In 1991 Opal Moon was born - a tiny baby of a shop - comprising a unit in the upper floor of DeCourcys Arcade, a small, ramshackle shopping arcade in the west end of Glasgow. The arcade had long served the west end's eclectic mix of residents with an array of handmade clothes, arts & crafts, 2nd hand records & tarot readings. It seemed like the perfect place for me to open my little dream shop! Having no previous retail experience (my job prior to opening the shop had been as a library assistant in Glasgow University Library), I launched myself into business following my heart & not my head! My vague business plan was based on my love of the mystical & the magical, & to bring a little of this magic into people's lives. I had loved crystals since I was a child & had been making crystal jewellery for a while, so these were my main focus in the beginning of Opal Moon.
Gradually my little shop began to take shape. Decorated with purple fabrics & handpainted moons & stars, I began filling the shop with treasures of the earth..learning as I went along - delving headfirst into the fascinating, glittering world of crystals. The shop was tiny, but packed full of beautiful sparkly things - a real little Aladdin's Cave! As I worked away, making my jewellery in the shop & constantly discovering new things to introduce, Opal Moon's stock began expanding to include inspirational artcards, incense, relaxation tapes (there were no CDs in those days, let alone Ipods!), & anything else that felt right. Before long I had totally run out of space! Fortunately Opal Moon had no next door neighbour at the time, and could expand easily into the next unit.
I have always been taken aback by people's response to Opal Moon! So many customers over the years have told me how much they enjoy spending time here...just soaking up the atmsosphere - the gentle music, the beautiful scents of the incense & oils, & the energies of the crystals all combine the make something truly magical! As the years progressed, & Opal Moon became more established, another wall was knocked down, & then we were 3 (units!)...a long, narrow shop...packed with magical stock.
During this time, a few personal changes had taken place for me too. I temporarily moved down to London, where I sold my jewellery to various like-minded shops. I took a weekend stall in the vibrant & exciting Camden Market - a bit of an adventure for a quiet Glasgow girl! During this time Opal Moon continued to thrive, in the care of good friends & with me visiting once a month to catch up. After two years, the pace of London became a little too fast for me, & I returned home to the west end of Glasgow, & back to spend more time in my wee shop again.
Over the next few years more big changes took place for me, as I met my soulmate Al, & my little boy Jack was born. Opal Moon got a refurb, resplendant in purple & turquoise, & continued to go from strength to strength. For a while I enjoyed having 2 shops within the arcade - I expanded our book stock & opened "Opal Moon Books".
Perhaps a bit of a luxury...a bookshop completely dedicated to the spiritual, magical & holistic! I loved having the bookshop & we had many lovely & loyal customers..however after a while it became apparent that running two shops meant twice as much expense, which I couldn't quite manage to cover, so I decided after much soul-searching to give this up, & squash the books back into the original shop (Opal Moon has always had amazing, tardis-like qualities!!).
In 2006 we celebrated Opal Moon's 15th birthday with the first proper Opal Moon Event - a fantastic evening of talks, readings, therapies, food, drink & general fun & frolics! Unable to fit all of these activities into our tiny, packed out shop, we expanded for the evening into the corridor & other units in the arcade (with the permission of some lovely, obliging fellow shop-keepers!) I was absolutely overwhelmed by the response we had to our Birthday Bash - it was a fantastic night & certainly the best 15th birthday party I've ever been to!
The following year big changes were taking place in the arcade. Many of the shops in the upper floor were closing, & the arcade itself was undergoing a huge transformation under new ownership. My husband Al was made redundant from his job in Lost in Music, the record shop in the arcade where he had worked for 20+ years. Faced with this huge shake-up, it was time for a change! Al & I decided to go into partnership, with Al focusing on our online activities, & the book-keeping side of things (which I am incredibly bad at!).
For some time I had thought how good it would be to be able to offer customers the chance to have a tarot reading, a massage, or some other treatment, as part of their visit to Opal Moon. I also recognised the need for small, informal workshops & classes on subjects such as crystal therapy, angels, tarot, etc. - something to allow people to learn more without making the commitment to enrol in a longer "course". We just needed to find premises that would be suitable for offering these services. After a great deal of searching around, we found our new premises - a lovely big shop, with 2 rooms at the back - one for use as an office, & the other for our therapy room. The shop was big enough for us to host workshops & classes too.
We enjoyed our lovely, big shop for over two and a half years - having so much space to display our stock was wonderful. Customers no longer tripped over baskets of incense on the floor when they came in, & amazingly we could fit more than 3 people in the shop at a time, which is something we had previously struggled with! We had a fantastic array of different therapies & consultations on offer, & were able to host regular workshops & events. We made lots of new friends, & many of our older customers tracked us down at our new location!
We've been lucky in so many ways over the past few years in Opal Moon, but like so many other businesses, the recession took its toll. Our beautiful, big shop proved difficult to maintain, & it cost us a fortune to heat!! In January 2010 we had the opportunity to relocate...just 4 doors along the road, to smaller & cosier premises, at 136 Queen Margaret Drive. Financially & physically our new shop is much easier for us to maintain, which has given us the chance to focus on building our stock & filling our shelves with the most beautiful, spiritually inspired goods that we can find! And energetically this space seems to work well for us, it really feels like home! We continue to build our business online too, & enjoy taking Opal Moon "on the road" with stalls at fairs & special events.
Personally I feel incredibly blessed to have been the proud owner of Opal Moon over the past 20 years. I've had a wonderful opportunity to learn & meet so many amazing people along the way. Coupled with this I've spent a great part of my time surrounded by all my favourite things, in truly magical surroundings! Of course none of it would have been possible without the loyalty, enthusiasm & hard work of the Opal Moon Goddesses! Special mention should be given to my gorgeous friend Marina, who kept everything sparkly & bright for me while I went off on my travels & adventures; to Eryn, who's lovely energy lifts everyone's spirits, & who's amazing organizational skills have got me out of many a guddle!; to Susan (& Scully!), who have stuck by Opal Moon through thick & thin & brought an abundance of enthusiasm & loyalty (as well as many tables & shelving units!) throughout the years; & Laura, who's spread her lovely, gentle, calm energy through her meditation class, her inspirational art, & her work in the shop. Other Stars include Chelsea, Emmeline, Jeanette, Anastasia & Kaia..thank you all for being part of Opal Moon for a while.
So , Happy 20th Birthday Opal Moon! Thank you to all our customers & friends who have supported us so well over the years...here's to another 20, Goddess willing!
I hope that you will continue to follow Opal Moon's amazingly magical journey! Joan, February 2011
To be continued...