Alexander O’Brien

Founder of Marly / Manhattan, NY

Alex is one of the most creative people I have met in New York. He is the founder of Marly, an innovative brand with a mission to make gardening a part of everyone’s daily life. Alex creates a community of plant lovers, brings people together to make gardening sustainable, approachable and easy. He creates conversations and connections between people and the natural world and influence how humans can bring more life to our planet rather than damaging it. Recently, Marly introduced The Marly Pot, a self-watering, modular planter to grow plants easily at home. Earlier this year, I had the chance to be a part of the campaign shoot in my apartment. His passion and drive to create his brand have always inspired me since day one. I always wanted to interview him and I am very happy to share his creativity, ideas and life with you. Enjoy :)

You can find him @alexobrien and Marly @marlygarden as well as marlygarden.com :)

Tell us a bit about you, who are you?

My name is Alex O’Brien. I’m the founder of a company called Marly that helps people grow plants successfully at home through the power of our community and environmentally-friendly, design-driven products. I’m originally from Iowa but have been living and working out of NYC for the last 6 years as a brand strategist and designer.

Being from the Midwest, I always took for granted the importance of my proximity to nature and agriculture. The last few years in the city have made me realize that this is an integral part of who I am. After 4 years of working closely with clients in fashion, beauty and retail, I began to learn that the systems and services that most of our favorite companies offer didn't help me sleep any better at night and there was a lack of transparency when it came to the global effects that many industries have on the plant and our environments. We act as though we are somehow separate, or worse, superior to nature. When in reality, we ARE nature. At Marly, I want to explore the endlessly curious connections between people and the natural world and influence how humans can bring more life to our planet rather than damaging it. 

When we met earlier this year, I was blown away by your innovative ideas about gardening at home and taking care of the environment. Would you share with us how your passion for Marly Garden started and your mission behind the brand?

Absolutely. After getting furloughed during the pandemic, my business partner and I wanted to create a garden that we could cook/create/entertain with. But what we’d later come to find out is that this is not as easy as it sounds. Between trips to Home Depot, Lowe’s, local hardware stores and nurseries, we knew there needed to be an easier way for people to grow plants at home. Our mission is to not only help people grow plants successfully but to inspire them to create, share and collaborate with other growers. 

We’ve been working with chefs, mixologists, dermatologists and leaders in design and manufacturing to influence the way people integrate plants into their lives. We believe that if we can instill a level of confidence that currently missing with many plants owners, that they become more curious about all that they can do with what they grow at home. 

Let’s also talk about your own life with plants beyond Marly. How do you incorporate them into your life and do you have any recommendations for people who want to create a home filled with them?

Yes! I’ve always had plants living in NYC, whether it be for aesthetic or utilitarian purposes, they’ve consistently brought this sense of oasis to my spaces. However, I’ve gone through more plants than I’d like to admit due to the obvious constraints that NYC apartments pose. Whether it was space, light or lack of knowledge around what I was growing, I slowly began to try and learn more about how I could be a better plant owner. What l tell people now is just to start small. Start with a plant or two and go from there. Plants have the power to influence your daily routine and compliment to more than just your interior design. Whether it’s pruning, watering, repotting or harvesting, growing plants instills a desire to better my personal practices at home and in my own communities here in New York.

Lastly, how can our readers be a part of Marly's community and mission?

Thanks so much for asking! You can preorder Marly Pot is now available on Indiegogo until the 18th of December. Following the campaign, you’ll be able to purchase directly from our site www.marlygarden.com and a handful of selected retailers. Keep up with all things green with @marlygarden on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok and feel free to shoot us a message with your collections at home. We’re always looking to collaborate with and feature creators doing awesome work with the natural world.

The Marly Water and The Marly Pot are some of the most innovative products I've seen in a long time really. Tell us a bit about the products and your mission with it.

That’s so nice to hear. We’ve often found the easiest way to describe Marly is the Peloton, but for plants. We create low maintenance, state of the art products for your home, that are each backed by an online community informing what you can do with what you grow. Our debut product is a patented, self-watering pot that eliminates the need to water your plants each week by allowing them to feed themselves through a natural wicking process. Over the last year, we’ve been working with communities all of the country to understand the biggest problems facing plant owners today. We’ve taken these insights and weaved them into not only the Pot itself, but supplemental products that help inform a healthier practice for you and your plants. Marly Water was the first of these supplemental products and is our natural plant fertilizer that was released in limited runs throughout the earlier part of 2021. 

Marly is outfitting the 21st century gardener with everything you need to grow successfully at home and connecting you with other, likeminded individuals that share a passion for the power of plants. 

Like you asked me in our interview, do you have a dream plant? Also, do you have some favorite plant shops around the city to recommend to our readers?

Yes! I’d to adopt a bonsai practice. It’s always fascinated by the art of bonsai but haven’t made the time to dive into the art just yet - soon! Beyond that I’ve always wanted a collection of edibles whether it be root veggies, herbs or fruit trees in my apartment. Only after I get the space! 

I always try and support local businesses here in NYC and have had the best experiences with the teams at Dahing in Chinatown and Tropical Plants & Orchids in the Flower District and The guys at Cactus Store on the Lower East Side.