Life & Work with Michael Lanier

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Lanier.

Hi Michael, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I opened Pueblo as a small downtown booth at the Public Market in 2015. I’d worked a lot of small jobs serving and making coffee, studied horticulture for years, and wanted to open a business that served the community, so this naturally just felt like something to occupy my time that combined both my interests and the needs of my neighborhood. Our goal was to inspire curiosity, and that guided our entire mission.

We’ve been in a few neighborhoods since we opened on Roosevelt, but currently, we’re housed in an incredible historic warehouse on Grand Avenue in the Oakland neighborhood. We spent the last four years building and rehabbing the building itself and the lush gardens.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s been far from a smooth journey, but it’s just that: a journey. Thinking of running a business as linear isn’t something I can comprehend. We’ve faced issues of outgrowing the locations we’re in, betting on neighborhoods without much around us, like when we moved to an empty intersection in Garfield. We’ve faced uncertainties with the pandemic, but it’s a journey. Allowing our business to evolve and adapt makes it work so well and stay as unique as it is.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We sell interesting plants, but beyond that, we provide space. Phoenix is ever-growing and changing, constantly flooded with new people looking for unique places to go. A tremendous community of artists and business owners is trying to improve it, but it’s still a bit of a corporate feeling city. Pueblo doesn’t feel preplanned. It doesn’t feel constrained to a corporate checklist, and while that keeps it far from perfect, it feels human- because it is.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
This whole thing was a risk! When we opened, we did so with $3,000 from a Kickstarter and a $1,000 personal loan. I quit my job, dropped out of school, and bet it all in a farmers market booth. I had nothing to lose by then, and it kept us able to adapt, grow, and change based on what we saw. Now we have a team of 9 people making a living wage, an option for healthcare. There’s always a risk and the chance something will turn the tide against us, but by taking risks, we have to provide more than just products and advice that keep us afloat.

Pricing:

• Unique Planters start at $7.50
• Giant plants starting at $100
• Puzzles and Art at $20
• A sense of place and wonder: priceless

Contact Info:

• Website: Pueblo.life
• Instagram: Pueblo.life

Image Credits
Pueblo.life