b"Brown holds a Hoya heart, a very popularBrown and Haynie have been friends since gift. second grade at Clinton School.hersocialmediaexperiencetobuilddigital membership club designed for theirInstagramfollowing,postingpeople of color to thrive, sent them an teasers about their online store launch- invitation to set up a pop-up shop on ing in the summer.the Fourth of July. It was just a few days Borrowing Haynies dads truck foraway but the women agreedand sub-their inaugural run to haul plants fromsequently sold out all of their plants. their supplier, their first break came onHaynie says, I think that was really the return trip. Ethels Club, a Black- whatlaunchedus.Brownconcurs: woman-ownedco-workingspaceinIt really brought us into the Brook-Brooklynthatdescribesitselfasalynmarket,notingthat99percent oftheordersthey getfromNew York City are from Brooklyn. Itsclearthat Haynie and Brown complementone another with their skills. Says Haynie, The way our per-sonalities and work schedulesmesh, [theyare]actually reallyperfectfor the business. True toherengineer-ingbackground, Brown is all about schedulesandsys-tems. And Haynies digitalmarketing expertiseenables hertoprojectthe business'sperson-alitytoshow that its not about transactions,but relationships. Brown and Haynie credit Brown's sister, Devina (middle), for giv- They admit that ing them the idea to open their business, and named deVINE Plantery after her. thepandemichas 22/ matters magazine / fall 2020"