The Sill opens new West Coast store, launches online forum

The Sill, an online and brick-and-mortar retailer specializing in houseplants, hosted a grand opening Feb. 13 for its newest location, a storefront in the West Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles. 

The Los Angeles store marks the first location on the West Coast for the New York City-based company, which operates two stores in Manhattan in the Upper West Side and Lower East Side, as well as an ecommerce platform.  

ALSO READ: 'A plant on every sill': The Sill adds value to every plant it sells by “inspiring confidence in the next generation of plant parents.”

Eliza Blank, CEO and founder of The Sill, launched the online segment of the company in 2012 after moving to NYC and not being able to find houseplants, or the information to properly care for them, easily in the city. She wanted to connect people with plants and make plant care simple for beginners. She opened the first storefront in 2014 to complement what the company offered online. 

The Sill hosts weekly plant care workshops online and in-store, and the company has also launched The Sill Forum, an online community for people to ask care questions, identify plants, show off their flora and more.

Blank says she encourages and welcomes garden center experts to participate in the Forum and share their expertise and advice. Although it is not a promotional tool, the Forum could expose "plant parents" to independent garden centers in their community. 

“We genuinely just want to foster dialogue. The more experts, the better for our customers who are newbies,” Blank said in an email. 

Editor's Note: Blank is a member of the Garden CenterEditorial Advisory Board