I would like to introduce myself. My name is Michael, founder of TREE IN A JAR. I am happily married to a very sweet & patient woman. On top of that, I am the father of royal couple Max & Ava-Lee.
What started as a 'homemade' gift for Mother's Day has now grown into a small business. Totally unexpected! Those are the best surprises in life, right?
Maybe this happened to you too, that a hobby turned into a business. Hobbies can be very therapeutic. So I've picked up an old passion again... plants, yes, you heard me right. I like plants. To be more specific, I started building ecosystems in a pot... it's just a big bottle with a plant in it, closed with a cork, creating a 'self-sufficient' ecosystem. It is just like planet earth much smaller. I've always wanted to do this and as Mother's Day was just around the corner, I went online and read everything I could find on the subject. Meanwhile, I watched tutorial after tutorial on Youtube.
Then it was time to put it all together. My adventure started with a 'just do it' mentality combined with following YouTube tutorials.
Now you're probably thinking, isn't anyone able to fill a glass bottle with soil, plant it, close it with a cork lid and then label it a masterpiece?
I admit, anyone can do this. Just like anyone who gets a lump of clay thrown into their hands and then takes out a cup to drink from...what does the cup eventually look like?
Anyway, I gave my first two creations to my lovely mother and mother-in-law (the smiles that followed from both ladies were heartwarming). But it didn't stop there. I started making more because I really enjoy creating these ecosystems. I took pictures of the creations and posted them online. A few days ago I received comments online mentioning how good they thought these ecosystems look. What followed was completely unexpected. I suddenly got completely different questions and comments. People started asking if I also placed orders... What started as a simple old hobby to breathe new life into, got serious attention from my social network. Yes, you guessed it, sticking to the fact that I enjoy making these green jewels, as well as collecting a jungle full of green glass jars at home (which would drive my wife crazy, by the way), I started explore the possibility of starting a new venture.