No More Alchemy Stone Sales on Facebook!

We were originally quite excited when Facebook made it possible for us to add an actual Alchemy Stone shop as an adjunct to our Facebook page.

Since the majority of visitors find us through Facebook it only made sense that we should be able to offer the stones to people immediately as they discovered them.

Although we were happy to be able to offer stones on Facebook, the Facebook selling utility always had its share of problems!

The process of actually putting a stone up for sale was quite cumbersome and really not designed for somebody selling one-of-a-kind items, and on the other side of the coin, people who were potential buyers experienced issues with their payment, and were hesitant to actually trust Facebook with their personal payment information.

The long and the short of it was that while many of us use Facebook we don't necessarily trust them!

Anyway as of this writing we have removed all links to our Facebook sales page from the Alchemy Stones website because Facebook recently decided to integrate people's ability to sell things on Facebook directly into their "Facebook Marketplace." This means we no longer could have something that looked like an integrated shop, but instead ended up with listings for Alchemy Stones being mixed in with mattresses and used baby high chairs.

This does not in any way affect the fact that we still have a Facebook PAGE which we use to share new designs and announcements about events and new items. Actual sales, however, are now referred to our Etsy shop.

So, if you saw something in our Facebook shop and it is now gone, please have a look for it in our Etsy Shop instead!

Have a Heart!

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, I wanted to take a moment to talk about a special category of Alchemy Stones, namely our "Heart Stones."

A typical Heart Stone in the "original" format.

Although I am generally not a big fan of "seasonal art," we have always gotten many requests for an Alchemy Stone pattern painted on a heart shaped rock,  so I find finally arrived at some kind of compromise back in 2016.

You see, part of the challenge here is that heart-shaped rocks are pretty rare to begin with and to find actual heart-shaped rocks that are smooth enough and suitable to be painted on is pretty much a one-in-a-million proposition.

So when I talk about making a "compromise" of sorts, I started painting heart-related motifs on stones that were vaguely heart-shaped.

The basic format is a hed heart in the center of the stone, with a mandala like pattern built around it.

Even so, these were relatively few and far between and I would always save them up so that they would become available in the Etsy shop in mid-January and if there were any left over (or I found any more) they would be put up for sale in late April ahead of Mother's Day.

A "new" style Heart Stone

In the last couple of years I've relaxed a little bit on my own requirement for stones to be heart-shaped with the introduction of a second style of heart stone. These are basically an oblong stone featuring a pink white and red focused mandala at the wide end and a red heart at the narrow end.

Finding this kind of oval stone is a little bit easier, especially when we go on one of our entire weekend long beachcombing trips.

Even so we have seldom had more than maybe 10-12 heart stones available, because they invariably are the first things to sell when we go to face-to-face events.

In an effort to offer people more options with respect to heart-related stones, I also started painting "Pocket Hearts" in 2018.

Pocket Hearts have gone on to be the single most popular thing in the ever expanding Alchemy Stone universe, and the nice thing is that I am often able to make them in somewhat larger quantities because the patterns are relatively simple, and I am far less strict about how symmetrical and/or flat the stones have to be.

A group of "Pocket Hearts"

Pocket Hearts (as the name might suggest!) are always painted on fairly small stones and they all come in a gift bag with the small Alchemy Stone information pamphlet enclosed. They're entirely hand painted — just like their larger cousins — but just with a simpler design and a smaller size.

You can find all the Heart Stones currently available by visiting the Etsy shop and checking out the Heart Stones category.

Have a wonderful and loving Valentine's Day!

 

Happy New Year from Alchemy Stones!

Happy 2025, everyone!

We have turned the page to a new year, and hopefully it will be an exciting and prosperous one for everyone. Here at our place we're looking forward to lots of new creativity and look forward to meeting many of our customers at shows during the year.

2024 ended on a high note as we got to meet many of our Alchemy Stones friends while attending the Chimacum Arts and Crafts Fair in December.

While we live in a world where so much of our life takes place in the online world it is always very gratifying to spend time with people and getting to interact and put the stones directly into people's hands.

It was also very nice to meet many old friends that used to come and see us when we had the Red Dragonfly Gallery here in Port Townsend.

We look forward to making many new friends in 2025!

