About Plant & Peck
What is Plant & Peck?
Plant & Peck is the realization of a dream that started with a video game, a love of arts and crafts, and a desire to connect more with animals and the natural world. Though often described with terms like “we” and “us,” the venture is run by one person. My name is Kayleigh, and I do all the crafts, animal chores, events, markets, social media and more–all while working full time as a children’s librarian.
Our Mission
Though the mission has shifted since I came up with the name in 2024, the goals remain the same: help people connect more with animals and the products we derive from them (eggs and fiber), teach crafts and other traditional skills to keep us grounded in an increasingly digital and convenience-based world, and to connect with our local community.
Background
Though Plant & Peck officially incorporated in 2025, its story starts much earlier. While attending Georgia Tech, I became obsessed with the indie video game Stardew Valley and wanted to experience some aspects of that simpler life myself. Although the campus is beautifully landscaped, I was starting to miss the connection with nature and other living things that I had at home–where there was a pond outside my window that wildflowers grew around every year, a small herd of house cats, and a forest full of songbirds behind our backyard (well…until they tore it down to put up a subdivision). But at the time, the closest I could get was the IKEA houseplants in my midtown apartment.
When COVID lockdown hit and I had to move back home, I saw my chance–I started a small garden with kids from the cul-de-sac and snuck 3 hens into our HOA backyard (bribing the neighbors with eggs to keep our little secret). This first iteration of my “farm” kicked off a love for all things gardening and animals, as well as the joy of sharing that with others.
Around the same time, I started an Etsy shop where I sold a variety of items–mostly felt gnomes. I had subscribed to craft boxes as a kid and always liked making stuff, but I particularly fell in love with using felt as a medium. While most of what I sold was made with acrylic craft felt (due to its cost-effectiveness), I loved the feel of using pure wool felt–I just saved that for things I made for myself and family.
In 2021, our family moved to a larger property, where I was freed not only from HOA restrictions, but a lot of space restrictions as well. There were several ups and downs during this time while I tried to figure out how to care for additional animals mostly on my own–which are a lot more complicated to care for than they are in Stardew Valley (believe it or not!). Predators, escaping goats, chickens destroying my garden and more feature in this part of the story. But, through trial and error, I started to get the hang of things. And as both my knowledge and interest grew, I started to educate others about animal characteristics and care.
My Etsy shop also began to take off during this time. I was working part-time, still going to school (now for my Master’s online), and crafting in between. I was invited to be a vendor at the Acworth Art Fest in 2022, and I returned again in 2023.
Once I started working full-time, things started to slow. My Etsy shop closed. My garden became unmanageable every August. The only thing I really kept up with were my chickens. In 2024, I decided to start a roadside farmstand, mainly selling eggs and plant starts–leading to the name “Plant and Peck.”
It was a nice compromise with little commitment (only open one day a week in the spring) while I finished school and figured out a work-life balance. At this time, I was also dealing with health issues that led to several rare chronic illness diagnoses (EDS/POTS/MCAS), surgery, and over two years of physical therapy twice a week.
Current Iteration
In 2025, I finished school and decided to switch my focus from eggs and vegetables to fiber and fiber arts. I purchased and adopted several angora rabbits and an angora goat, learned how to spin yarn, and began experimenting with growing and using natural dyes. I reopened my Etsy shop, now under the Plant & Peck name, and did my first market in over 2 years in August. Now, instead of just gnomes, I make a variety of items with sustainable wool-blend or pure wool felt as well as needle felting.
I have also fallen totally in love with Angora rabbits. My first bunny, Alfie, is a certified therapy animal with Happy Tails Pet Therapy and can also be found regularly at the West Cobb Library and accompanying me at markets. We also offer school & camp visits. The others, though slightly less personable, also make appearances at friends’ farms, community events, library socials, and more. Now that I’ve mastered their care, I am learning more about working with their fiber, which is unbelievably soft.
Goals for the Future
Moving forward, I plan to expand my dye garden, expand my fiber arts portfolio, offer classes, and open up our Bunny Barn–which will serve as the home base for all our operations. The bunnies already have more events booked in 2026, and Alfie is well on his way to becoming a local celebrity at markets.
My long-term dream is to get a few sheep, a couple of alpacas, and maybe even open our own little fiber arts shop, but for now I am having to limit my ambitions due to my physical health and the amount of hours in a week. Good thing I remain connected to fellow local fiber farms and have access to all the wool, mohair, and alpaca a girl can dream of!
Plant & Peck 