COOL JOBS: Grounded in Nature – Katy Rozas Combines Plants and Art In Her New Endeavor

by Kerri Cooke

Sure to be one of the coolest new places in Lake Charles, Katy Rozas calls her new business, Grounded In Nature, a “crafty plant shop.” 

Rozas started a career selling insurance before investing in residential properties. Looking into purchasing commercial properties, she purchased the house where Grounded In Nature now resides at 115 W. Oak Lane, right off of Ryan Street. The property was zoned as both commercial and residential, but after the house sprung a few issues, Rozas decided she needed to go back to the drawing board with the property, remodel it and open her own business. 

As the remodel progressed, Rozas’ ideas began to solidify. She leaned into art in her personal life as a “tool to get grounded” and decided that she wanted to bring the healing power of creative expression to Lake Charles, Louisiana. “I want to lead adults to crafting, so they can love their art and love themselves. It’s a way to detox from the pressures of the real world. I want people to be able to bring their lunch, a book and use their creative energy so their day is not ruined. Grounded In Nature will provide a third space for people and be an inclusive safe space for people of all races, religions . . . people on their sober journey.” 

Before diving into personal art, the property where Grounded In Nature resides is full of positive energy and original art. The privacy fence features murals by local artist Jeremy Price. “Jeremy and I went to school together and I told him to think ‘fantastical flower’ and let him do what he wanted to do,” says Rozas.  There’s a third eye, which you can see from Ryan Street, a variation of Grounded in Nature’s logo and insects. The official Grounded In Nature logo was created by local artist Maegan Gonzalez, which is a lotus in a pair of hands, but instead of simply holding the flower, the hands offer the flower. And the flagstones in the front of the building were all hand cast by Rozas who made a total of 633 of them. The stones had to cure for 28 days. 

The main crafting room at Grounded In Nature has a full ceiling mural, which 50 people contributed to. Rozas started by drawing vines on the white background and had plans to suspend plants from above. However, she had so much fun painting the vines that she invited two friends to paint leaves or vines as well. Then, Christmas Eve of 2024, another friend, who was having a bad day, stopped by and Rozas offered to let her paint a flower. This turned into Rozas inviting her “best girlfriends” and the important women in her life to also paint a flower. There are a total of 66 flowers, mostly painted by women. “I call it my garden,” she says. “All these people are rooting for me. Nobody’s walked into this room and not smiled.” 

Rozas aims to be in harmony with nature and embraces the idea of recycling and reusing. While Rozas plans to offer a menu of crafts for people to choose from, some of the crafts planned are painting planters, making succulent bouquets, drying flowers, making wind chimes and creating bird houses. “I want to offer things people are proud to make,” she says. She hopes to offer a monthly membership where patrons can buy into monthly crafts and seeks to promote other local artists, including wood workers and local potters. 

As far as the storefront side of things, Rozas is certified as a plant grower. Instead of buying plants to sell, she will have a greenhouse where plants are grown and then sold. She plans to offer popular indoor plants and succulents. She’s also growing flowers in order to dry them for projects. 

Grounded In Nature will have its soft opening September 12-13 from noon to 6:00 p.m. A grand opening is scheduled for October. For more information, visit Grounded In Nature on Facebook or Instagram.