Last Event of 2024!

2024 Show Set Up

We're heading into the final stretch of 2024 and are currently at the last show of the season! It always takes place in Chimacum, WA at the High School (on the way into Port Townsend) which magically becomes something similar to a European Christmas Market. 

Vendors from all over the Puget Sound region (and beyond) gather for this incredible event, which is also a major fund-raiser. 

We hope you and yours have a terrific Holiday Season, and remember, while it might be too late to ship an Alchemy Stone in time for gift giving, we do offer Gift Certificates. 

The best gift for anyone, any time, is a Rock. 
Make it an Alchemy Stone! 

Oh, and just as a side note, Peter has now begun to paint his designs on semi-precious materials (ethically sourced) like rose quartz and labradorite. Stay tuned for pictures and more to come in the new year! 

Showtime: 2024 UFO/Paranormal Summit

Greetings friends!

Just a quick update with some photos from our latest event: Although it was on very short notice, we packed up the "shop" and headed for Ocean Shores, Washington for the 2024 UFO/Paranormal Summit during the first weekend of May.

We were delighted to have been invited to the "reboot" of this event after our last time there in 2019, before Covid!

Sarah was one of the presenters in the main conference hall, while I kept the Alchemy Stones tables in the vendor area.

Because the event was announced with relatively short notice, we lucked out and got a "double table."

This has long been our favorite "niche event" and it is put together and run by some wonderful folks, and the attendance is typically very large, drawing from both metro Seattle-Tacoma and metro Portland. This year was no exception, and we're really glad to have this even back on the show calendar!

Overall, I am just really happy that it seems like "going to events" has pretty much recovered to the point we were at, by the end of 2019. It has been a few strange and turbulent years for independent arts and crafts people, particularly if you're primarily depending on face-to-face events for the bulk of your sales, as we do.

Although Alchemy Stones do photograph quite well, part of the appeal comes from simply being able to hold them in your hand.

Anyway, we're hoping to come back to this event next year, although you never know! Thanks to everyone who stopped by the booth to say hello, and thanks to Johnny Manson and crew for putting on a great event!

Happy New Year From Alchemy Stones!

Greetings everyone, and welcome to 2024!

We hope you have had a great Holiday season, and would like to thank everyone who took the time to come out and see us at the various Christmas Fairs we attended at the end of 2023!

It was really nice to see some old friends and make some new ones... and we were really happy to see that people finally seem to be "getting out again" in the wake of Covid scares.

At the moment, we are working to update our Etsy shop for 2024, making it the primary sales outlet for Alchemy Stones. Whereas we will continue to maintain a presence on eBay, its importance is declining on account of the giant marketplaces' growing emphasis on servicing large corporations rather than individual sellers. It's a shame, since eBay owes its success to individual sellers...

We're excited about the new year, and hope to bring lots of beautiful new items to you over the coming months.

This year, we will particularly be focusing on the metaphysical and healing aspects of Alchemy Stones... an area we have increasingly been getting positive feedback about!

Scan below to visit the Alchemy Stones Etsy Shop!

Show Season 2023: Thanks to All Our Friends!

Last few weeks have been very busy, but now we have finished Alchemy Stones' 2023 events schedule, and it's time for some well-deserved rest, and time with family!

This year, Alchemy Stones traveled to Port Gamble, Washington as vendors at the Port Gamble Ghost Conference for the first time. It was a lovely event, and it is fun and rewarding to meet an audience that is different from whom we usually see at Arts & Crafts fairs. 

Our booth at the Chimacum Arts & Crafts Fair

Without a doubt, we will be looking into doing more "niche events" in the months and years ahead!

Of course, our "Big" show of the year was the Chimacum Arts and Crafts Fair in December! This 36-year old event always draws large crowds, and we really like it because the quality of the merchants is kept very high. 

Since it is local to our area, it is also a great way for us to stay in touch with our local customers, many of whom became friends while we had our gallery in downtown Port Townsend, back before all the COVID chaos. 

As always, we did extremely well with small "pick up gifts," selling out of several items. I think a lot of people who visit our web sites and online shops aren't always aware that you can get a hand painted Alchemy Stone for for under $10!

