We started our journey together as a couple many years ago and started our mobile business, The Bloom Bums, together in December 2019. We did a craft show that was super amazing, and then the world stopped for a few years because of Covid. We focused on our regular jobs but always had some type of side business going on. We did some furniture flipping, plant sales in our parking lot and crystal classes among other things, but kept going back to the fact that we wanted to own our own business and we wanted it to involve our love for crystals and rocks.

 

Cut to 2022, Ben is working for a company selling furniture on Amazon, and Bezos is going to space. He thanked everyone who worked for Amazon for sending him up there. That's when I cashed out my lil' 401K and started vending our crystals, sage, and handmade accesories at the Minneapolis Farmers Market Annex. That is when Ben fell in love with sourcing crystals, and started understanding what it took to source the crystals ethically and affordably. That is when we really started to grow our little crystal community at other events, Keg & Case holiday markets (RIP), Rochester Thursdays Downtown, and now here we are with Pebbles Crystals & More in St Paul.

 

We hope to continue to grow our businesses, open other locations, and grow our community online of folks who love crystals sourced ethically. We just love being able to have a good time owning our own business; living our little queer business owner dreams! We always gonna be here to shake our bussy and live our truths, while listening to our pop queens.

 

We are a 100% queer owned business, and we are proud to ethically source our products. What does that mean? It means we don't source from places like temu, amazon, or big box giants that aren't super nice to their employees or the economy. We prioritize small businesses and cut out big sites that require large commission from artisans & business owners, so they receive more of their money. If we feel we are working with people or businesses that don't hold up to our high ethical standards, we do not continue to do business with them. Period. 

 

We also strive to upcycle whenever possible. We know businesses can create a lot of waste, so we try not to use plastic packaging whenever possible, and we use a service whose purpose is to make sure a majority of our product deliveries are carbon neutral. Our business also makes sure we source our crystals and stones from places that have direct relationships with the mines. A priority of ours is also to make sure we do not source any of our stones from conflict areas, or places high in child labor.

 

Another product we source and sell ethically is our sage and other cleansing bundles; which come from a farm in California. It is always farm grown, and never wild harvested. These farms never use chemicals in the growing process, and the sage is dried in the sun to ensure a pure and safe drying process. They also rotate crops in a way that is more sustainable for the land and better for the crops. Our palo santo is from Peru, and is certified by the Peruvian Government. It is never harvested from live trees. All of the trees from which our Palo Santo is harvested have naturally fallen and have been down for at least one year past the time of falling. 

 

We can't wait for you to see what plans we have in store for our little queer owned crystal shop!  We will see you in the shop and don't forget to add us on Instagram @PebblesStPaul for more updates! Coming soon to Mac Groveland !!