Clear out the bad 2020 vibes and make room for positive 2021 energy. We've partnered with The Urban and The Mystic—an LA-based, female-founded company that creates one of a kind gift boxes that make the world of crystals and mindfulness accessible to all—to create a limited-edition smudge bundle for starting the new year right.
We caught up with co-founder Courtney Abbiati to learn more about energy clearing, material sourcing, and how she got into the business of bringing good vibes.
How did The Urban and the Mystic get started? What was the inspiration behind the brand?
I am a lifelong seeker and lover of all things energy related, I knew the power that crystals, sage, mindfulness, meditation all have had on my life, but I also knew that no one was offering these things in a way that was understandable and really accessible to most people. Pair that with the fact that I am incredibly passionate about sharing those tools and I thought, what if I could create something that was beautiful, different and eye catching while also infusing healing elements such as crystals and palo santo. We all want beautiful things, but now more than ever we want something more, something visually stunning, yes, but more importantly something that makes us feel good, something that adds to our lives, makes us feel better and more connected to the people and world around us, hence, The Urban + The Mystic was born.
What made you want to work with GLCO?
For as long as I can remember I have loved GLCO’s aesthetic—every frame could have been made yesterday or fifty years ago and that fine line of “cool” has always been wildly attractive to me. I also, love that GLCO does what I mentioned above—these products add to your life, they make you feel good about yourself, handsome, put together, special. There is a true craftsmanship to what they create that is not lost on me. I mean, put simply, GLCO is an iconic brand, socially, consciously, and has got that “California Cool” element in spade so it was really a no-brainer!
How/where do you source your materials?
I love this question because we take the sourcing of every single element of our product line very seriously. We work directly with all of our vendors to know we are bringing you ethically minded and high quality crystals from around the world. All of our boxes are made in America out of sustainable oak, our cardboard boxes are post consumer content, biodegradable, and we laser cut into them so no dyes are used. Our sage is harvested on private land in the California mountains, our palo santo is 100% ethically sourced and not from endangered forests, and our candles are made with edible grade coconut wax. We work as hard as we can to meet the highest ethical and eco friendly standards as we can. All of our products, in one way or another, come from the earth and we believe it is our job to take of this beautiful place that has given us everything. I know that may sound hokey, but in my heart that is how I feel. Hashtag, I’m a tree hugger.
Could you walk us through how to use the items in the bundle?
Absolutely! First I think you need to determine what kind of clearly you’re needing to do, sage is fabulous if you’re looking to have a clean slate, clear out all the energy in a space. Palo Santo on the other hand is wonderful if you want to burn away negative energy and call in positive energy. I burn palo santo multiple times throughout my day, it’s scientifically proven to calm us down, it also reduces inflammation and like sage it has anti microbial and anti-bacterial properties in it. Whichever you choose, sage or palo santo, you’ll want to put a match under it and get a flame going, blow that out and you’ll see an ember remaining—that is what you’ll use as you wave it around yourself or your space. Side note, whenever I’m saging myself or a physical space I always have a window open because it can produce a very strong smell. Lastly, the selenite wand is a tool used by healers around the world. I like to call selenite the low maintenance friend we all need. To keep it simple, selenite offers peace, protection and helps get you out of your head. In the hippie world we say it clears away negative and/or stagnant energy, aligns your chakras and opens your crown chakra. It also vibrated so high that you never need to clear it and it can be used to clear other crystals. I’m telling you, the best low maintenance friend ever. I love using selenite when I’m meditating, needing to calm down, and I even keep some next to my bed to help with sleep.
What’s your best tip for self-care during these uncertain times?
The topic of self-care makes me so excited I could scream. There are few things I can think of that are as important as self-care. You cannot pour someone else a glass of water if your pitcher is empty and it’s that simple. Since we’re currently in a time where we can be feeling all sorts of ways, tuning into yourself, your needs, and then addressing them, well, I think this is helpful in ways unimaginable. Pandemic or no pandemic, I swear by meditation, I am a lifelong meditator, certified teacher and I can honestly say it is the one thing that anyone can do anywhere, that's free and will truly change your life for the better. So get on Spotify or YouTube and find some meditations that make you feel good, that calm you down, that help you see the miracles in your life and not just the stuff that is bothering you or seemingly going wrong. Next, I think every person in America, if not the world needs to start with one day, pick one day where you give yourself an uninterrupted hour that is just for YOU. In this hour take a hot bath, read, go for a walk, bake, whatever the thing is that makes you feels good that you probably have put off to do other “important” things. This is a non-negotiable date with yourself. You wouldn’t cancel on your most beloved friends so extend the same love and courtesy to yourself. I think starting there is huge— every morning meditate, start small—five, ten minutes and build from there. Then set a date with yourself that is written in stone and maybe on one of those dates you’ll pull out your See Clearly #2021 box and sit in all the decadent, beautiful, happy, peaceful energy you see for your 2021. And yes, self-care, crystals, and meditation—it’s all that simple.
