This New Plant Pot Brand Pays Tribute To the Natural Roots of Black Hair, Culture & History Through Art

Folks are loving to add plants to their home space. Aside from the prove health effects of cleaning and purifying the air - plants bring happiness, tranquility and can even help people focus. But what about the pots that people use for their house plants?

We caught up with Yinka who is the founder of Rooted Pots to discuss the importance of well being in the home while also celebrating Black hair texture, history and art.

Check out this interview:

When and why did you start Rooted Pots?

Rooted Pots launched Nov. 29th 2019 on Black Friday, but the idea began it's inception 3 years ago by accident. I'm an Art Director and I got into 3D printing 3 years ago. I was using the Nefertiti bust to test the settings on my 3D printer, when it failed midway through the print which left Nefertiti with a big open hole in her headdress. Not knowing what to do with it, I put my house plant in it and didn't think anything of it. It wasn't until numerous friends would come over to my house and say how cool it was. It was then that I started to think about making this into something. However, even then, I sat on the idea for 2 years. It wasn't until 2019 when I wanted to get back into the idea and take it all the way and Black Friday 2019 was the debut.

Your brand touches on wellness, home decor and culture .... how do you see the Black identity intertwined in all of this as it relates to your brand?

My product's ultimate goal is to be a tribute to the natural roots of our hair, culture, and history through art. I feel black people in America don't have good representation in most spaces. Representation is very important. Seeing someone who looks like you being a doctor, a poet, or even as a toy in store aisle is vital to the self confidence of a person. In America, black people are under represented and when we are shown it is mostly more negative than positive. Instead of waiting for America to treat our black image better, I feel we have to do that ourselves and be in full control of it. Rooted Pots gives us representation especially in an area where we have almost none. When you go to shop for gardening statues and figures, there are white gnomes, white fairies, white farmers, and ect. Finding one that looks like us, black people, is almost impossible... until now. Rooted Pots is filling a void. My hope is that even people who aren't black see the beauty in these Afrocentric pots and purchase them and have them proudly displayed in their house and work spaces. Black people have for so many years bought things that represented others and displayed them proudly in our homes and now I hope that happens in reverse with not only Rooted Pots, but other amazing Afrocentric products.

The main reason I chose to make flower pots/planters is that our natural hair reacts like the plants in nature. Our hair naturally grows up towards the sun like most plants, but can also twist and curl down with gravity like other plants. With my artwork that is Rooted Pots, I leave it up to the viewer/owner to choose how they want their Rooted Pot to look. The go to the online store and choose the type of Rooted Pot, the size, the color/texture and finally when it arrives, they choose which plant to put in it. This truly gives everyone a unique experience which is what the black experience is in this world. We all relate, but we all walk a different path with different personalities and styles which Rooted Pots exhibit when their owner adorns them with plant they deem perfect.

How do you define sustainability?

I define sustainability as the ability to stand on one's own and survive which black people have been doing since chattel slavery. African Americans were ripped of their names, dignity, humanity and most importantly their heritage and culture with no one there to help sustain their broken bodies and minds except for each other. Our people have survived many horrific acts with little to no help from the other side. Now, here we are, together, brothers and sisters from many different historical backgrounds - sustaining, growing, and realizing more and more the greatness we hold within ourselves.

Do you see more people in the Black community engaged in nature? investing in house plants? ect ... if so, why do you think that is?

I feel like the black community has always been engaged in nature, but we just weren't represented as so. It was the norm growing up in Miami, Florida to see people out in the yard chopping sugar cane or shaking a tree to make a coconut fall down. My next door neighbor even had his own little farm in his backyard where he had a chicken pen. Now living in Texas the past 8 years, it's hard to say if they're engaged more or not in nature. However, I can say whenever I talk about plants or Rooted Pots to black person their response is either "oh, I have plants" or "my relative loves plants and has so many!" I'm not sure if there will be an rise in black people globally doing more gardening and buying more house plants, but I hope seeing Rooted Pots moves them towards that direction.

What is your biggest inspiration?

My biggest inspiration is my family. My parents and older brothers have inspired me in more ways than I can count. They have paved a road of example that I follow and learn from daily. Without having that great family foundation, I definitely wouldn't be the man I am today. My dad especially has blessed me over arching determination. I watched him never give up on his dreams of becoming a doctor and running his own practice. He achieved those dreams through a massive amount of hard-work. It's hard to give up on any dream when I witness his determination to achieve his goals. I'm glad, even though I sat on the idea of Rooted Pots for years, that I didn't give up on the idea and created something pretty unique that people are liking. The reaction of the buyers and future buyers fuels my energy to go farther and farther. Everyday I am planning and researching new technologies that will make Rooted Pots bigger and better for us because it might not be the solution to all of our problems, but it definitely puts a glowingly positive representation on us all.