Meet the green-fingered student behind Botanical Babe

  • Text by Huck
In partnership with 99designs by Vistaprint — By Design is an editorial series, created in collaboration with 99designs by Vistaprint, that celebrates small businesses across the UK and spotlights the power of a strong visual identity. In our new film, we meet green-fingered Tesni, whose business is growing as quickly as her plants.

Whether she’s looking after her personal collection of 150 houseplants, sharing botanical knowledge on Tiktok to her 40,000-plus followers, or working on her thesis that outlines “historically accurate info & tips to make your plants thicc”, it’s fair to say that Tesni Boughen is a green-fingered authority. As Botanical Babe, she’s injecting a fresh dose of energy into the world of houseplants, operating out of a vibrant shop in her native Llandudno, North Wales.

It all began with an Instagram account that Tesni made to document her plant obsession. She was studying an MA in history but suspended the course due to the pandemic and moved back home with her parents. In order to make a bit of extra cash, she began selling plants on Etsy. The venture proved so popular that she opened up a pop-up store, which became a permanent bricks-and-mortar fixture in her hometown shortly afterward.

Tesni lives for plants. Needless to say, they take up most of her space. “Every time an interesting plant arrives in the shop, I have to take it home,” she says. With Botanical Babe, she’s looking to pass that knowledge on to others – be it via social media, or real-life interactions. “That’s my main thing, even if they come to the shop and don’t buy anything, I want to chat with people and help them out and let them know how best to look after their plants.”

As a business, Botanical Babe is at the beginning of its journey – one that has seen it grow exponentially in an incredibly short period of time. For that reason, Tesni has never really had an opportunity to think about her brand’s visual identity in a meaningful, long-term way. But thanks to support from 99designs by Vistaprint, which will include a new logo and design refresh, now is the perfect time to begin.

By Design is an editorial series created with 99designs by Vistaprint, in which all participating businesses receive a design makeover, as well as a financial grant to help them embark on their next chapter. Read more stories from the series here.

Take a look at the other 99 small business design makeovers on 99 Days Of Design.

The new Botanical Babe logo was created by KayK on 99designs by Vistaprint.

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