Today we’d like to introduce you to Meg Williams.
Hi Meg, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Mending Moon Apothecary actually started as a class project for an art class – in 2017, I started taking a bunch of prerequisite art courses to become an Art Therapist. My goals and dreams at the time were to help veterans, in particular, process their traumas and their experiences through art.
I took my prereqs at Cincinnati State. I actually was working there with incoming veterans, helping them brush up academically, helping them get ready to take the entrance test to the college. I was taking a Design Principles class, and our task was to create a company and design a logo using whatever art medium we wanted. There were no rules really – we could create anything we wanted. I had just finished getting my Yoga Teaching certification and coupled with the thought of getting my Art Therapy degree, I thought, “hmmm, maybe I could create a business with a concept like this”. And voila! The skeleton of Mending Moon was born.
In my project, it was a place for the broken to come explore, to come heal. I offered art classes, yoga classes, crystal healing, healing touch therapy – it was a bit of a new-age healing and wellness center. I created my logo out of watercolor – a big blueish moon with a slit in the corner. I added some stitches and a needle and thread to mend the moon together and make her whole again, symbolic of the healing I hoped would take place within my wellness center. I was super pleased with how it turned out, and even though I didn’t anticipate ever creating a business in real life outside the classroom, I still kept the logo.
The dreams of the Art Therapy degree died away, as things tend to do once reality (and schooling and cost and time) set in, but the symbolism of the torn moon with her little needle and thread stuck with me long after the class was over. I had just gone through a major life transition at that time – I was feeling way less than whole. I was struggling to understand who I was as a grown adult. As cliché as it sounds, I was in need of my own healing, and the moon logo I came up with ended up encapsulating my feelings perfectly… did I just Art Therapy my own self? Funny how that works!
The Mending Moon of my reality looks a little different than the Mending Moon I created in my class, but the basis is still the same. Mending Moon Apothecary became an official business in 2018, and the cornerstone imperative belief has, and will always be, a place to grow, create, and heal. I’ve always loved crystals and fossils, so it’s natural that crystals and gemstones make up the vast majority of my stock, of course. But I always promised myself that if I were ever fortunate enough to amass a following on social media that I would try to use it for good. Yes, I am a business, but I also wanted to create a space where people felt safe – a place where they could mend without judgement, create without confines, and feel welcomed and cared for. A lot of my followers never buy a single thing from me, but they stick around to share their stories and sometimes their struggles. My messages are always open, so if anyone ever needs a cheerleader, a shoulder to cry on, a secret keeper, a sounding board, an audience to share art or poetry – I’m your girl.
I’ve made some wonderful friends along this journey – I’ve met some of the most talented artists and jewelry makers, folks using all types of conventional and unconventional mediums. It’s hard to be surrounded by artists day in and day out and not feel inspired, so my mind is constantly working on new crystal creations and new additions to my shop. Mending Moon may have started as a shell idea for an art class, but the future looks so bright and beautiful. I’m excited to see where the future takes me.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I think if it were a smooth ride, it wouldn’t be nearly as rewarding. Now, I’m a textbook comfort seeker – I’m not a big risk taker, I like to know what I’m getting into, and if there’s any chance of discomfort or discord, I’m out!
A small business is all about overcoming: overcoming upstart costs, overcoming an oversaturated market, overcoming the unknown economic forecast of the months ahead, couple with unexpected emergencies, and a slew of other scenarios. A small business is chaotic, unpredictable, stressful, and constant. Since I sell predominantly through social media, I am constantly checking my phone, answering messages. The crystal market is trendy at the moment – there are lots of shops offering beautiful pieces, and if a customer takes an interest in one of my pieces, I want to offer them the type of customer service that makes an impression and keeps them coming back despite the competition’s snazzy inventory. I think there are a lot of people who start crystal shops especially, thinking it’s a “get rich quick” kind of business, but a big struggle lies in being discovered. There’s a constant battle against social media and the dreaded algorithm, there’s a constant fear of missing out on newly mined and newly discovered material.
Small businesses are the backbone of communities, and while I love the convenience of shopping at larger corporations, their quick shipping, immediate access to customer service model is skewing the expectation of “good customer service”. I tend to feel guilty if I don’t get an order shipped within two days – in addition to Mending Moon, I also have a full-time job, have aging parents, and serve as a caregiver for my partner, Armstead. These “standards” push me to work around the clock, never missing a message or an opportunity to provide good customer service. If I don’t make my two-day shipping deadline, I often message my buyer with intense remorse and worry that they’ll be upset, demand a refund, and threaten to take their business elsewhere (spoiler alert: while this has not happened to me, personally, I have heard horror stories of this happening). It can easily be as draining or demanding as another full-time job. I’ve woken up some mornings with my phone in my hand, my Instagram app open, and a sleep-induced message typed out to customers. Even in my sleep, I was working.
As the years have gone on, I’ve learned to create healthy boundaries to make sure I’m getting the rest and time with my loved ones that I need (and they deserve!). It took a while – there was a lot of guilt and a lot of worry, mostly about letting people down or being seen as unapproachable. Selling online is a great way to link people from all over the world, but it can also come with a heavy emotional price.
