GiftMeSoul , a new boutique in Beacon, brings together what owner Elisabeth Noel Jones describes as “retail, immersive wellness experiences and meaningful connection.” Inspired by Jones’ personal journey of transformation, the boutique was created as a place where visitors can “slow down, reconnect and discover products and practices that support intentional living.”
And it’s in this new space that customers can also browse a selection of “spiritually centered” gifts, including fragrances, crystals, jewelry, books and plant-powered edible wellness products from increasingly well-known brands like KA!, Plant People, The Pathfinder and Céleste Wellness.
In a recent interview with the Westchester County Business Journal, Jones explained that she had taken her previous expertise in luxury retail and applied it to wellness, intentionally moving herself into the niche she calls “wellness retail.”
The new store is self-funded “by design” at this stage, although Jones said she is open to the right investor, someone “who understands the scale of the opportunity happening in the wellness and healing space right now.”
The coming together of retail and wellness is something that Jones sees as natural, perhaps almost inevitable, and at GiftMeSoul, it finds its expression in an intimate wellness sanctuary, tucked behind the retail space, that features the Morphus Journey Lounge chair, a piece of furniture that combines vibro-acoustic vibration, synchronized sound and light therapy.
It’s here that Jones’s offers her personalized sessions, which help clients relax, focus or meditate.
The goal, she said, was for GiftMeSoul to become “a trusted resource for one’s spiritual needs and knowledge,” as every event brings new people through the door, and event attendees become Morphus clients and retail customers.
Jones is singularly community minded. Starting this fall, she plans to host regular events at the store, bringing in experts and practitioners in wellness and spirituality for talks and activations. “Community is the top of my funnel,” she said.
As to what she felt would be the primary driver of revenue and profit within the brick-and-mortar retail space, Jones said she expected it to be the wellness portion of the business.
And asked for her response to the suggestion that assurances of “wellness, spirit and purpose” might sound appealing but could well amount to selling intangible promises, Jones countered that real value is found in how people feel. After experiencing the Morphus Journey Lounge Chair, which is exclusive to GiftMeSoul, she pointed out that her clients have expressed feeling calmer and more grounded. She said the strongest evidence of the benefits was that clients book follow-up sessions and bring their friends.
But she added that, given she is also selling via e-commerce, wellness and retail, it might well end up being an even split when looking at the business topside.
On the question of challenges in launching GiftMeSoul, Jones said that as a solo founder tied to store hours, her biggest challenge had been bandwidth.
“My wonderful support team is remote, so being present in the store means less time out in the world promoting the business, which is exactly why weekend staffing comes first this fall.” The first key hire beyond weekend retail, she added, will be a dedicated wellness practitioner to run Morphus sessions, which will free her to focus on growing the business. From there, she will hire more staff as the business scales.
How will Jones measure her new business’ success? Beyond sales figures, she shared that the milestones will be found in repeat clients and customers. She added that she sees this as the beginning of a larger brand, “especially given the mainstreaming of spiritual wellness and the momentum behind psychedelic healing modalities.” In closing, she referenced pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly’s acquisition of AtaiBeckley, the team advancing rapid-acting mental health therapies.
That takeover was worth $2.8 billion, or “$3.8 billion with milestones” as Jones put it, hardly “small business” and figures that might make any wellness skeptics think again.
