By CHRISTINE SCHMID
JUNEAU EMPIRE © 2003

Web posted Thursday, January 9, 2003

Office workers in Juneau whose "office" is... the more common and more space-effecient cubicle, now can enjoy plants without having to forego limited desk space.

Andrew Engstrom, owner of the window-cleaning business Capital City Window, began selling partition planters through his new business, Partition-Planters.com, in mid-December.

The planters, which are plastic boxes that attach to cubicle walls and office partitions, allow plants to sit atop or between cubicles. They come in 12 colors and two shapes: rectangles, which sit on top of partitions or hang over the sides, or triangles, which fit into cubicles' corners.

Although Engstrom is happy to provide partition planters to Juneau residents, many of whom work in cubicles, his Web site also sells partition planters to the public nationwide.

"When I discovered partition planters the first thing I wanted to do was to buy one," Engstrom said. "An Internet search brought manufacturer firms, but there are no real Web businesses selling those products online, that I could tell."

Most of the manufacturers sell to interior landscapers, he said, meaning that a consumer would have to hire an interior designer to buy the planters.

Hines Pottery, a company in Houston, Texas, sells partition planters similar in size and shape to those Engstrom sells. Individuals can buy the planters directly from the company, a representative said, but customers generally find it more affordable to buy the planters through a professional interior landscaper.

Engstrom sells planters for $49.99 to $83.99, making buying the planters from him more affordable than hiring a professional designer, he said. He registered the domain name www.partition-planters.com and established a line of credit with the TOPsiders brand of partition planters.

His Internet site allows him to sell planters directly to people all over the United States.

"TOPsiders is a company that would manufacture and drop ship, so everything would be direct-shipping from the manufacturer," Engstrom said.

He will get a portion of the profits, and he offers his own 60-day guarantee on the planters, a guarantee that exceeds the manufacturer's.

Juneau residents have a choice between buying the planters online or buying them in person. Engstrom has arranged to sell a selection of the planters at Southeast Furniture Warehouse on Shaune Drive.

"I just thought it was a unique idea, something I hadn't seen," said Chris Jensen, an owner of Southeast Furniture Warehouse. "Being as we're a state government hub here, there's lots of offices with partitions."

Engstrom, not the store, will handle all of the business involved with stocking, marketing and guaranteeing the planters.

Working with Southeast Furniture Warehouse allows Engstrom to ship the planters to Juneau with the warehouse's larger orders, reducing the cost of shipping and allowing Engstrom to keep his prices low at the store.

Dear Mr. Engstrom:

I was reading the Juneau Empire the other day when I noticed the piece about your new business in partition planters. Congratulations on such a nice article.

Adding plants to an office really livens the space and makes it a better place to work. I think it's wonderful that you're able to team up with Southeast Furniture Warehouse to offer the planters here in town. The Internet has proved itself a great equalizer for making things available where they might not otherwise have been. It's always heartening to see people in Juneau take advantage of that.

Sincerely,

Kim Elton - Alaska Senate