Overall, though, the good far outweigh the bad. This past summer, Armstead and I started doing more in-person events which has given me the chance to meet many supporters in person as opposed to strictly over social media. We started vending monthly at the OFF Market in Blue Ash during their summer markets, and also participated in some holiday shopping expos as well. Chatting with folks from the tri-state area, learning their backgrounds and hearing a little bit about what they’re looking for in a stone and why, what they hope to heal from, what they’ve overcome through their faith and spiritual practices – it makes it all worthwhile. There will always be struggles, but I believe they serve as reminders: reminders to stay humble, to remain teachable, and to live each moment with a grateful heart. Makes it all worthwhile!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Mending Moon Apothecary is an online crystal shop, offering crystals and gems from all over the world. Sometimes I’ll add some other metaphysical goodies to the mix, like altar cloths, pendulums, incense, and herbs, but the overwhelming majority of my stock is showcasing the beauty of the earth. I try to hand-pick as many of the crystal lots as possible, and work directly with wholesalers in Brazil, South Africa, India, and Mexico, just to name a few locales.
There are so many counterfeit pieces on the market lately. I try my hardest to do my research and find a reputable wholesaler before jumping on the bandwagon of a trendy stone, risking not only the authenticity of the stone but the price as well. I try to keep my prices as fair as possible – I more than understand the difficulty of the times, and I understand that crystals are a luxury that some can’t afford at the moment. I do also believe that we should treat ourselves every once in a while, and a little crystal magic is always a good choice 🙂
I do my best to offer unique stone selections, along with many of the classics. You can usually always find quartz, rose quartz, amethyst, labradorite, and fluorite. I’ve also carried shungite, hemimorphite, shattuckite, and mtorolite, just to name some lesser-knowns. Lately, I’ve been fortunate enough to link with an incredible wholesaler in India who offers some of the prettiest Apophyllite and Chalcedony pieces I’ve ever seen. What I’m trying to say is: I always have a wide variety, and if there’s something you’re looking for in particular, send me a message! If I don’t have it, I can probably find it for you!
Small business owners cannot survive without the support of their community, and I am no exception. I have so much love and gratitude toward my clients, social media followers, friends and family, and anyone who has spoken a word of recommendation for my little crystal biz! I try to live each moment with a humble and grateful heart, and I try to pour that love into all facets of my business. I wouldn’t be able to do what I love without their support.
There are always things in the works at Mending Moon! In addition to more in-person events this year, I hope to add some unique crystal creations that actually first appeared about a year and a half ago in a dream I had. I hadn’t had the time to fully flesh out the idea until now, but I’m thinking that this year will be when it finally comes to fruition. I’m also doing live sales on my Instagram every other Thursday, starting at 9 PM. I’m always posting event dates and shop updates on my Etsy, Instagram, and Facebook, but if any of those avenues don’t work, folks can always drop me an email and I’ll be happy to assist!
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been presented with quite a few examples of “divine timing” – countless examples, but perhaps the biggest and best example, especially when answering this question, is to introduce my life partner, Armstead.
As I mentioned previously, I am not a big risk-taker! I’m a comfort-loving, fluffy blanket, book-reading introverted gal. So, when you partner me up with a boisterously loud, spontaneous, up-for-anything thrill-seeker and risk-taking extrovert… what could possibly go wrong? Or go right? 🙂
I am reminded daily of the need to take risks. Armstead is a great motivator, and while he can sometimes be incredibly rash and impulsive, there is never a single moment where he believes he’ll fail. He forever sees the good in everything and everyone (which I sometimes need help with), and is always quick to challenge me to not only see things from a different perspective, but to try something in a different way – “if the old way of doing something hasn’t worked, try something new”. Seems simple, right?
Ehh, not really. Change, for me, is a risk. Any kind of change. Maybe other folks wouldn’t see it this way, but change is risky for me. I can have a difficult time adapting, emotionally and mentally. I will likely get a little stressy and sassy and snippy, but Armstead will meet every one of those emotions with a smile and a promise that these “labor pains” (as he calls them), are building a better version of me. I can tell you that these risks, while stressful and difficult, are necessary. I’ve grown as a person, I’ve grown as a friend, I’ve grown as a daughter and a partner.
I’ve become a firm believer that everyone is on their own timeline – some people meet challenges earlier or later in their lives, but they meet these challenges when they need them most. As I mentioned before, when I first came up with the concept of Mending Moon in my Design Principles course, I was going through a major life transition. I met Armstead when I needed him most. All these things in my life happened at the exact moment they needed to, and even though it created a pressure cooker environment where I essentially stripped myself bare and started over, it couldn’t have happened at any other time. The me 6 years ago loved the idea of running a business, in theory, but never would have taken the risk – too scary, too much work, too many unknowns! The me now understands that risk and discomfort help you grow – it’s still scary, it’s still a lot of work, and there’s still a TON of unknowns but I’ve been blessed with a supportive partner with an amazing outlook on life who’s willing to teach me and remind me of all the good to come.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.etsy.com/shop/mendingmoon
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/mendingmoonapothecary
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/mendingmoonapothecary
