Shop Local

by Rina Rapuano

Growth Spurt

Rewild co-owner Joe Ressler knows the answer he should give when asked why he decided to open a boutique focusing on houseplants (that he’s always loved plants and had a green thumb from birth). But the truth is, he was a horticultural novice when he and his business partners, Lily Cox and Kyle Cannon, opened their first store in 2018 in D.C.’s Shaw neighborhood.

“From a business standpoint, it just seemed like a great niche where we could be really educational and passionate about something, and plants are so aesthetically appealing,” says Ressler, whose company will open a second Rewild in Ballston Quarter this fall. “Now I’m actually a very avid houseplant enthusiast. I probably have 25-ish plants in my own home. So I turned into one of our customers, but it took some effort.”

Ressler says he and his colleagues started eyeing Arlington when a good portion of the clientele at their Georgetown pop-up, which ended this summer, seemed to be coming from south of the river. “We tend to attract a lot of Virginia customers, and it’s always been a little bit outside of our delivery range,” he says. “Ballston’s just such a great part of Virginia. It’s close to Clarendon, it’s got its own little community and is very central.”

The Ballston shop will offer all the same amenities that Shaw customers rely on, including a 90-day guarantee on all plants, free repotting services and a built-in support group for budding botanists that includes a blog and YouTube tutorials. The new store will also allow the owners to expand their delivery range significantly.

Plants range in price from $5 to $1,500, with large, rare plants on the more expensive end.

“Our business is very simple, you know? We just sell nice plants and nice pots, and we pot them and give you good advice,” says Ressler. “A little bit of information goes a long way with houseplant ownership.” rewilddc.com

Boho clutches by Luna Maya Macramé

Tying the Knot

Falls Church resident Anielka Azarian was in the middle of a bedroom refresh when her mother, Anita Poot Cu, came to visit from their home in Campeche, Mexico, a few years ago. Seeing a macramé wall hanging that Azarian was considering purchasing on Etsy, Poot Cu revealed that she herself had learned macramé in middle school—and balked at how much the decorative items were going for these days. She offered to make something similar.

“I’m a flight attendant, so I was going on trips,” recalls Azarian. “She was staying at my house, so that was her little project, to do the wall hanging. I came home, and she had a wall hanging looking exactly like the one I wanted.”

Anielka Azarian and her mom, Anita Poot Cu

When the pandemic hit and Azarian was furloughed, she opened an Etsy shop featuring her mother’s creations. The collection sold out in 24 hours. Soon, Poot Cu was teaching her daughter about knot-making from Mexico via FaceTime, and a sidehustle was born.

Now Azarian sells online as Luna Maya Macramé, as well as at a few retail locations and at pop-up markets, where she regularly convinces folks that the craft is more than just those plant holders from the ’70s.

“You can actually make really pretty cool, not-so-traditional wall hangings, more modern-looking [pieces] to decorate your house,” she says. “There’s a little bit for everyone. It’s amazing how it came back.”

She chose the name Luna Maya as a nod to her roots in southern Mexico, where the Mayan civilization thrived and is still celebrated today. “In the Mayan culture, the moon is sacred, and so is my business,” she says. “Putting these two words together was a perfect match for us.”

Azarian has grown her offerings to include those ubiquitous plant holders, which she says are her most popular item—perhaps thanks to the pandemic plant boom—along with artistic wall hangings, bottle and yoga-mat carriers, and even shelves and purses. Prices range from $20 for bottle holders to $350 for large-scale, customizable wall hangings.

With the anticipated arrival of a baby this year, she has been experimenting with nursery-inspired pieces. She expects to have a new line available come fall.

“I’ve been crazy over rainbows and mobiles and just cute little things to decorate the nursery,” she says. “I think that’s definitely my next project.” @lunamaya_macrame on Instagram