Chrissie Larkin (Verra Studios) and Caitlin Hastings (Botanica) in Birmingham, AL — Chrissie Larkin (Verra Studios) and Caitlyn Hastings (Botanica) will be sharing space at the Burger-Phillips building and open Aug 3, 2019 (Photo by Jon Eastwood for Bham Now)

Two new small businesses are getting ready to open their doors at 11AM on Saturday, August 3 in a space they’ll be sharing at Birmingham’s historic Burger-Phillips Department Store building (1914 3rd Avenue North). Verra Studios offers unique handcrafted jewelry and Botanica specializes in pot plants.

Window display of Botanica and Verra Studios in Birmingham, AL — Both businesses will share a grand opening Aug 3 at 11AM (Photo by Jon Eastwood for Bham Now)

The new businesses are getting ready for their grand opening and will be coordinating giveaways and special offers over their inaugural weekend. Bham Now was given a sneak peek and here’s what we found.

Verra Studios – custom jewelry pieces

Verra offers one of a kind pieces made right here in Birmingham.

Owner, Chrissie Larkin, told me she has been creating jewelry for more than 15 years, previously selling her unique and versatile designs at pop-up events.

Handmade jewelry — Verra Studios designs (Photo via Verra Studios)

Chrissie showed me some of the unique pieces made from materials such as amethyst, mixed metals and diamonds, pearls, jade, pyrite, and more

Jewelry on table display — Jewlery is made from a variety of different materials (Photo by Jon Eastwood for Bham Now)

The designs are versatile so you can wear many of the pieces in different styles (long bracelet/short bracelet/bracelet/anklet) and some of the designs offer interchangeable pieces.

Chrissie said, “This is our first store and I’m so excited about opening! We have put so much effort and so much heart and soul into getting this place ready for Saturday. It’s been a family effort – with my kids even helping to sweep and mop to make sure everything looks great!”

Jewelry and pot plants on display — Jewelry pieces and pot plants are displayed side-by-side (Photo by Jon Eastwood for Bham Now)

Jewelry close up — Vibrant designs (Photo via Verra Studios)

Botanica – a houseplant shop

Caitlyn Hastings is a full-time physician assistant and plant enthusiast ‘with a passion for people and houseplants’.

“I started by doing home consultations for friends who couldn’t keep plants alive, and then it turned into consultations for people I didn’t know. I then did pop-ups downtown selling plants. But this was the dream (having a store) and I’m so excited about Saturday!”

Various pot plants on display — Perfect for your indoor space (Photo by Jon Eastwood for Bham Now)

If you’re looking to make your space greener, there’s a treasure trove of pot plants at Botanica.

Pot plants on shelf — Lots of variety for inspiration (Photo by Jon Eastwood for Bham Now)

Caitlyn said Botanica will help pick the right plants for your space and provide detailed tips on how to take care of them.

Lots of pot plants — Botanica has plenty of plants and will help you select what will work for your space (Photo by Jon Eastwood for Bham Now)

So what did Caitlyn recommend as good starter plants that are easy to take care of?

“I like to recommend a snake plant or a zee zee plant. Succulents are also really easy to take care of. My goal is to help people wherever they are in their plant journey.”