Daily Inspiration: Meet Ashley Johnson and Kate Horner

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Johnson and Kate Horner.

Ashley and Kate, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Our path to launching Crystals & Clarity™ has been so beautiful and one that has fallen into place at every turn. We (Kate & Ashley) were friends at first, but over the years had worked together in other small businesses and successfully contributed to their growth. We work so well together, that we knew it was only a matter of time before we’d launch a company together. But what it would be was always the question!

We started playing around with the idea of launching a Crystal business in the early Summer of 2021, but it wasn’t until September we knew we wanted to be Nashville’s First Mobile Crystal Shop!

Ashley’s journey into crystals only began in the last couple of years. Kate bought me (Ashley) my first crystal bracelet and took me periodically to crystal shops in Nashville, but it wasn’t until I had my bust cast by the Keep-A-Breast non-profit that everything changed. To commemorate my breast cancer journey, the Keep-A-Breast founder cast my bust when I was 8-weeks post-op from my last surgery in 2020 with the goal to turn it into art. Kate was regularly giving me different ideas on how to paint it, but it wasn’t until a trip to a California crystal shop that I knew how it could become a piece of art for me. Nearly 6-months and hundreds of crystals later, I finished my crystal bust and it ultimately sparked a new passion for crystals.

Conversely, Kate‘s Mom dug her own crystals and had a significant collection of them. Additionally, she had a friend who introduced her to crystals and bought Kate her first bracelet. Kate intuitively connected with the crystals and with practice, found she was able to tap into the energy they possess. She could instinctually purchase exactly what she needed for her space or to wear based on her current journey in life. In recent years, Kate has become a resource for many to request her advice on what the right crystal would be for their own journey.

Our mutual passion for learning and growing with an increase in conversations about crystals simplified the “what would it be” question. We began to discuss what we needed in our crystal experience that we weren’t finding. It was pretty simple, easier access to crystals based on our locations and schedules, as well as a clearer resource for information after our purchases! For nearly seven months, we dug deep into the education and history of crystals, their symbolism and meaning globally, and what worked and didn’t work for us while shopping at other shops, purchasing samples from suppliers across the nation, and testing candle-making with crystals. We quickly realized we were operating from a space of being completely intentional in what we were creating, the crystals we were selecting, and who we were working with. It hasn’t made for the fastest processes, but it has enabled us to create an authentic space for crystal lovers and crystal-curious individuals alike.

We knew early on that we wanted to be mobile because we believe it’s important to meet people where they are, both literally and figuratively speaking. This meant we had to start Crystals & Clarity™ as a pop-up crystal shop! Whether it’s at festivals, local markets, pop-ups up in a collaborative capacity with other small businesses, or hosting a crystal party in your residence or office, we mobilize to meet you where you are.

It was also important for us to provide education and ease of entrance for all levels of customers. This industry can be both intimidating and overwhelming when you are new to crystals and we want to help change that. We created custom Clarity Crystal Cards™ for every crystal that we sell and are included with each purchase, printed or electronically. Now when you get home with one of our crystals, you have the information to further your curiosity and growth! This differentiator was extremely important because we want to bring greater clarity to our customers’ healing journey and support their own empowerment.

We officially launched in April of 2022 and have grown from 1-2 pop-ups per month to being booked every weekend for a pop-up in a local business, at markets, or at festivals in the Middle Tennessee area.

As we move into the holiday season, we are finding ways to meet & keep up with our customer’s needs both in the Nashville area and beyond. From word-of-mouth referrals and requests, we’ve now added private crystal parties, crystal educational classes in person and via zoom, as well as crystal energetic and design consultations in businesses and homes as additional services offered.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The launch and operation of Crystals & Clarity™ is an ever-evolving education and learning experience, like all new small businesses. We quickly learned that no matter how much we practice or how fast we work to set up a booth, Crystals are heavy and take time to set up! It’s become a funny punch line of truth for us. ROCKS Are Heavy y’all! After the first event, we realized lugging around jam-packed cardboard boxes full of heavily wrapped crystals was not sustainable for our bodies or our limited set-up time.

