Mikaela Baker’s plant-selling passion gives people something to look forward to
Throughout Black History Month, Republic FC will highlight and celebrate Sacramento’s Black Business community and its amazing contributions to the region’s culture and economy. Each Monday, the club will profile a business, urging fans to explore and find new local favorites. To help create a connection with the new businesses, the club will provide fans with a chance to win gift cards & prize packs to open a new audience to business leaders in the region.
Like many early in 2020, Mikaela Baker found herself with a lot of time on her hands as COVID-19 put her career as a flight attendant on hold. To fill out her time sheltering in place, she turned to one of her oldest hobbies. Long a dedicated plant-parent, she found herself with a few too many, to the point her home was well past what it was capable of containing.
In an effort to turn her surplus into an opportunity, she began selling some of her houseplants online, an idea that grew into a business garnering more traction than she ever could have anticipated.
“Plants and gardening have been big in my family for a long time,” said Baker. “All the women in my family have always had a garden where they’ve kept up houseplants, so it’s something I’ve always been around.”
Since, Baker’s plant-selling passion has grown to heights she couldn’t imagine were possible when she started, to the extent she found herself with the need for a physical location. In June of last year she opened a shop to meet demand she just couldn’t keep up with from home, just a stone’s throw from Sacramento State University. The H Street staple serves as a hub for her to sell plants of all types on the weekends to anyone looking for a new hobby, provide a safe space for enthusiasts and newcomers alike, and pass along the satisfaction she gets from a green thumb to others who need it most.
She’s also taken the opportunity to help others with her newfound reach. At least once a month, Baker takes Sac City Stems out to events in the community, hosting pop up sales and plant swaps in collaboration with other businesses and women of color like herself.
Through her business, Baker also donates to organizations looking to help those who are less fortunate, or that help make big differences in the lives of minority groups and women who face challenging circumstances. She regularly donates to organizations such as Campaign Zero, the National Bailout Fund, and Planned Parenthood, as well as a few others at the choice of her customers.
“We’re in a time where many people need something to look forward to, and this can really do that for a lot of people and give them something to latch on to in a positive way,” she said. “I want to help introduce others to the same joy that I get from being a plant parent, and try to raise awareness for those who need it most.”
Check out Sac City Stems online at stemssacramento.com, or visit them at 5635 H Street in East Sacramento. Don’t miss the opportunity to win a prize pack including a gift card to the shop. Check out Republic FC’s Instagram page to enter this week’s business giveaway.