Brooke Simon has made a successful small business out of a passion for gemstones.--PHOTO BY JOLYNN PARENTEAU
How do beads of orange jade, natural wood, white lava rock and a tiny gold feather create healing in our community? With a little small business magic – The Magick Moonstone, that is.
Brooke Simon, 28, began making jewellery with semi-precious gemstones as a hobby to give as gifts.
“I’ve always wanted to work with crystals,” she explains. “I then fell in love with gemstone bracelets.”
Friends and family soon encouraged her to sell her creations, and The Magick Moonstone was born.
Simon shares that gemstones hold healing properties, and no two pieces of jewellery are exactly alike.
Customers reach out to The Magick Moonstone requesting stones to assist on a journey of self-love, or confidence, or to simply choose their favourite colours. From rose quartz to red picasso jasper, moss agate to blue Malaysian jade to purple sea sediment jasper, Simon’s pieces come in every colour of the rainbow.
Her favourite gem to work with is the green-hued Amazonite, which “empowers us to discover our own truths, to move beyond our own fear of judgment or confrontation to live in alignment with our own values and beliefs. It provides the freedom to express our thoughts and feelings, and set clear, strong boundaries.”
That’s a pretty powerful little gem.
Simon has Métis heritage through her maternal grandmother Carol. Before Simon creates a new piece of jewellery, she burns sage, an Indigenous practice called smudging.
Indigenous peoples have burned sage and sweetgrass for centuries as part of a spiritual ritual to cleanse a person or space, and to promote healing and wisdom. “Then I look at the stones and see what’s calling me that day. For a specific kind of healing, I’ll think about the stone’s properties.”
Along with the description of each piece’s healing qualities, Simon handwrites a unique affirmation – a phrase of encouragement – for the wearer to speak out loud.
“I am a living reflection of all the beauty the Earth holds,” one reads.
“Affirmations help activate the stones’ healing properties,” Simon explains. “People are becoming more comfortable using affirmations, especially our younger generations.”
A mother of two, Simon and her daughters say affirmations every morning to boost their self-confidence, and her own.
“It can be hard to look yourself in the mirror and say nice things to yourself. Start by saying affirmations out loud.”
Simon recently began offering essential oils complementary to the gemstones, which can be added to bracelets and necklaces with absorbent lava rock beads. Every dollar of profit earned is reinvested back into The Magick Moonstone. Simon envisions growing her small business from an at-home hobby to a future storefront with a build-your-own bead bar.
“My aunt inspired me to dream bigger. She started a candle business out of her garage; now the C & C Candle Co. has two locations in Calgary, and she teaches classes.”
What’s next for The Magick Moonstone?
“I’m looking forward to attending more local artisan markets, and am designing DIY kits ready for the holiday season that will be perfect for parents and children to build pieces together.” She believes in supporting other local small businesses. Many of her beads are sourced from Nirvana 101, and she collaborates with other local female makers.
“Brenda Mercer from White Horse Rider Co. and I are working on an earring giveaway that will be launching soon.”
In June, Simon joined the Miywasin Friendship Centre’s Youth program.
“When I started working at Miywasin, I found a piece of myself that was missing.”
It was there she learned about the children being found buried at former residential school sites, and she felt called to help in some way.
“I thought about creating a piece to honour the children.”
Simon is stringing together those beads of orange jade, wood, lava rock and gold feathers into bracelets. She then partnered with fellow local artisan Brooklyn Straub of Hammer Time Stamping Co. to add “Every Child Matters” charms.
The Every Child Matters orange jade bracelet is selling for $25 with all profits donated to the Miywasin Friendship Centre.
“This is my way of giving back,” Simon says.
The Magick Moonstone can be found on Facebook and Instagram @themagickmoonstone.
JoLynn Parenteau is a Métis writer out of Miywasin Friendship Centre. Column feedback can be sent to jolynn.parenteau@gmail.com
