Having a whole craft collection might be familiar in the public eye, but it is almost nowhere to encounter a peculiar plants collector in town. Let alone establish a business combining art and those plants. But, Danies Sie, who was traveling to Japan to pay a friend a visit, never thought he would be captivated and started to collect it as his friend did. While being a collector rookie back then, Danis realize how much more enticing the plant was if there’s a vessel that matches its beauty. With a compelling story behind each plant, Specimen Lab (@specimenlab) wants to show the peculiar plants also deserve to be a daystar.

Hi Danis! Please tell us about your newest project Specimen Lab!

So, Specimen Lab is a brand project focusing on art plants, planters, and objects. ‘We’re focusing on rare, peculiar, slow-growing creatures and desert plants, such as cactus, xerophyte, pachypodium, haworthia and more. Along with it, there are special pots ‘we’ve created to fit its unique ”personality.”

It’s fascinating you choose those plants since ‘it’s a rare thing in local markets. So, how did it started?

There is no business idea whatsoever in the beginning. It just happens when I visited some friend in Japan ‘who’s a collector of plants like pachypodium and Madagascar plants. My friend talked me into it and showed me his collection. By then, I was hooked and started collecting it too.

At first, I was collecting plants like cactus, pachypodium, etc. and planting it in a plastic pot. However, some of the plants got rotten, so I switch the pots with a clay one. Then, I found an odd feeling and thinking that the plant itself has a distinct character, and a regular clay pot ‘doesn’t do much in showing its beauty. So, I think it is a good idea to make a special pot that has character, unique and match with the plant features and ‘that’s what I am aiming about through Specimen Lab.

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