"When I was 25, I wanted to open a cafe that only sold double shots of espresso, and sold Sunday papers from across the country — a la Bulldog News in Seattle/Olympia, Washington. I worked at one, and wanted to rip it off in the Midwest," Matthis Helmick says.
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It wasn’t until he was 36 that MATTHIS HELMICK heard his career calling — to own his own plant shop in downtown Champaign. But the future one-man operation at Plant Mode on North Walnut Street knew long before that how he didn’t want to make a living.
“There used to be a grocery store at Kerr and Cunningham in Urbana,” he says. “I used to come in and clean the meat room. I had a locker to keep my work clothes in. I will never forget putting on my still-wet Chuck Taylors to mop up blood and such.”
A townie who spent parts of his youth in both Champaign and Urbana but graduated from Central — “go Maroons!” he says — Helmick attended Parkland College for a couple years before transferring to Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash.
One of the local leaders who past Beyond the Boardroom guest and downtown business owner Ashley Buerkett said she’d love to trade places with for a week — “except, as much as I love plants, I can’t keep them alive” — Helmick opened Plant Mode in 2013. The shop is part of this weekend’s Boneyard Arts Festival for the first time.
Helmick, who lives in Champaign with Cindy Beans the dog, took time out to answer questions from Editor Jeff D’Alessio in the 226th installment of our weekly speed read spotlighting leaders of organizations big and small.
"I’m pretty bad about treating myself to new threads, and I have been known to wear some shoes to the breaking point."
The hardest thing about being a leader is ... accepting the fact that I might be seen as one. I guess in the plant shop game, I might be considered a leader.
I don’t buy it, though.
My single favorite moment of all-time in this job … is a tie. Seeing my signage up in the window for the first time at my current shop location, it filled me with pride and joy, realizing my business was on a major downtown street.
Then there was the time I was floored by a person that drove up from St. Louis to purchase a rare philodendron that they saw on my Instagram the prior day. That made me feel like I was doing something right.
I can’t live without my ... radio. LL Cool J joke!
But seriously, I can’t live without my record players and mixer in my shop. They help provide the nice vibes in the shop. It’s always better with vinyl records.
When it comes to my philosophy on meetings ... Plant Mode is a one-person operation, so my meetings are moments of self pep talks. Yeah, people look at me strange when that’s happening.
On my office walls, you’ll find … a poster of J Dilla working at a makeshift music production area, (plus) a massive world map — I hope I can travel again — and a painting on glass from Senegal that my friend Mia gave me a long time ago.
My professional role model is ... my former boss lady at Sprout Home up in Chicago, Tara Heibel. She always challenged me to be better. I make no secret about my desire to be the Sprout Home of C-U.
Second place would be Sara Hudson, my former boss that used to own Dandelion. Both of these women made me a manager at some point, and they both showed me how to run a small business while having fun.
I’m frugal when it comes to … clothing and shoes. I’m pretty bad about treating myself to new threads, and I have been known to wear some shoes to the breaking point.
If I could trade places for a week with any other business person in town, I wouldn’t mind switching with … Disco Phil — Phil Deverell. He’s the best, most unassuming DJ in town. I think that’s a side job for him. But that’s my answer.
"Be nice and understanding with people. That’s a part of the vibe at the shop that is most important to me."
If I were to staff up, my one unbreakable rule of the workplace would be … just be nice and understanding with people. That’s a part of the vibe at the shop that is most important to me.
The question I’ve started with when interviewing candidates in the past is … could you run the shop if I were not here? Most people have answered no, which is one reason I don’t have employees yet. LOL.
The first thing I do when I get to work most days is … light incense that I sell in the shop, either Nag Champa or Super Hit, and then pick out an album to play. The musical start is very important to me.
Before lunchtime arrives … I grab a sweet snack from either Cafe Kopi or Suzu’s before I think about lunch. For food food, I hit a cadre of spots like Farren’s, Martinelli’s or Smith Burger.
I wind down after work by … walking my dog around Hessel Park, watching “PTI” and sometimes kicking it over at my friend’s house — garage/basement — with my old COVID pod buddies.
The last luxury in which I indulged was ... in January 2022, when I treated myself to an LA trip to see some friends and family and to get a couple tattoos.
The most beneficial college class I took was … The Political Economy of Race, Class and Gender, taught by Peter Bohmer at The Evergreen State College.
The last good book I read was … “Shakey,” a Neil Young biography.
My exercise routine consists of … dog walks, and I recently started a kettlebell routine. I have a bad knee, but I want to start running if my body lets me.
The first job I ever had was … washing dishes at Shakey’s Pizza on Prospect.
I knew this is what I wanted to do for a living at age … 36. That’s when I knew I wanted to open a plant shop.
When I was 25, I wanted to open a cafe that only sold double shots of espresso, and sold Sunday papers from across the country — a la Bulldog News in Seattle/Olympia, Washington.
I worked at one, and wanted to rip it off in the Midwest.
