A Prickly Affair - Cultural Documentary Film Directed by Michael Firus. Produced by Visia Studios

A charming look into the amazing word of Adam Livingston’s iconic A Prickly Affair. The OG succulent and cacti vendor in Victoria, Adam’s business has become an icon of Melbourne’s market culture.
Documentary by Visia Studios. For distribution inquiries visit our website: www.visiastudios.com/
My website: michaelfirus.com/
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- My grandfather had the first nursery for hash plants and succulents in the UK. I almost remember getting my first plant from him. It gives pleasure to so many people and then there are a lot of people that are collecting. I'm Adam Livingston, probably from the accent you can guess where I come from. Scotland, if you didn't know. I have been growing plants for a hundred years. If it's not, it feels like it. At Prickly Affair I slowly started it up, about five years ago. And it's not gonna be huge 'cause I don't want it to be. Basically the main thing is succulents and I started this line of mini cacti, mini succulents and living necklaces, which are probably the most popular because nobody else, as far as I'm aware, does them. And everything from fridge magnets, to little mixed gardens. And some varieties are more popular than others, this is a very very popular one, and travelers are very temperamental they die very easily. But everybody likes them, so we have to make more of them. I've had this one plant for years, and this is the first year of being able to get a quantity out of them. I probably had it for about eight years. When some people discovered that it was like a profitable business, then they would go to farmers who were growing rice and tell them, and those farmers cut out all rice and vegetables, whatever they grew, without a reason why they grew it. And now it's probably because there's so many succulents around, you probably better going back into vegetable works, but there are so many varieties and new varieties being developed. What's your favorite? That's always the question. And it's always the same answer, which one of your children. Would you say where's your favorite? You have no favorites. They're all nice. They're all beautiful. And each one have got their own particular characteristics and beauty, which is a Nerve sensor, probably real operation then we have leaf cutting. And then slowly the roots come out and the little plant starts forming. Even some of them flower. Here we go. Now like coming into terrarium production area, terrarium lining up, turning it over to Kate.
- Okay. My name is Kate Valencia and I work for a prickly affair since the beginning of the year. And I make terrariums. And this is a lodge teardrop. I've started off with the Mikila at the bottom and just regular potty mix on top. This is dry moss, I'm putting a fine layer of that on top. So this is where I make the clothes terrariums. More and more.Besides, These ones are much more fun to make. Cause you can like stick your whole hand in there. Whereas these ones tend to get a little bit infuriating. I studied some sort of environmental science stuff at uni back in Perth. And then I've went traveling and basically moved to Melbourne to get a job back in some sort of, kind of, I like working with plants and I wanted to use my degree basically. I didn't realize I turned who they were until I started working with them and like went to the markets and stuff and people just go, Oh my God, they're so cute. Oh wow. You guys are really into them. Thought it was just me that like plants.
- Sometimes people come and they evil and then they try and hurt my plants. Especially like the skateboarders. Every single time they pass, I have like a mini heart attack. I'm like, what if my plants get hurt? But you just have to get used to it. Hi, I'm Michelle and I worked for a prickly affair in the Melbourne city kiosk before I worked here, I was basically just doing uni this and that, and then got a job here. And now my life is just study and cactus, very uneven here. How many like cactuses and things we sell. And it's really great in the summer. I cant wait until it gets to like the Christmas season, but then I'll be like half. And then so many people visit me.
- I'll try this one.
- Do you wanna see more of those, I got a couple more
- I know you've got like some pretty good mixers coming around. We've got the broad Leafs, like the purple version. Normally we only have like the blue ones. The best part about working here is that I get to spend a lot of time with like really cute plants. And then you can look after them, and when they grow, and when they flower and when they change color and stuff.