With the support & suggestions from other small business owners, we made the investment in a large quantity of smaller bins to make the transport and unloading of our products much faster and easier. Additionally, making sure we intentionally select specific crystals for each event has optimized our set-up and overall sales at our events. It’s important for us to offer larger crystals too, so we’ve just had to surrender to the fact that certain crystals get their own seat in our cars!

For our smaller, more intimate events we can set up in as fast as one hour, but for our full 10×10 booth setup, we require a minimum of 2-hours prior to an event to get ready and it still takes two people! In preparation for the larger events we’ve learned, we must load up the day before if our bodies are going to make it through the set-up, take down, and unpacking processes. But in the end, a 10×10 booth with two people has us at capacity for both products and transporting everything.

Most notably, all it took was one thunderstorm to solidify future changes. Picture this: the two of us, each on different corners of the booth, holding tent legs to the ground and pushing the side tent walls out as the wind, thunder, lightning, and torrential rain tore through the event! That was a crossroads moment of realizing we need a vehicle sooner rather than later to make this “mobile” and keep us dry! Aside from keeping us dry, a mobile vehicle dedicated specifically to Crystals & Clarity™ will also allow us to scale our mobile crystal shop.

We are learning from others about holiday inventory and best practices for storage and organization, but there isn’t a network of mobile pop-up crystal shops to tap into. So we have to research and ask questions continuously. The struggle like most small businesses is figuring out how and when to scale and in our case, how do you do that when you are limited on space and the crystals are heavy! However, one of the most beautiful parts of this new small business journey is how kind and generous so many fellow pop-up shop owners have been and provided generous support to us in such a small period of time.

Ultimately, because of our personal and professional experiences, we’ve learned to trust the timing of things and understand there is often a bigger reason behind things working and not working out. It’s a reminder that matter what, it’s ok to keep asking questions and if it doesn’t feel right, stop pushing! We have to practice what we preach and give space for balance, with rest and time for reflection, because it’s very easy for this to become all-consuming, especially when you love it as much as we do!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are creative, multi-passionate entrepreneurs and embrace our non-traditional business paths. We’ve both been in corporate America, and we’ve been a part of the hustle culture. While all of these experiences have served their purpose, we know that when we are open and intentional, everything flows to and from us with ease and at the perfect timing.

We’ve made a point to make sure we both have creative outlets with Crystals & Clarity™. Kate has found a creative flow for so many of our handmade products including crystal bracelets, crystal necklaces, and earrings, as well as crystal magnets and fairy wands. I’ve (Ashley) found my creative outlet with our crystal coasters, crystal napkin rings, crystal Christmas ornaments, and crystal art pieces.

It has been a blast to build a business centered on authenticity, excitement & curiosity, with a bit of sass & sarcasm along the way. We’re most proud of our ability to create from a place of inspiration and intentionality. At each pop-up, our mission is to create a space that is peaceful, inviting, inspiring, and free of judgment and negativity. We have a sign at every event that sets the intention for our booth and the space we are creating. For some, it’s a deterrent, for others, it’s the ultimate welcome sign! We are continuously inspired by our customers and those who choose to visit the booth, as they make all the heavy lifting (literally!) worth it. We aren’t the only crystal shop in Nashville and love that this provides a variety of options for customers. It’s exciting that we are now part of the crystal options for this community.

Any big plans?
What’s in the future? Great question. We want to grow! We’ve had so many potential customers around the country email, DM, or request us to ship, so by the new year, we plan to launch our eCommerce platform and ship nationally! We will expand our pop-ups to have resident spots in multiple Painted Tree locations in 2023. We also will be offering our crystal candles wholesale in the new year! We plan to more consistently teach crystal classes that will be open to the public and not just in private party settings, as we are now. And we are most excited about the possibility of purchasing our own mobile vehicle in 2023, so we can partner with local hotels, Airbnb, and other complementary businesses for a very unique pop-up experience!

Pricing:

• Crystal Christmas ornaments: $14-$22
• Crystal Candles $10-$38
• Crystal Nightlights: $22
• Necklaces: $18-$36
• Agate Coasters: $18-$72

Contact Info:

• Website: CrystalsandClarity.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crystals.and.clarity/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Crystals.and.ClarityofNashville/

Image Credits
Ashley Johnson