Completing its recent move to 520 N. Neil St., Plant Mode remains a tale of resilience and passion since Matthis Helmick founded it in 2013.

Working as a one-person show, Helmick ensures Plant Mode is a space for plant enthusiasts and those not in tune with their green thumb by providing numerous services, maintaining a unique storefront and caring for his loyal customer base. 

By curating various retail goods and services and his collection of plants, Helmick avoids the status quo many other businesses follow. 

“There’s a bunch of plant shops in America that look like Apple stores,” Helmick said. “Laid-back, low-key — that’s how I want the plant shop to be.”

Plant Mode certainly defies the modernization of retail spaces with plants bursting from every surface, eclectic collections of art lining the walls and vinyls spinning on a record player. 

As a former Champaign-area DJ, Helmick’s passion for music can still be seen — or heard — in Plant Mode. 

“When I used to DJ around town, my whole thing was to provide a listening room for people, ideally different kinds of people,” Helmick said.

Helmick seeks to establish this “listening room” in Plant Mode as well. Patrons can get a well-rounded experience at Plant Mode with various tunes orchestrating their shopping trips. 

“I hear the word vibe from a lot of people, too, mostly younger folks; they’ll just be like on their way out, ‘It’s a good vibe in here,’ ‘I like the vibe,’” Helmick said. “I’ve heard it enough where I’m like, ‘I guess my shop has a good vibe.’”

Helmick combines his interests and retail experiences to create a truly one-of-a-kind shop. Plant Mode is not just selling plants — it is also an art gallery with various artwork by local artists available for purchase. 

Adding to the retail collection, crystals, stickers, jewelry, pins, records and candles are just a few of the assorted items found on the shelves between different plants. 

The community’s love of Plant Mode is evident through its loyal customer base; some even travel 60 miles to Champaign. 

“There’s (customers) from Greenup, Illinois,” Helmick said. “They’re one of my favorite couples. They just drive up here to come to Plant Mode and to go eat, and then they drive back.”

After the move, Plant Mode relies on its established patrons to maintain a steady stream of business, a change from its last location in downtown Champaign. 

While located downtown, Helmick noticed foot traffic from casual shoppers walking from store to store. However, located on the southeast corner of Columbia Avenue and Neil Street, Plant Mode resides on the outskirts of the downtown area. 

“I’m a little concerned though with the lack of the bonus foot traffic people,” Helmick said. “I feel like I need to do more outreach, do more events that are here, that are not even necessarily plant related, just to get more people in the space.”

Helmick recognizes the importance of outreach and community events to help rebuild the business lost from the move. In true Plant Mode fashion, Helmick lacks interest in typical plant shop events.

“There’s all the things that plant stores do that I honestly don’t want to do,” Helmick said.

Typical plant shop events include terrarium classes and plant 101 courses, which Helmick admits he will offer — albeit begrudgingly. 

“I’d rather open the shop, keep everything kind of normal … but (have) something fun in here that draws people,” Helmick said.

Future events Helmick looks to host include plant swaps, cocktail hours and live music nights. 

Despite the struggles the new location creates, it resolves some of the qualms shoppers had with the previous location.

“I’m on the very edge of downtown, so what I have noticed is my regulars, people who’ve shopped with me for years, they’re very enthusiastic about the ease of parking,” Helmick said. “Even though it’s meters here, these are always open.”

From a young age, Helmick recognized his love for retail and explored that in many different roles before Plant Mode.

“I’ve just always wanted to run a little store,” Helmick said. “You know, watching ‘Sesame Street’ when I was a little kid, Mr. Hooper ran a little store. I wasn’t like, ‘I want to be an old man who runs a little newsstand like Mr. Hooper,’ but I really did always enjoy retail.” 

Before working in a plant shop, Helmick worked at T.J. Maxx, several coffee shops and a vintage clothing store in Champaign. After attending college in Olympia, Washington, Helmick found himself stuck at a job in Chicago without much enjoyment. Miraculously, this job led him into the plant world. 

“I walked by a plant shop, and literally, it was on lunch break, and I went in to ask for a job,” Helmick said. 

He was then hired at Sprout Home, where he remained employed for 10 years. He ended his career there to move back to his hometown of Champaign. Within a year of his return, he opened Plant Mode.

Plant Mode’s beginning was humble, with Helmick starting the business out of his apartment. He has since moved locations several times before settling in at the current residence. 

“(The building owners) let me have the keys and come look at the spot on a nice sunny day, and I was like, ‘I think I want to do this,’” Helmick said. “So that’s how I got to this building.”

Serving as a collage of his interests and passions, Helmick hopes to incorporate new elements into Plant Mode soon. Recently, Helmick installed a drip coffee and tea bar, hoping to bring in patrons looking for a refreshing beverage. 

Thanks to his background working in coffee shops, Helmick will serve the coffee and tea bar while carrying out the typical tasks of a business owner and customer service representative. 

Helmick also wants to include a thrift-shop element to Plant Mode, yet again drawing on his experience working in a vintage clothing store. He enjoys creating displays and finding vintage items to sell to his customers. 

Through discovering his passions, Helmick stands as an inspiration after turning a dislike for his job into a career, creating space for people with shared passions to thrive. 

“I like retail, which is a weird thing to say, but I think it’s in this more small boutique setting that I like retail,” Helmick said. 

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