Jane here. I am a wedding photographer whose life came to a sudden stop when the world shut down.
I’ve always enjoyed taking care of plants and learning about them, but I never thought I could turn it into something that could make money and give me a sense of purpose during the lockdown. While I still am a photographer, I now spend my downtime selling plants, doing plant workshops, personal plant shopper and styling for new cafes.
I get to know the owner of the café, figure out what they are looking for and what their budget is. The first café I worked with was Wild Sheep Home and our project was a huge success.
When I first started, everything was great until the second wave hit and we went into lockdown again. The owner of the café came up with an idea where we’d both keep our businesses going – that’s where my passion became uncontrollable. It was a win-win situation – customers could come in, get coffee or treats, and they could buy my plants!
I started selling my plants in the café after things started to open up. I spent my days at the café, meeting everyone that worked there, the regular customers, and different vendors. I checked in on my plants multiple times a day to ensure they were growing to be healthy.
This is where my business Kedai Jane started! Kedai means ‘”shop” in Malay so I used my cultural background to showcase myself in my brand. I now sell my very own special mixture of soil mixes, fertilisers, and plants all under Kedai Jane in the cafe as well as my online website and shopee.
My purpose with this project was passion. I never knew how much passion I had for growing plants, photographing them, and selling them. This was always an interest I had and something I did in my own home, and now that I get to share this passion with other people, it’s amazing. I grew a circle of people around me who I saw regularly and connected with. I along with the owner of the Wild Sheep Home built strong relationships with our customers and we formed a tight-knit community, all while we were just sharing our interests and passions for what we do. It was an amazing adventure for me, and one that I will never regret starting.
I took these photos some time ago along with the help of a friend, TK Teo. Hope you like all these photos as much as I do. Come drop by the cafe some day soon, they served very delicious Nasi Lemak Cheesecake on the weekends. Yes, you read it right, it’s a cheesecake.
Wild Sheep Home
605, Jalan 17/12, Seksyen 17, 46400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
(Formerly known as Wild Sheep Chase)
