Written By

Emilie Stooksbury

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Oglewood Avenue: A Look Inside

Jade Adams is the stylish, hilarious owner of Oglewood Avenue – and frankly, we’d like to be her new best friend. (It’s not weird, okay? Don’t make it weird.)
Besides, considering the way she takes care of her plants, she’d be a good best friend to have.

Let’s back up:

Remember COVID-19? Right. Well, that pandemic clearly impacted all of us.
Daily routines, future plans, businesses all had to pivot.
Jade Adams, however, (you know, our future best friend) is used to pivoting.

A couple of years ago, she was planning on being a doctor who took photos as a hobby.
PIVOT: she became a professional photographer with a casual microbiology degree.

Starting a business as a young Black woman was not easy in Knoxville (she hadn’t even officially finished college before making the launch), but Jade has embraced the adventure.

“There’re not many people who look like you, you know?” she said, “So I love getting to highlight the people who do.”

Soon, people began seeking her out as a safe person to capture their moments and be a part of their stories. You can see it all over her photography page. Beautiful photos of all kinds of people grace the screen: Black people, White people, LGBTQ couples, interracial couples, the list goes on. There’s just a lot of love.

Jade brought that kind of love to her new business as well.

Remember how she pivots?

Well, a few months ago, she was a professional photographer with a plant hobby… but as social distancing kept being a thing, she decided it was time, yet again, to pivot. Now Jade has added a new title to her resume as well: Plant Mom Extraordinaire.

Raise your hand if you’re a millennial who likes plants. (*raises hand*)
Raise your hand if you’re a millennial who kills plants. (*raises hand*)

Friends, Jade is not going to let you kill her plants. No, buying plants from Oglewood Avenue is personal. In fact, you don’t buy them at all. You adopt them. They’re her babies, after all.

As you stroll through Oglewood Avenue and search for your new green child, she’ll also help you find the perfect pot, the perfect window in your house, the perfect plant friends to make your indoor jungle (or, hey, solitary tiny cactus – no one’s judging here) live long and prosper.

As much as she cares for her plants and her customers, Oglewood Avenue has even bigger cares. Jade is already using her new business to spread awareness and make change for the Black community – from action-oriented giveaways to donating a portion of her profits to activist groups. “More plants will be added daily and I will work my tail off to not only educate, but spark dialogue. We, as people, can do better,” Jade stated in a Instagram post last summer.

Okay, that’s not entirely true.

She’s actually been Plant Mom Extraordinaire for awhile now. In fact, her home was busting at the seams with them. These plants (or “plant babies” as she calls them) have always been serenaded and misted, pruned and ogled at, but now… they’re also for sale via her new business venture: Oglewood Avenue.

As we sat in a shared work space for this interview, her eyes kept wandering to the plant in the corner, “She needs to be rotated. Just a little bit. You see how it’s leaning? It just needs to be rotated.” In the midst of our conversation, I not only learned more about Jade and Oglewood Avenue – I also learned my (now dead, woops) plant may have needed a south facing window, or perhaps needed to be misted, or even dusted more regularly.

You learn something new everyday, friends.

And thankfully, Jade Adams is willing to teach.

Here are some things we learned in the midst of our conversation:
1.) I may have an actual chance at keeping a plant alive someday, if Jade helps.
2.) Moe Beez has amazing chicken wings (Jade casually goes two or three times a week, it’s fine).
3.) A brand new plant business, quietly nestled on N. Broadway, born in the midst of the pandemic, and passionate about greater causes is going to make some waves, friends. (In fact, it already is – have you heard of a little network called HGTV?)

So, if we can be so bold as to leave you with some advice: you could use a plant in your life. Happy shopping!

If you’d like to support more local Black Owned businesses in Knoxville, this is a good place to start!

Arabella Medical Aesthetics

Mention NEW2KNOX to get $50 OFF of your first treatment or procedure & 10% OFF of retail products!

KUB Fiber is Here!

Have you heard? KUB Fiber has landed in Knoxville! Serving both businesses and residential so you can enjoy the fastest WiFi from your favorite coffee shop or the comfort of your home! Click below to see if it is available at your address yet! 

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