Conversations: Green Ducks Plant Syndicate
Alex Hill and David Sukhai discuss GDPS, inspirations, fashion and how to deal with failure.
Words by FP Team
GDPS
Co-Founders Alex Hill and David Sukhai have launched their direct to consumer (DTC) houseplant company Green Ducks Plant Syndicate with nothing but determination and faith. What was once a conversation, has now unfolded into a steadily growing following for plants. To understand more about GDPS, Frasspot sat down with the co-founders to discuss inspirations, fashion & how to deal with failure.
Alex, in private conversation we’ve had time to get to know each others’ back story, but for those who are not familiar with you guys do you mind telling us a bit about yourself?
AH: I was born in Germany, but grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida. I grew up playing sports, it was always an important part of my life. Also, growing up in Florida, plants and greenery was surrounding me and I grew an appreciation for it. In summertime, my grandmother had me gardening with her, so this was the beginning of my love for plants. I went off to play college ball, and then played basketball professionally in Europe for several years. After basketball, I transitioned into the fashion industry and moved to New York where I had several fashion internships for incredible brands. Also, I ended up managing high level streetwear brands like Public School NY and Kith. During the pandemic, I pivoted into plants because I was home so much. It made me realize how important plants are in my life. But beyond that I found a love for plant styling and interior design with a focus on plants.
DS: Born and raised in Canada before moving to Florida. I first started gardening with my family as it’s a big part of our culture. My love only grew when I worked in a laboratory on genetically modified plants during my undergraduate career. I ended up being the lead grower at the greenhouse and turned down a PhD offer in California to go to medical school. I’ve always been into the arts and street culture, and this just continued to grow as I learned more about the world.
Reflecting on your upbringing, it seems like your life has revolved around plants in some form. Do how did you guys meet?
AH: Ironically, we met at a plant shop. David walked in and I was working. I saw he was wearing Tom Sachs, general purpose shoes. He was on his way to the hospital to work. I told him I also had a pair of Tom Sachs and showed him a picture of my Tom Sachs Mars Yards 2.0. David realized that I wasn’t just a normal sneakerhead and we spoke more about plants and fashion, and realized we had a lot of alignment between the two of us. David and I would start to trade things like shoes and plants. (laughing)
That is dope the fact that you guys met in a plant shop and are now owning your own plant business is incredible. Let’s pivot to inspirational figures in your life. Do you have any one that comes to mind and what inspires you about them?
AH: My parents inspired me from seeing how hard they work. They never gave up on things they truly believed in, which continues to inspire me today. Additionally, Kanye West’s passion and belief is inspiring. The way he believes in himself, his level of confidence, despite peoples’ opinions of him he continues to push forward.
DS: My mother definitely gave me a lot of foundation for a lot of things I do today and how I do them. But I have to say, when I wanted to learn, Jay-Z had a lot to teach. If you dig into the details, there’s a lot of lessons there. For example, when he started his own label, I interpreted that as “you can create your own path.”
To David’s point, I agree. In Jay-Z’s songs D’evils he says “Nine to five is how you survived, I ain’t trying to survived I’m trying to live it to the limit and love it a lot.” I interpreted that as going against the norm and betting on yourself.”
DS: Agree.
GDPS
So you guys meet at a plant shop and started building a connection from there. At what point did you start experimenting with the idea of starting a plant business?
DS: It was an idea Alex and I started playing around with when we realized there was potential for us to work together. We’ve talked about it all year but really got started at the end of summer. We put a small plan in place with several directions to go in. And then finally we decided to put the plant in motion and have just been grinding it non-stop ever since.
You guys have a simple but practical workspace. Do you mind describing your workflow?
DS: (laughing) Man, there’s a lot of parts to our business. One key thing, is Alex and I constantly meet and talk throughout the day. We each have roles and tasks; we complete them and regroup to talk about it. Alex definitely does a lot of design, and so he will go into his creative space, and reappear with creations. I will go into my cave and figure out solutions or ways to make things happen. I love to build the actual business. Another part of it is that we both are motivated the more we get things done. We make one thing happen and it hypes us up to make the next thing happen, and the next, and so on.
Understood, so you focus on the operations and Alex focuses on the creative side of the business.
DS: Yeah.
When starting a business there are many obstacles to overcome. One obstacle is the thought of failure. Have you ever experienced failure and how did you grow from that experience?
AH: When we encounter failure, we don’t look at it as such. It’s a learning experience.
DS: The key is to grow from it and move on.
GDPS
For someone who wants to get into owning a small plant business what advice would you give them?
AH: Definitely do your research, and most importantly, be ready to take action.
DS: “When you want to eat, you have to be near the kitchen.”
You have a solid resume within the fashion/retail sector with companies like Louis Vuitton, Kith, and PSNY under your belt. Do you see a difference between your fashion career path and your current endeavor?
AH: My fashion career has definitely given us inspiration, direction and connections. Our business features plants, but it’s built on a foundation of design and fashion. It’s not just a plant shop, it’s so much more!
What is your take on the current state of fashion?
AH: I think it’s the worst state it's ever been in. It lacks creativity, it lacks compassion.
DN: I agree with the lack of creativity and compassion and the lack of uniqueness in the current state of fashion. However, fashion is mostly derived from youth culture with the exception of fashion houses who often design from heritage with modern interpretations. Therefore what we see now as the worst state of fashion, other may disagree.
Any final words of inspiration?
DS: If you want to have a business, do your research, but most importantly: you need to take action. Countless times I’ve seen people say that they have ideas or they want to do something, but barely anyone puts in the time, effort, and sacrifice. If you want it, make it happen: make some calls, talk to people, do some research, etc. “How bad do you want it?”
Check out GDPS online shop and follow the brand social media for upcoming releases below.
FP Team covers cannabis, fashion, lifestyle, and design in New York. More about Frasspot
Jan 31, 2024 – Updated Aug 13, 2024More in Journal
ADVERTISEMENT