On quiet Broad Street in Washington lies an intriguing business, Gaia’s Gifts, featuring pendulums, tapestries, incense, jewelry, crystals, witch books, and other offbeat products associated with natural healing and healthy lifestyles.

Gaia’s Gifts, owned by Ellen and Gregory “Greg” Perkins, first opened on June 13, 2015. Inside of the shop, crystals adorn the endless tables and shelves.

But Gaia’s was not always like this. The shop began on East Washington Avenue. Instead of multitudes of crystals and accessories, Gaia’s originally started with a small crystal display on a table.

The business first began with sales of Himalayan salt lamps and tapestries. A Himalayan salt lamp is a lamp made from rock salt mined in a region of Pakistan. More and more people started to buy crystals, and the modern Gaia’s Gifts was born.

Ellen Perkins is the mastermind behind the store. She always wanted to have a store to call her own.

Before she and her husband opened Gaia’s, Ellen worked in an office and kept track of the numbers. She knew how to run a business and now she wanted to run her own.

Ellen and Greg started as vendors of tapestries and salt lamps, and customers would ask all the time if they had a store. Eventually Greg and Ellen decided to leave their normal jobs and take a chance. And that chance paid off, with thousands of people enjoying Gaia’s Gifts.

They both love how welcoming their store is. Greg describes it as “uplifting, calm, and angelic.”

Ellen describes the store as having a “very clean and clear energy.” When people walk inside of Gaia’s there is a sense of welcomeness and friendliness.

“You’re finally here,” Ellen said.

Greg and Ellen also mentioned how there have been people who did not even know about Gaia’s but felt like they had to turn down the road and go into the store. Gaia’s energy is entrancing and pulls all different types of people inward.

Gaia’s caters to every type of customer, old and young, experienced and inexperienced.

Ellen offers advice for people who are just starting to discover the power of crystals.

“Don’t shop with your eyes – shop with a feeling,” she said. “See what catches your eye, but don’t go by the definition of the crystal. Go with a feeling that comes with the crystal. Touch the crystal and hold it, let the energy absorb into your hand.”

Gaia’s Gifts has thousands of crystal options to choose from. Popular crystals bought at Gaia’s include Rose Quartz and Amethyst. Gaia’s also offers plenty of crystals for beginners. Clear Quartz, Lapis Lazuli, Amazonite, Pyrite, and Black Tourmaline are all available.

Gaia’s features plenty of rare crystals for more advanced crystal collectors, such as Libyan Tektites, Moldavite, Darwin Glass Tektites, Ethiopian opals and Palaeo Stylus Gastropod Fossils.

With the business doing well, there is the thought of possibly opening another location. Ellen mentioned how another Gaia’s Gifts could happen in the future.

“Eventually we are going to need more space, maybe in five years we would consider,” she said.

But for now, there is only one Gaia’s Gifts, and many customers find it spiritually uplifting.