Ever been intrigued about crystal healing?
If so, there’s one business in Aberdeen you should definitely seek out.
Crystal Kalm is run by Clare Byiers, along with the help of her childhood friend Dawn Baxter.
Customers can visit its stall at Curated Aberdeen in the Bon Accord Centre at weekends and browse a range of crystals, crystal jewellery, incense and other holistic items.
Regardless of whether or not you’re convinced about the wonders of crystals, more than anything, what Clare enjoys most about Crystal Kalm is spending time chatting to customers.
It’s this social aspect that Clare thrives upon and her passion for helping people is at the heart of Crystal Kalm.
Crystal calling
“As a kid, I was always into looking for fairies and ghosts and these kinds of things,” Clare enthuses.
“The whole alternative world to do with crystals and things, I guess, has always been a part of me.
“I’ve always had a really good imagination; anytime I was told ghost stories at school they really stuck with me.”
Clare also remembers one of her first vivid encounters with crystals at a shop in Aberdeen back in the late 1980s.
“I remember as a teenager, I think I visited a shop in George Street back in the late 80s called Amethyst,” says Clare.
“I loved them straight away. My mum actually had some little crystals which she had framed and even as a kid, I was told I would go up to them and ask about what they did and why they were different colours.”
Sharing crystals with others
After spending 13 years living in Edinburgh, when Clare moved back to Aberdeen in 2018, she decided to set about turning her passion for crystals into her own business.
Further expanding her knowledge of crystal healing before setting up shop, she realised that Crystal Kalm could fill a gap in the market in Aberdeen.
“I really just wanted to help other people with crystals – that was the main idea for setting up Crystal Kalm,” says Clare.
“There wasn’t a crystal shop in the city centre at the time, so I wanted to have a place where likeminded people could come and learn and talk about crystals.
“Working with crystals, you find that you get a lot of people who just need somebody to talk to.
“Whether they’re a bit stressed, depressed or anxious, I think the crystals can help them in many ways.”
Evolving
Clare says that she’s had to navigate “many changes” with the business over the last four years.
Moving premises and Covid-19 were two main challenges. But this also allowed opportunities for Crystal Kalm to evolve.
“Covid-19 in particular made things difficult, but this inspired me to start up the jewellery side of the business which is now really popular,” Clare explains.
“Dawn and I started creating bracelets and different types of jewellery to match some of the crystal sets that we had available.
“Our most popular bracelets are our stress and anxiety kinds, which are made up of amethyst, sodalite and clear quartz.
“These crystals are predominantly good for keeping you calm and to help prevent overthinking.
“Our love and happiness bracelet is also popular, but I think that may be more for their colours.
“It’s pink and moonstone, which is like a silvery grey kind of colour, and they both go really well together.”
Crystal community
Setting up her Curated Aberdeen stall alongside other independent businesses, Clare feels, was one of the best decisions she’s made.
She did have a shop in the past, but with changing circumstances she’s now able to enjoy working with less financial worries and contributing to good causes in the process.
“I really love it at Curated Aberdeen,” Clare smiles.
“It gets me out and about meeting people and creating new customers.
“I’m going to be doing crystal workshops in Curated Aberdeen soon.
“Crystals are becoming more popular and there’s a lot of over-mining for them going on, so I want to let people know about some of the ethical points of view of crystals as well.”
Something for everyone
Clare’s dream ambition for Crystal Kalm is to have her own wellbeing café with crystals, coffee and wholesome chats taking centre stage.
But right now, she’s humbled by all of the things that running her first business venture has taught her and is eager to keep her crystal appeal rolling in the north-east.
“Working with crystals is something that I love, but even just to have people come up to the stall and yap about their day, I really like that,” says Clare.
“Regardless of whether you’re sure about crystals or not, the jewellery is there to be worn because it looks nice.
“And if it helps, then that’s even better!”
To find out more about Crystal Kalm or to shop, visit their website.
Conversation