We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Xenia Mateiu a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Xenia, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I fell in love with crystals and gemstones a long time ago. At first, I was fascinated by how pretty crystals are and how calm you feel when you stare at them, explore every corner, see how they shine from different angles, and what intriguing textures and shapes stones have. I got more and more into crystals and gems. I started to be curious about how these beautiful gifts from the Earth form, how they get mined and polished, how people use them, and what they are believed to do spiritually or metaphysically.

My passion for gemstones and crystals was the starting point for my business idea. I wanted to share my passion with others and start a business that I knew I would love, that would keep me motivated and give my all. It’s important for me to do what I like and have that strong drive to learn and develop my business and not feel like I am investing time and resources in something I don’t believe in.

Coming up with this business idea wasn’t such a long and complicated process for me. I felt that sooner or later, I would love to run a gift shop where people could come and ask for the best stones for themselves or their families and friends, and where local artisans and artists could contribute with their carefully crafted products.

So, by starting my local crystal shop in Carlsbad, California – Village Rock Shop – I wanted to pursue my passion but also try to provide the people in my community (and later on, the online community) with affordable, genuine, and ethically sourced crystals and gemstones. Crystals have risen in popularity in recent years, but the market is not easy to navigate as finding reliable and trustworthy providers can be tricky.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am Xenia Mateiu, founder and owner of Village Rock Shop in Carlsbad, California, for your lovely readers who haven’t yet gotten to know me. My growing interest and passion for gemstones and crystals were the driving motor behind my starting this business. Still, prior to opening my shop, I already had almost a decade of experience in the retail industry.

I collaborate with artisans, local crafters, and people who do crystal mining themselves to offer unique crystal products and gifts in our shop. Whether you visit us in Carlsbad or surf our website, you will see one-of-a-kind products – from handmade candles, sage sticks, dreamcatchers, jewelry, recycled bells, and essential oils to raw crystals, polished crystals, massage crystal wands, palm stones, and fossils. We are proud we can offer such a unique collection of handmade products and authentic crystals and offer guidance with shopping.

Customers come to our shop with various needs; they may search for a unique gift for their loved ones, inquire about a crystal that can help soothe anxiety or just a cute charm for their pet. I love how this encourages me to stay flexible and help each client find the right crystal and artisanal product for their needs.

Besides helping these people find their most needed crystal, I also get to listen to their stories and be there for them as a human being, empathizing and lending them an ear. The number of clients contacting me with a rather sad story is not small. Some are looking for a crystal to help them cope with the sorrow of losing someone; others have been struggling for years with anxiety and depression and want to know what crystal to use with breathing techniques. Of course, I also have cheerful clients who love the environment in our shop and come to watch our monarch butterflies hatch, attend a cultural event, or buy crystal jewelry for themselves. But each person who visits is important and can teach you something about life and human interaction.

The thing I am most proud of is that my shop managed to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, which had quite an impact and almost got me to a point where I couldn’t keep up with the shop’s rent, but then it made me more aware of the fact that I needed to try to grow my business online as well. I learned a lot about the importance of having a well-organized site, growing your online presence, and growing your social media following. All these online business growth factors were not part of my main focus initially, as I thought I could manage my business satisfactorily on a local, physical level. In other words, I am proud and grateful for how much I learned from my business facing such challenges from 2020 till last year.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I started my business not fully aware that one person can’t handle so much work. I’m not saying I was alone; my dear friends and family supported me through this, but there was that part of me who believed I could do much more work on my own than I was actually capable of.

I guess this was a lesson I had to slowly unlearn and, instead, learn how to collaborate more, ask for help, listen to what others have to say, and ask them to come up with ideas. I had to delegate work to others because I could not handle everything alone. Learning to trust others to do something for the business you put so much soul into is not an easy lesson, but it is quite satisfactory in the end.

Now, I can see how partnership, teamwork, and collaboration are the foundation of what I consider a successful business and a healthy work-life balance.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

The products you can find in our shop are either manufactured by talented local artisans and artists or provided by crystal miners and people who collaborate with small mines from the US and various countries outside the US. I like collaborating with other small businesses and supporting each other; I love displaying and selling amazing products and having the artisans talk about how they made each product, what inspired them, and how they want to put a smile on someone’s face.

I have artisans who craft really beautiful dreamcatchers that incorporate small crystals; I have other local crafters who love to get creative and make soy wax candles with dried herbs and essential oils or white sage stick bundles with roses, lavender, chamomile, and many other dried flowers. All these collaborations keep my business alive and help me create a welcoming and pleasant experience for my clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.villagerockshop.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/villagerockshopofficial/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/villagerockshopofficial/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xenia-mateiu-644561180/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/mytribestore
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsjrtyQ7UF7lagYt6gaq1yg
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/village-rock-shop-carlsbad