Inside 501 Main St. on Wednesday, a new business was beginning to take root.
Among hanging pots of Hindu rope, string of coin plants, and a workshop space lined with pots of flowering Christmas cactus, Jessica Birmingham got to step back and take in the shop that will unite her love of plants with her goal to help people with special needs get paid work experience.
Opening day for Happy Day Plants — in the former location for Old Town Outfitters — is Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.
The retail houseplant and gift shop will employ people with special needs and use a customized employment plan to train those individuals based on their skills, abilities, goals and interests.
In addition to offering a variety of indoor foliage — from the fiddle-leaf fig to the spider plant and crocodile fern, Birmingham also plans to have classes, workshops and a potting bar, where people can pick a pot and re-plant their purchase on the spot.
For years, Birmingham’s idea to open a plant shop was just a thought she had outlined in an idea journal about four years ago. It wasn’t until recently that she was able to bring it to life.
Birmingham is a mother of four. Her oldest daughter, Bailey Birmingham, 19, has Down syndrome. When Bailey Birmingham graduated from Silver Creek High School last year, she planned to attend the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley.
“Then COVID hit and everything went online,” Birmingham said. “We started needing something closer to home for her. For people like Bailey, if you’re not going to college or interested in doing day programs offered through the school district, there is not really a lot out there.”
Birmingham found out about Ramble on Pearl in Boulder, a boutique store that’s run by the nonprofit Ramble Collective. Through the nonprofit, individuals with disabilities get paid work and training through an apprenticeship program. In Longmont, Sample Supports also offers supported employment, partnering with a number of businesses to help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities find work.
Birmingham said her daughter has been working at Ramble on Pearl for almost a year now and has loved the experience.
“I was talking with the (Ramble) manager in February and she said, ‘You know, Jess, we just need more places in Boulder and Longmont that it is their mission to hire people with special needs and train them and give them opportunities to be in the community,’” Birmingham said. “This light bulb just went off.”
Once Birmingham decided to pursue her idea, things began to fall into place, paving the way for it to become a reality. While she had initially been looking at another location for the shop, she found out earlier this year that Old Town Outfitters would be closing and the roughly 2,000-square-foot location on Main Street would be available for rent.
Blake Hendricks, who co-owned Old Town Outfitters with his wife, Tamar Hendricks, said in a phone interview Thursday that the outdoor apparel shop closed July 31. It had been in business for 10 years.
Facing a lease that was up, a family situation that needed more of their time and coronavirus pandemic uncertainty that Hendricks said he knew would lead to supply chain issues, the couple decided it was time to close shop and focus on other endeavors.
“We loved the business … and there were lots of great people (involved), so it’s one of those bittersweet things that it was just time to move on,” Hendricks said.
The couple also owns Crackpots at 505 Main St. — a business Hendricks said is not going anywhere.
Hendricks said he likes the concept Birmingham has designed for her business and how it will help those with special needs.
“We’re excited about the plant store,” Hendricks said. “Jessica is awesome.”
Birmingham said she expects to start hiring people between February and April.
She will be using two programs to work with people who have special needs.
The first is the School to Work Alliance Program, which is offered through the St. Vrain Valley School District and is a partnership with the Colorado Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. The program seeks to help people with disabilities transition from a school to work environment through connection with case management and other services. Through the program, students also gain 160 hours of paid work experience at a local business, which is funded by the state.
Kerri McDermid, St. Vrain Valley School District spokesperson, said the work alliance program has been in contact with the plant shop and looks forward to the partnership providing future opportunities to students. McDermid said the program serves about 180 to 200 students a year.
Birmingham said her daughter was part of the School to Work Alliance Program.
“Just being out and seeing people you know and running a cash register and having a check list to do every day, it was so good for her,” Birmingham said. “Those are the sort of things we will offer here: a very consistent, hands-on training experience.”‘
Through the School to Work Alliance Program, Birmingham can have up to five employees, but said she plans to start with two.
Birmingham also plans to eventually become a vendor for the Colorado Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, which will allow her to have employees with special needs who can work at the shop for as long as they want and won’t be limited to 160 hours of experience.
Joining the store’s team is Bailey Birmingham, who will be there Saturday to hand out succulents to the first 50 customers. Birmingham said one of her other children, 16-year-old Ruby Birmingham, will also be working for the store.
The store will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. Birmingham said people with special needs who would like to apply to work at the store will be able to find out details this weekend on the store’s website at: happydayplants.com.
“I’m looking forward to all of it,” Birmingham said. “I can’t wait to meet people.”
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