Back in 2014, Heather Barbieri and her sister started creating furniture décor pieces by adding lichen to thrifted items. “They were unique, beautiful, and didn’t cost us much to produce,” Heather recalls. From there, Lichen or Knot took many turns, including becoming a vintage vendor, selling tables made from pallet wood and metal pipe at large retail shows from Pennsylvania to South Carolina.

It wasn’t until just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit that Lichen or Knot blossomed into its current shape. According to Heather, she and her husband John began taking plants to their vintage shows, where they sold very quickly. “John and I realized that we could probably sell plants just as well without traveling to the shows,” Heather says. “People enjoyed buying plants from us so much that we could literally sell them out of the back of a truck. And we wouldn’t have to go so far from home.” After purchasing an old gray plumbing truck with a rebuilt engine from a friend, Heather and John rolled their plant-based dreams onto the road with fingers crossed and hopes high. “I knew then,” Heather says, “that I had to give it all I could. This was my chance.”

If Lichen or Knot were a budding plant, then the Roanoke Regional SBDC was the nutrient-rich food that fed it. “Community and Economic Development Director Lydeana Martin connected us with the SBDC’s business advisor, Tom Tanner, who helped us with financials,” Heather explains. “Then we contacted Cheryl Tucker, advisor for the New River Valley area. John and I met with Cheryl many times, and it’s been invaluable.” 

Cheryl’s seasoned advice made all the difference. “She walked us back from the ledge,” says Heather. “John and I were considering a lease agreement for a brick-and-mortar shop in a very prime location. It didn’t take long for Cheryl to realize the danger that we were about to get into. She gently suggested that, while it may work out fine, we shouldn’t rush into an agreement until we had done the hard work of writing a business plan,” Heather goes on. “Business plans aren’t much fun, so it wasn’t what I wanted to hear. But she was absolutely right. We simply weren’t ready.” Heather and John also participated in the C4 Program offered through the SBDC, where they received insights from professional advisors, marketing tools, and other helpful resources that they were able to use on a day-to-day basis.

As the cooler weather set in, Heather and John felt the need to move the business out of their home and into its own space; they couldn’t go through the holidays with flats of monsteras, hoyas, and pothos covering their floors. They found a location in Floyd too beautiful to pass up and opened the doors on Black Friday. Customers from Roanoke, Blacksburg, Radford, and Christiansburg poured in — all Heather and John could have hoped for and more. 

Heather explains their success: “We are offering an experience that people want to return to. Custom care, much like a tailor shop, is what we are going for. I guess that is unique coming out of an old gray plumber’s truck that drives up and down a dirt road every day to bring plants to the people who want them.”