We got to catch up with a number of old friends, which was lovely... several of whom we had not seen since the 2019 show season. It's good to renew old friendships.

Our booth at Chimacum

All in all, it's just really nice to feel like people are feeling safe to be "out and about" again!

Quite gratifying is also the fact that we're starting to see a few Alchemy Stone "collectors" who have been following my work through the years and how have whole "displays" in their homes! That's far beyond anything I had ever hoped for... and I have much gratitude!

We're going to take a well-deserved rest now, but look forward to another year. I'm already thinking up new ideas and design styles.

I will be posting a schedule of 2024 events we'll be attending sometime in the spring... or when we get some sort of sense of when we'll be where! In general, though, we recommend visiting the Etsy shop as it is always "in stock!"

In the meantime, we'd like to wish everyone a very Happy Holiday season!

Showtime: First Time at the Port Gamble Ghost Conference!

This year, we expanded our horizons a bit by including more "niche" events in our show schedule.

Alchemy Stones tend to appeal to a very wide audience, and we have long had a strong "fan base" within UFO-Paranormal-Metaphysics circles. 

So, for the second weekend in November, we returned to historic Port Gamble, Washington for the 2023 Port Gamble Ghost Conference. Although we have previously been at a Steampunk event in Port Gamble — a decade ago — this was our first time to be part of this particular event.

The event — well, the part where the vendors were — took place in the history Port Gamble Theater. 

One of the things we really enjoyed was that the vendor tables were in the same auditorium as the presentations, so we got to participate, while also showing off the stones to a new audience.

We had a really enjoyable time, and the weather also cooperated reasonably well!

I'm adding a couple of photos of our table from inside the main theater, but they are a bit dark and grainy. It is, however, a very cool old building... as is all of the town of Port Gamble.

Pete Orbea and crew put on an excellent event, and it was quite well attended. As I said before, we have a fairly large "fan base" in the world of the paranormal, and this was no exception. We got to see quite a few familiar faces, and we made some new friends, as well!

This was a fun event, and we definitely hope to be back next year. We might even have two vendor spaces, as Sarah is hoping to give a presentation, and she will have her Spiritus Mundi Oracle Deck ready to sell by then.

 

Alchemy Stones 2023 Holiday Show Schedule!

Here's our current schedule of 2023 Holiday Fairs and Festivals we will be attending with Alchemy Stones (and sometimes Faery Howses), and we hope you'll come by and visit us in person!

November 10-12th: Port Gamble Ghost Conference

Port Gamble, Washington

December 1st-2nd: Festival of Lights

Unity Spiritual Center, Port Townsend, Washington

December 9th-10th: Chimacum Arts & Crafts Fair

Chimacum High School, Chimacum, Washington

December 17th: Last Minute Holiday Fair

Palindrome, Port Townsend, Washington

We'd love to see you in person, and Alchemy Stones are definitely best seen in physical space where you can actually pick them up and have a closer look. We will have lots of new designs for you, for Holiday giftgiving!

Otherwise, Alchemy Stones are always available through our Etsy shop — open 24/7! — just click the link below, or scan the QR code with your phone!

Alchemy Stones Etsy Shop

Other online stores:

Alchemy Stones on eBay

Alchemy Stones on Amazon

Alchemy Stones on Facebook Marketplace

We look forward to seeing you, this holiday season!

New Category of "Petite" Alchemy Stones now on Etsy!

When we take Alchemy Stones to events and shows, the most popular thing on offer are usually our "petite" stones.

Not surprising, as they are still entirely hand made, but they are also a "quick and easy gift" between $6.00 and $10.00.

So far, I have not had any of the petite stones in the online shops, primarily because I don't keep a detailed inventory of them and when shopping online, we usually want "the one in the picture."

Given the time needed for individual photography, photo processing and listing a single item for sale, I have not previously explored this particular avenue.

However, I also know that "times are tough" for many folks and these are our most popular stones... so I have now created a new "Category" in the Etsy shop where you can find individually painted "Petite" Alchemy Stones, priced at just $9.00 each... and it's just in time for Mother's Day!

These are only available online, and are actually a little more complex than the stones we offer at outside events!

Meanwhile, I also have plans to find a way to create something similar for small Chakra Stones, which are also very popular at shows.

Stay tuned!