In this featured interview, meet Michelle Horst ! Michelle and her cat, Petunia, live in Philadelphia. Michelle is the founder and creator of Room Shop Vintage which sells vintage and makes new products from dead stock and all locally sourced materials...
Get to know the pair individually, then all together!
enjoy xoxo!!
-Anneliese
Meet the Human-
1. what is your name? Michelle Horst
2. what is your calling in life? unclear
3. what is your favorite color? so many it all depends on the season and the year but right now I love all pastels
4. What is your favorite type of food or meal? I love italian food! Pasta and wine!
5. what is a smell that makes you happy? a campfire in the fall
6. what inspired you to do what you are doing now? I always wanted to have creative control and after years of being creative for other people i decided it was time to work for myself.
7. if you could tell your younger self something you wish you knew now, what would it be? I would tell her it's all going to go just fine. keep asking questions and learning new things.
8. if you had super powers what would they be? to clone myself so I could get more done in a day
9. if you had one word to describe your self, what would it be? strong
10. What are the unwritten rules of where you work? I make the rules haha and it's just my husband and i so the rules change based on what we need. Communication is key.
11. what do you enjoy doing when you aren’t working? I love being in nature. When we are able to get away we like to go to the mountains, whether in colorado or the catskills it helps us stay grounded.
Meet the Pet-
1. what is your name? Petunia
2. what breed are you? I'm a Tortie
3. how old are you? human or animal years is fine. I'm about 3 and a half years old
4. if you had super powers, what would it be? Invisibility Cloak (i'm very shy)
5. who is your role model in life? I really look up to my mom, i like to follow her everywhere in the house. She's taught me to be more open and to use my voice to tell her what i want (mew!)
6. tell us your adoption/rescue story… I was taken in from the streets of philadelphia for a TNR but I was so young and so tiny they were worried about putting me back on the streets after I was fixed. So I was taken to an adoption center and my (soon to be) mom was volunteering there! She took one look at me and how scared I was and offered to take me home to foster me. We spent lots of time together while I healed and we really bonded. When people started to inquire about adopting me my mom said NO WAY.
7. favorite color? I have a pink catnip toy that i really love
8. what is the ultimate cheat meal for you? I really love chicken baby food. I'm super picky about food and snacks but i absolutely love chicken baby food. My mom fed it to me when i was little and wouldn't eat anything else so i guess it is comforting for me.
9. what nicknames do you go by? Tinker or Tunia
10. how did you get your name? is there any significance behind it? I was given the name Petunia because I'm so shy.
11. what is the best and worst thing about being a dog (or cat)? The best thing is having lots of places to nap. The worst thing is I can't always go outside when I want to!
12. what is something you want people to know about you? (BONUS ANSWER)* I have very strong opinions I'm just not super comfortable expressing them
Now Meet the Pair-
1. take us through your morning routines together… Petunia comes in the morning and sits next to my head. If I sleep too long she'll wake me up with a high pitched short little MEW. Then we go downstairs together I feed Petunia and make coffee and then we go outside into the garden together and have some outdoor time before starting our day. I answer emails on my phone, Petunia curls up in the catnip or hunts bugs.
2. do you ever dress a like? Petunia feels very strongly about not ever wearing clothes so I respect her wishes.
3. what are your favorite things to do together? I love our mornings and evenings in the garden
4. favorite game to play together? Petunia's favorite toy is her ribbon! She loves to run and jump and chase it.
5. what is something that your pet does that gets on your nerves? She has very strong boundaries about snuggles. Its always on her terms and often only at night when I lay down to go to sleep. I want to snuggle her constantly but that's not her vibe.
6. what is the best thing about having each other? We have such a strong bond. I love that she needs me and I need her.
7. what is your favorite memory together? When she was a tiny kitten and so shy she just would hide under the bed I finally figured out that she loved to play. Those first few times she forgot herself and forgot to be scared just to let go and chase a toy was the best.
8. what is the funniest thing your pet has ever done? She was so scared of the stairs when she was little that she would only ever stay upstairs unless i carried her down. My therapist told me to imagine being as little as her and to see if i looked at things from her perspective if i had any ideas. I realized the stairs rail was so far apart it looked like a cliff to her! so i put blankets over the rail and then went to take a bath. I left the door open so i could see out and wouldn't you know that tiny little kitty just walked right down those stairs like it was no big deal once the blankets were up!
9. how long have you been together? I got Petunia when she was 9 months old so around 3 years
10. what is the hardest thing about caring for your pet? I wish she could talk. She has skin allergies so its hard to know the best way to care for her sometimes
11. Do you inspire each other in any way? if so, how and why? She relaxes me even when everything is super stressful. we have to keep our routine otherwise I feel like I will let her down. I want her to be happy all the time and she wants me to be happy too. Our routine helps both of us stay calm.
Is there anything else you'd like to add about you and your pet(s)? I never knew a difficult rescue was in the cards for me. I'm so happy we found each other and have been able to grow so close.
A big thank you to Michelle + Petunia for participating in AAPETPEOPLE's first series of 33 Answers!
Follow them on ig! @roomshopvintage