Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Satterfield.
Hi Sarah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I’ve kind of always had this vision for a space that brought together a community around all of my favorite things, at 15 I was dreaming up a music venue and cafe… then at 20, I was dreaming of a tea room.
I completed my master’s degree in alternative medicine in 2015 and was struggling to find a job that really utilized my interest in herbalism, nutrition, and spirituality – so I started working at Whole Foods with ambitions to get involved in their healthy eating education program, only for them to dissolve that program a year later.
I continued to work there as it was a great place to work and did offer me so much experience and education throughout the five years I worked there, but it was shifting away from its roots and core values such that it no longer felt in alignment, and I saw the deep need for a true spiritual store and community space in Greenville.
At the time, there were some crystal shops and a few places in the greater upstate like Pickens and Spartanburg, but nothing in Greenville that really fit this vision to combine spiritual tools, crystals, herbal remedies, and alternative services like Reiki, Tarot, Astrology, etc. under one roof.
We opened in November 2019 upstairs in a house on 4 Smith St, and quickly gained a footing in the West Greenville community. I think our being in this area has been essential to our success because it’s such an amazingly diverse area and the small businesses really hype each other up and support each other over here. It’s also the more “alternative” side of Greenville, for lack of a better descriptor, so I can’t really imagine being anywhere else.
Despite the pandemic, we moved into a bigger more practical retail storefront on Pendleton St. in June of 2020, and were rewarded handsomely! While business has been unpredictable and tricky to navigate still, we’re grateful to still be here after 2.5 years and regularly expanding our inventory and service offerings.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Well, the obvious has been the pandemic. Having community gatherings was a huge part of the vision for the space in the beginning, and we did hold a handful of circles and events prior to lockdowns. Following that, however, we’ve been slow to pick back up on that side of things.
I think too that the short period of closure lost some of the momentum, and financially it has obviously taken a toll as our growth has been more slow incremental growth than originally predicted. We weren’t able to get much in the way of relief funds due to the small scale of our shop. The supply chain has also obviously affected business.
We’re also now contending with all things witchy/new age being trendy, so bigger more commercial spaces are tapping into a similar market and have more capital and can manage to have lower prices oftentimes because they’re sacrificing quality. We pride ourselves on being as intentional in our product sourcing as possible, and some folks don’t understand the difference – so educating consumers is a big part of our mission.
Also educating the community on what it is we are doing, on the whole, has been a struggle, combatting the fear that many folks have around anything that fits outside of the scope of traditional religion. Fortunately, we’ve not had any major issues thus far.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Arcane Remedies is a healing collective and storefront in West Greenville, SC. We specialize in crystals, herbal remedies, candles, incense, divination tools, and more.
We also offer classes, workshops, circles, and more. We have reiki, intuitive card readings, and mediumship services available by appointment in the healing space, and are looking to grow these service offerings. Arcane Remedies is a queer and Latinx-owned business, committed to serving as a safe space for all to learn and reconnect to their unique spiritual practices.
We’ve set ourselves apart as a staple within the LGBTQIA+ community in Greenville, as well as catering to the diverse community in our neighborhood providing essential spiritual and herbal supplies. We are heavily values-driven, have a commitment to sustainable and ethical products and practices as much as possible, and work with small local brands and makers as often as we can.
We regularly welcome small makers and host pop-up markets in-store, and recently in June co-hosted a 30+ vendor outdoor market at a local farm! We’re different in our authenticity, our passion and experience, and our commitment to the community. We’re not just doing this because it’s trendy or profitable.
Our founder, Sarah, has studied herbalism and aromatherapy and created herbal blends that are sold in the store, as well as curating a botanical selection of over 115 different single herbs/teas, and 16 unique blends. They also make a handful of products for the shop including bath salts, candles, oil roll-ons, room sprays, and more in the future as we hope to expand our production space.
Brand-wise, I think I’m just most proud of staying present and building this community throughout the challenges of 2020-2021. There were definitely times I considered quitting and going back to a corporate desk job, but we’ve persisted and we’re continuing to see growth and new customers. Word of mouth is our strongest driving factor, so tell your friends.
While we’ve got a focus on metaphysically adjacent products, I believe we really have something for everyone here and have built a really amazing curation of product and service offerings.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. There are so many resources within the community, and so many people who want you to succeed and will help if you ask. Someone always knows someone who can help you, if they don’t know the answer, and there are plenty of free and/or affordable resources out there!
Pricing:
- Tarot Readings: $30-$50
- Reiki Sessions: $65-85
- Mediumship Sessions: $65
Contact Info:
- Website: arcaneremedies.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arcaneremedies/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arcaneremedies
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/arcane-remedies-greenville
Image Credits
Calandrea Hatcher of Photography by Calandrea
