While Sheridan Anderson was making tens-of-thousands of dollars sewing and selling face masks, her next business was growing in another room.

Anderson, whose mask-making business The Hidden Smile took off in lockdown last year, had invested $3000 in “hundreds” of rare indoor plant seeds, and made half of that back when she sold just one plant alone.

“I’ve been entrepreneurial my whole life,” she laughed. “Now my family have started believing in my craziness.”

The Taranaki 27-year-old said she follows trends and has reaped the benefits of that – her mask making business immensely helped her and husband Jarrod build up a house deposit.

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The marketing manager for New Plymouth fashion store Et Vous has since closed The Hidden Smile and moved onto her next venture – growing and selling rare Anthuriums.

Anderson grew up in New Plymouth but had been living in Melbourne until 2020, when she and Jarrod returned to New Zealand after Covid saw her lose her job, and his work slow.

But, when she was living overseas, she fell in love with indoor plants and built up a collection, including a “beautiful monstera”.

When they had to leave, it “broke” Anderson’s heart that she had to say goodbye to the plant.

“But it sold on Marketplace in 20 minutes.”

When the pair first moved back they were living in Dunedin, and Anderson was struggling to find work.

So, she put her business hat on.

She had heard a family friend in “little old Balclutha” was overwhelmed with face mask orders, so she bought a sewing machine and started The Hidden Smile.

At the same time she thought: “People loved plants in Australia, I’m sure they love them here.”

Anderson then spent two months looking into what seeds she could import and in December 2020 she ordered her first lot of Anthurium seeds – but they were “very rare”.

Each seed was about $50 a pop, and she spent $3000 on her first order.

“It’s not a cheap investment,” Anderson said. “It takes about a year to get them to a stage that’s sellable.”

Anderson and her husband moved to New Plymouth last year and in August, as the plants were growing, New Zealand went into alert level 4 lockdown.

The mask making picked up, and in one week alone Anderson made 700 masks and $13,000.

“It got to a point where I just couldn’t do it on my own.”

In a matter of months she and her seven contractors had sewn 2500 masks – “and you can only do about seven in an hour”.

In November, business slowed right down, but that didn’t matter – her Anthuriums were nearing a point where she could sell them.

The following month she sold her first for $1500.

In recent months, the different Anthuriums haven’t gone for the same amount, but around $400 each.

She knows their prices could drop quickly if the plants become more common, but she has already invested in her next seeds, and is keeping an eye on the market.

“When I’m thinking ahead, I’m thinking what is the next trend,” she said. “Let’s do some research, see where the trends are going.”

While the seeds are expensive, and have about a 75% survival rate, Anderson is feeling confident.

She’s working towards starting an even bigger business, which she will work at full time, called Flure – which will encompass the plants, home decor, and candles.

“I’m not scared about it anymore,” she said. “I see the long term goal.”