up with aKagreen, an online boutique for plants, and their beautiful space is now open for everyone. Join us for a virtual visit of What the Flower!
If you follow Justine on Instagram you know she loves her plants: Pilea, Monstera, Alocasia and Oxalis… as you can see: all of these are well presented at What the Flower. Two old Monstera deliciosa are the stars of the space and shine with their mature leaves that have a beautiful hole pattern. These two beauties are not for sale, but can be rented for special events. What we love at What the Flower is that you see the “plant preference” and personality of its owner so well. In Paris we’ve seen quite a few new botanical shops open their doors this year (which we listed in our French #urbanjunglebook by the way!) and they all have a completely different personality, audience and price range. We believe there is room for everyone, as long as true passion is involved. Which is clearly the case at What the Flower!
But What the Flower is not only about plants, it is also a real hair salon! The huge mirrors that were installed this summer reflect the light and visuallyy double the amount of plants you can see. And of course they reflect your “new hair” once Justine has done her magic! Justine has been a hairdresser for a over a decade and as a plant lover, she was so fed up with all the chemicals that are typically used to treat and color hair, that she started using more and more natural dies and products. For What the Flower she chose The Hairborist, a bio hair wellness brand that uses 100% natural colors derived from plants, flowers and bark. When we visited, a client just left with a fresh new look for her hair and the color looked amazing, natural glowing and healthy. Well done Justine!
Jungle reflection in the mirror:
As an extra touch of decoration, Justine decided to show off some of the hair care products, especially the ones in powder, that she beautifully lined up in Mason Jars behind the counter. Why hide these organic products when their colors fits the natural color concept of the shop so well?
The massage chair and backwash unit (and Monstera carpet) and the growing botanical curtains in front of the window:
In the second part of the shop, you can find the workshop and office of aKagreen, an online boutique for lush tropical plants, that are promoted by their cute Shiba Inu mascot aKa. Together with Sabrina and James, the team behind aKagreen, aKa selects the prettiest easy-to-care-for plants that you can order online for your home, shop or office. Delivered by bike or electric car in Paris, and in the rest of France by delivery service. All plants come with personalised care tips to keep them happy and healthy.
And where does aKagreen keep their stock of plants? At their neighbors: startup hub Le Wagon! Students, teachers and co-workers get their jobs done in a true urban jungle office with huge banana trees and ZZ plants. Tons of lush Sansevieria, ponytail palms and Calathea are lined up between office desks and computer screens. They purify the air while people code news apps and software. And it makes the industrial loft look so much better at the same time. Win-win for everyone! We hope more plant businesses will follow this clever example! Oh and if you’re worried about the plants being “destroyed” by people working here? Of course there are casualties sometimes, but everyone is rather respectful. James told us that placing all the plants together in groups (#plantgang alert!) really helps preserving the plants. And it makes plant care and watering so much easier too!
Don’t you wanna work here?
Next time you’re in Paris, make sure to make a stop at What the Flower for some plant shopping. Or book an appointment to get your hair done!
Photography by Urban Jungle Bloggers