Shoppers come for the shirts but stay for Ace and Ginger, the pouch-riding marsupials turning a small business into a local sensation.
Anna Price and Meghan Martinez thought they were simply browsing through downtown Plant City shops when they stepped into Hey Sister & Co.- until a baby kangaroo poked its head out of a pouch near the register.
The two women, who recognized the animals from a recent event at First Baptist Church Plant City, erupted into joy and surprise, joining the growing number of shoppers drawn to the new T-shirt boutique not just for its custom designs, but for its unexpected mascots: the store’s bottle-raised baby kangaroos.
“I have goats and chickens, but this is so fun,” said Price.
The unusual mix of retail and wildlife has helped the shop quickly become one of downtown’s liveliest shops. Run by twin sisters Vanessa Fletcher and Amanda Keys, Hey Sister & Co. grew from a cramped spare-bedroom business into a storefront buzzing with customers, families, and increasingly, baby kangaroo enthusiasts.
Fletcher launched her brand online three years ago under the name Righteous Designs. She started by asking local moms if they needed custom-designed T-shirts created, working with a tiny sublimation printer in her room. Business grew so quickly that Keys began helping take orders as Fletcher worked late pressing shirts at home. “It was way too overwhelming in my room,” Fletcher said. The operation then moved to a small office inside her house before the sisters decided it was time to look for space downtown.
They enlisted longtime friend Kinsey Lawton, whom they’ve known for 17 years since all three waited tables at Johnson’s Barbecue. On their first outing to scout for space, Fletcher missed a turn- and spotted a leasing sign in the window that would eventually become their shop.
“It was always a dream to have a store downtown,” Keys said. “All of our hearts want to see downtown grow.”
The sisters moved into the storefront in February, opening officially in May after festival season pushed back their grand opening.
Hey Sister & Co. takes its name from the phrase the sisters say to each other constantly: “Hey, sister.” In Plant City, they said, it’s also a term of endearment friends often use.
“A lot of people say we’re welcoming and have a good vibe,” Lawton said. “We just want everyone to feel included.”
The shop serves a broad range of customers, from moms ordering sports shirts to local businesses preparing for events such as the Plant City Christmas Parade. The sisters design shirts themselves and press them in store, but print off-site because the equipment takes up too much space.
The businesswomen joke that custom orders take five to seven business days, though they often finish within two. The shop keeps a rotating selection of holiday, game-day, and strawberry-themed designs, along with a table of Christmas prints ready for same-day pressing.
The Kangaroos
Ace, the nine-month-old kangaroo who spends most of the day lounging in a pouch, and Ginger, who is four months old, arrive at the shop every morning with Fletcher. Her husband holds a license for exotic animals through a side business, and one day told her he was going to raise kangaroos. She told him no, but he already had one on the way. She quickly got on board with the venture. “When we got him, I loved him so much we got two more,” she said. Fletcher bottle-feeds the animals every four hours and keeps a trough of hay and pellets in the pouch. “People cry when they hold him,” she said. “Wives will go out and get their husbands out of their cars to come in and see them.”
The kangaroos have drawn homeschool groups and families who check their kids out of school early. Fletcher expects Ace to stay in the shop for about another year before he grows too large; she has nine kangaroos at home.
“They just make it a party in here,” Lawton said. “It becomes a whole family thing and makes people happy.”
Hey Sister & Co. has extended hours through Dec. 23 – Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.- and plans to operate a booth at the Florida Strawberry Festival next year.
The shop is located at 115 W. Reynolds St. and can be reached at 656-233-3756 or at heysisterandco.com.
