UCLA student turns love of plants, pets into successful small business

May 17, 2021

Second-year World Arts and Cultures student Chang Zhou sells commissioned pet portraits and planters in her store, Jupiter’s Plantarium.

Zhou said she was first inspired by pictures of other people's pets in headscarves before she began to paint her own cat in such an accessory. Requests for commissions came in soon after, she said. (Courtesy of Chang Zhou)

"Jupiter’s Plantarium revels in earthly creatures.

A store run by second-year world arts and cultures student Chang Zhou, Jupiter’s Plantarium is named after her orange cat named Jupiter, who is frequently seen on the shop’s Instagram page. Through Instagram and Depop, Zhou sells plants with custom planters and paintings that often feature cats and dogs. Born out of an overflow of her family’s plants, Zhou said the women in her family encouraged her to create Jupiter’s Plantarium.

“Through the encouragement of my mom and my two aunts, (Jupiter’s Plantarium) has become this place where I paint things,” Zhou said. “And people thankfully appreciate them enough to buy them.

Zhou said her mother first suggested she sell some of the family’s plants through social media to manage the excess in their home. One of Zhou’s aunts – who sells succulents and planters at a swap meet – urged her to sell planters, while another aunt asked Zhou to paint her dog, which Zhou said soon led to a steady stream of dog painting requests. She said the her parents’ green thumb and affinity for nature influenced the nature-centric theme of the pieces she produces."— Ashley Kim, May 17, 2021

This post is an excerpt. Read the full article on the Daily Bruin website.

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