A local business inspired by the owner’s journey from loss to healing, has opened a new storefront in Joliet.
Karen Mahoney’s Soul Sanctuary Shop is located 600 Theodore St., Suite A, Joliet.
The store features wax melts and accessories, shower steamers, and candles and incense.
“Scents can bring back memories,” Mahoney said. “When you smell something, it can remind you of something in your childhood or a good time or a bad time in life. It can evoke happiness, maybe sometimes sadness.”
The store also carries handcrafted goat milk soaps and natural dish soaps from Spain Family Farm and candles and incense sticks, according to the Soul Sanctuary Shop Facebook page.
Shoppers will also find inspirational mugs, mindfulness books, anxiety and stress-relief resources, journals, and coloring books, according to the Facebook page.
More than 10 years ago, Mahoney learned “the art of scent, intention, and mindful craftsmanship” and began creating aromatherapy-inspired products, according to the Soul Sanctuary Shop website.
After a series of losses – job loss, divorce, death of her father and relinquishing her first small business (Me & Koko) – Mahoney said she embarked on a “healing journey,” which helped her learn to care for herself.
Mahoney, who has five grown children, “a Cheagle who runs the house” and a “sweet, handsome Black Lab,” said she was used to putting everyone else first, she said.
So, Mahoney designed her storefront to be a healing “destination” for others with a distinct “mood and vibe” for reading and working on laptops, she said.
“I really just want to make this a comforting space,” Mahoney said.
Mahoney signed the lease in February.
“The space was in deplorable condition, so I had a three-month build-out, and my kids and I did it all ourselves: painting, tearing down a wall, scraping paint off windows,” Mahoney said. “A whole lot of repairs and love were put into it.”
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Mahoney said she furnished her shop with “Facebook marketplace finds, thrift store and garage sale treasures.”
“And donations from wonderful people who believed in me,” Mahoney said.
She plans to offer candle-pouring workshops, girls’ night out events, a small community library where people “take a book and leave a book” and a cooler of healthy bottled drinks patrons can purchase,” she said.
“I’ll have some bistro tables where people can sit and relax and nice music playing,” Mahoney said.
For more information, visit soul-sanctuary-shop.myshopify.com.
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