Today we’d like to introduce you to Araceli Russi.
Hi Araceli, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
It started with my cousin moving in with me a couple years ago. She has such a lively green thumb and coincidentally I couldn’t keep a plant alive to save my life, she instantly had me intrigued with her plants. As time went by we started playing with the idea of visiting plant stores, we thought of a catchy name that fit us and opened an Instagram page to capture all of our adventures. We visited many plant stores all over Florida, then continued to do so anywhere else we traveled including Texas, Illinois and New York. Before you knew it we said why aren’t we selling plants?! I have to admit I was skeptical at first due to me being in finance for 17 years, and always being the person that helped others open businesses but never considering owning my own business. We took the leap and started at pop up events and then farmers markets… fast forward 10 months later THE FLOURISHING COUSIN STORE is open. We still continue to attend markets/events and also have partnered with several other stores, we hope this planty adventure continues for many more years.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Overall it has been a good adventure, we had to take our time with learning which Florida nurseries are best for us and our clients. But we have met some great people along the way
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I grew up in Orlando and have always been very involved with the community. Since I started off as a shopper myself I was familiar with what my clients would want as far as pricing and quality. My cousin and I definitely make the dynamic duo. With that being said, I would say what sets us apart is our is friendly personalities, we truly just want to make life a little happier and easier for everyone with one plant at a time.
What matters most to you? Why?
Family, Flourishing Cousins was started off with just that cousins. So we would love for this to be something that continues with my daughters, niece and other cousins. It’s a great experience to be able to own something and continue it with generations.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@flourishingcousins.com
- Website: flourishingcousins.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/flourishingcousins
- Facebook: facebook.com/flourishingcousins
