Crystal Essence — Local services in Great Barrington

Honestly if I could leave zero stars, I would.

This store used to be incredible before the previous owner passed. I used to love coming in to purchase stones and books, jewelry, the lovely handmade candles....unfortunately I cannot say the same for how it is now. It is now owned by two of the most vile, abusive people I've ever met (and I worked in both retail and local government on the north shore of Long Island so I've met TONS of nasty folks). Not only that, but the quality of their products has hit a steep decline.

Melissa, the owner who manages the store, knowingly commits fraud with the "fossils" sold at this store. They are, in fact, not fossils, but art pieces made to look like fossils. When confronted about this practice, the manager loses her mind and verbally assaults her employees. Melissa has been heard saying incredibly racist and queerphobic things to her young employees, no doubt contributing to the fact that the store can't seem to keep anyone around for more than a few months.

A former employee, Brandon, dated multiple 17-year-old female employees while he was in his 30s and the manager did absolutely nothing to stop this predation. The "crystals" from this store have turned out to be mostly resin and glass, and the white sage and palo alto are sourced from brands that not only steal Indigenous resources and culture, but use harmful and unsustainable harvesting practices.

The son of the other owner also harassed and assaulted a local retail employee on Christmas Eve because he made their store stay open a half hour past closing for his temper tantrum (the video is on tiktok lmao). Apparently it was everyone else's fault but his that he waited until Mary was in labor to think about his children's' Christmas presents.

If this is the energy you want to bring into your spiritual practices, then go right ahead. But I know that anyone with a conscience would stay far away from this horrifying...

I travel the country, meeting a multitude of people in incredibly different stages of understanding and development.  These people have no idea the incredible strength of character and dedication to living inspired mission shops like Crystal Essence have added to their lives.  I consider Crystal Essence to be  Legacy.   We all stand upon the shoulders of those who founded your shop, believed in its providence, and were willing to live the life required to create space, hold space, and then somehow allowed their dreams to become our inheritance.  Just walking onto the sacred ground for which Crystal Essence was built rings true with the harmonics intended for its Legacy to continue and I am one of those who sees that, feels that, and appreciated that....  I have thousands of shops spas and centers on my database, each and every one of them has Crystal Essence and others like her to thank for them even having the option of living a similar dream.   I am honored to have been allowed to join in the energies that build it maintain it and believe in all that is possible thru it. I hold you and your shop in the highest and best of intentions.  I wish you the very best and continue to carry the Essence of Crystal Essence with me  lierally everywhere I go.    Maybe one day I shall return, but for now, I'll be an ambassador of the essence of the magic and miracles founded in Great...

Myself and some friends stumbled across this place while walking around town and we stopped in because it looked like an inviting gift and jewelry shop and it smelled so good from the door. So glad our first impression was right on!

Lots of unique and artistic items. Books, soaps and original gems. I ended up buying a moldavite pendant that caught my eye. I didn’t even know what kind of stone it was but Madeline taught me what it was. She was so friendly and attentive.

This establishment is visibly and openly LGBTQ+ friendly which was important to me in knowing I’d be comfortable here and well received. Next time I’m in town I will make it a...