Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandi Perkins.
Hi Brandi, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Earth Commons is an Apothecary with Wellness Services, nestled on Springdale Road in East Austin. We began as a curiosity and an inspiration to create a place where herbalists and herbs can be found by the community that needs them. We wanted to create a place for wellness + connection + education, to make it easier for people to navigate their own wellness and to build a supportive community for everyone. It has always been our desire for a community wellness space to feel open to all people, especially welcoming BIPOC, queer, trans, and long-time East Austin residents.
We opened our herb shop during the pandemic. What a crazy time to open! We were shown that Austin needed this place and we adapted + served our community through the pandemic. We were voted Best of Austin Wild Card Services, and wild card services was truly what we continue to be. We are where people connect with plants + wellness, receive massages, sound healing, acupuncture, wellness consults, classes + more.
The people’s medicine is a common space + language. The conversations we have reach across the plant world into social activism + earth steward relations. Our teachers trickle through us into each other. Earth Commons began as a conversation between co-founders Brandi Perkins & Caroline Caswell, Austin-based herbalists + educators, and since then, this herb shop dream has expanded to include a dynamic community of holistic wellness practitioners + lest we forget the major guides, the herbs! It is a collaboration dedicated to building individual and collective empowerment and it is growing!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
“We Are Water.”
Little did we know what was to come, but this mantra helped navigate everything. From the stresses of opening a brick and mortar and trial by fire as new business owners, there was much to learn quickly in all realms AND there was the pandemic. This mantra was a reminder to find the path of least resistance, as water always travels the path of least resistance. Water is such a powerful element and such a necessary reminder in capitalism. Let there be ease.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We are an herb + gift store located in East Austin, in the heart of the Springdale Neighborhood. We offer a real Apothecary full of dried bulk herbs, local herbalists and their creations for the community from their gardens + bioregional wildlife, local candle makers, jewelry, vegan makeup, body oils + skincare, fragrance, home blessings + ritual tools. We focus on being hyper-local and center on the good work of our community. When we carry something from out of state, it is for good reason, but first and foremost we try to support our local community members in highlighting the work they do.
We are also a gift store, a place to find a unique gift for a special someone, a place to come for a self-care date with yourself.
Aside from being a holistic retail shop, we are pleased to offer wellness services. Receive a massage, an energy clearing (platica or limpia), acupuncture, herbal consults, health coaching, yoga therapy, sound healing, counseling services, and more. Our services page will show you exactly what we are offering.
We are makers ourselves. We make our own in-house tea blends, supportive herbal formulas for common needs, mugwort massage oils, and holistic fragrance blends.
We have gardens in the back yard and we encourage you to come to have tea with us and sit with the plants. We are a community.
It is really important that what we offer remains accessible to people. We offer a Community Health fund, created by the community for the community, to help others get the goods they need from our store to support their well-being. If someone is lacking in funds we can create store credit for them because of this.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Being in the woods with the juniper.
Contact Info:
- Email: ourearthcommons@gmail.com
- Website: earth-commons.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earthcommons/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EarthCommons
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcUB7tpu9kHz24QGWSOZS2Q/videos
Image Credits
Personal Photo: Montsho Thoth
