Ecosystems in a jar
Priyanka Reddy’s brand Avni is perfect for those looking to spruce up their indoors with some beautiful terrariums
Balancing a full-time software engineering job, a newborn and making terrariums that require attention to detail isn’t easy, but consummate professional Priyanka Reddy does it in a jiffy.Starting her brand Avni in 2018, Priyanka has been kept busy during and after lockdown, making orders for people while working from home and looking after her baby.
“I started it as a hobby during my maternity leave. I used to read a lot about how to make terrariums online. It took me a year to figure out what kind of soil to use, plants that thrive without much effort and jars to use by myself. When I realised there is a demand for such gardens, I decided to turn it into a business,” says Priyanka.
She creates her own mixture of soil which she uses for her terrariums. She is not keen on succulents which are a common choice among others; instead, she uses hard-to-kill plants such as cactus, spider, lace ferns, snake plants, oxalis, aloe, sansevieria, million hearts plant, etc.
Her planters are also very unique and are an eclectic mix of kokedamas (moss ball) and glass containers in funky shapes like octagonals, bulbs, triangles and also quirky like the one inspired by Marvel character ‘Groot’.
“A lot of people prefer terrariums as, whether it’s open or closed, it doesn’t require much maintenance and some plants can thrive for years together with just sprinkles of water. The transparent glass helps the light come through into the garden inside which helps keep the plants alive in a self-sustained environment,” adds Priyanka.
If you are lucky, she can create an entire terrarium in a matter of hours and complete an order in a day. “It depends on what kind of terrarium they want, many people want cartoon-inspired characters or miniature versions of their partners or family members as gifts. Depending on that, I source the miniature figures in bulk.
I also give them the sand I layer on top of the soil so that even if the setup gets disturbed while they are transporting them, they can fix it later.” With detailing and customisations, the price range begins from Rs 1,500 onwards.
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