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Growing the Green House

This is part of a series on West Chester entrepreneurs. Know someone that’s taking an innovative approach to the mantra, “Follow your dream?” I’d love to share their story. Thank you to Benchmark Federal Credit Union for making this expanded content possible.

The new, expanded Green House opens on Aut. 2 at 43 W. Gay St.

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West Chester Entrepreneur Embraces Expansion

Earlier this month, I met up with The Green House owner Peter Giuffre to tour the new space and, intended or not, discuss dreams and how exactly we get to the place in life where we are. It seems to be a conversation I am having a lot lately.

A year ago, Peter and girlfriend Kellie Ink opened The Green House, a plant shop and home goods store on Church St. in downtown West Chester. Peter handles the plants. He pairs house-friendly options with his one-of-a-kind handmade cement planters. Kellie curates the home portion. Think nontoxic beeswax candles, organic baby clothes, and chemical-free cleaning products.

The retail concept is a combination of their two passions. The name is a multi-meaning indicator of what you can expect - and so far, it's been a wildly successful, if at times squashed, collaboration.

“It’s too tight,” says Peter as we chat in the store on a balmy Monday afternoon. Already four people have entered at what is typically a pretty slow time of day. Three have left with a purchase. With two customers at a time, the shop, which is narrow and deep with a large plate glass window facing west, feels full but airy. Add many more shoppers and the space quickly becomes impassible.  

“We get six to eight people in on the weekend and others [detered by the crowd] walk on by,” says Peter.

This is where phase two comes in.

Pots and Plans

While inviting from the street, more than a few people inside make the plant shop nearly impassable.

With the shop quiet for a moment, we’re able to sneak over to the new storefront. It’s right around the corner on Gay St. You probably know it. For decades it was home to Fairman’s Skate Shop. We enter from the back as painters finish applying a fresh coat of white paint to the walls up front. Without skateboards, shoe displays, and clothing racks, the still-to-be-refinished floors showcase an empty expanse of possibility.

“Over there will be a fitting room,” Peter says pointing to one corner. Organic clothing is one of the areas they are looking to grow. In the back, Kellie, who also works as a certified holistic health coach, will have an office to offer personalized sessions. The basement, once home to live music and skating demonstrations, will serve as Peter’s workshop. Back upstairs, near the store’s center there will be a large table for group classes. - and throughout, the walls will be lined with shelves for more plants and pots.

“Right now I probably have ten times what you see here in storage,” says Peter.

In addition, to just more (and bigger) plants, he envisions hosting evening classes suitable for a date, girls, or family night. He’s starting with “Make Your Own Terrarium” and “Pour Your Own Pot” workshops. He also wants to offer more custom seasonal displays - Teacher Appreciation Week is one for which he sees potential - and to grow his consulting businesses. There is a need for more at-home and office help - pot replanting, care, and horticultural design.    

“I could see myself getting stagnant in that small space,” he says of the Church St. storefront.

Long Hikes and Drainage Holes

Peter’s plants come not only with a pot, but a personal touch.

As we head back, we are met by two friends looking to enter the store. They shop as we discuss life’s twists and turns. How did you get into plants? I ask.

After struggling with drugs and dabbling in bad influences as a teen it was at, as Peter puts it, “a camp for bad kids” in upstate New York that he first discovered his appreciation for the natural world. No phones, no electronics, just long hikes in the woods. The experience would lead him to Temple to study horticulture, but similar struggles would reemerge before he finished the program.

It has been five years since he got things back on track and just three years since he attempted his first concrete pot. It, like many things attempted via YouTube tutorial, did not go as planned. “It turned out horribly,” Peter says in reflection but he kept at it and eventually opened Pot + Plant, an online shop and wholesaler. Then a year ago, he and Calli opened on Church St. It has all been so quick, Peter, until recently, still worked as a Revenue and Strategy Assistant for West Chester-based LifeBrand.  

The girls are back, wares in hand. One of them hands over a selected pot for purchase. “Do you want a drainage hole?” Peter asks. “No,” she replies, but after a brief exchange, it turns out, she does want a drainage hole.* She trips on the next question too, one about watering frequency.

“You need a person like him to answer all your plant questions,” says her friend. As Peter is starting to learn, we just about all do.

The Green House opens its new Gay St. location on Aug. 2.  

Plant Answers

Q. Does my pot need a drainage hole?

A.  Per Peter, if you are placing a potted plant into a decorative holder, you do not need a drainage hole. If you are planting directly into the pot, you will need a hole to keep the plant from drowning.  

Q. What’s an easy plant option for an office? 

A. Try an air plant (available at The Green House.) Give it a good spritz of water once a week and some bright indirect sunlight (consistent fluorescent lighting works too), and your air plant will do fine on a plate or in an open container on your desk. No soil required.

The only federal credit union to exclusively serve Chester County, Benchmark Federal Credit Union provides commercial lending products for local businesses. Clients can count on personalized service, local decision-making, and quick loan turnaround time. Benchmark FCU not only understands your business, but can provide a wide range of financial solutions, including commercial real estate-secured loans. We’re ready to be your trusted business banking partner. To learn more about our business banking solutions, visit http://www.benchmarkfcu.org.

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