Metaphysical tools, crystals, thousand-year-old specimens and all-natural minerals line the walls of Geology Rocks! and Minerals, 1232 N. Milwaukee Ave., creating an atmosphere that’s high-vibrational and comforting.

Liz Kern, manager of Geology Rocks! and a crystal enthusiast, felt connected to the job in the summer of 2020 when she was in need of spiritual healing and found the shop made her feel fulfilled spiritually and emotionally.

“It’s just combining work with my favorite hobby and passion,” Kern said. “I love working here, but to make the environment good for other people we always try to be as warm, welcoming, inviting and accepting as possible, especially because people come in here and they’re so vulnerable with what they’re going through and they’re looking for some sort of help when it comes to the spiritual healing side.”

Whenever the store gets new inventory, Kern said there’s a lot of self-teaching involved in the history and knowledge of the crystals and metaphysical healing.

“When it comes to that self-teaching, that’s where you really need to have that want, love and passion for what you’re selling, because you can’t really sell things very well without that passion,” Kern said.

Hoping to inspire with her passion for crystal healing, Kern provides educational tips and tricks for customers to share in her love for crystals.

“[Geology Rocks!] ultimately strives for education, and whether someone asks us a question and we answer it to the best of our ability or they go home and they have their info card that we give them so that they can read it and learn on their own,” Kern said. “We just hope to inspire that same passion that we have with other people.”

As the pandemic helped people tap into their spirituality, crystal trends became more popular on social media feeds. Kern has had customers ask about the recent trending crystals that include moldavite and carnelian.

“When we first opened, it was the moldavite craze, and moldavite is already a very rare and higher-priced item, and with the trends, I think growing popular increased the price even more,” Kern said. “Next was carnelian, which we actually sold out of our tumbles so quickly.”

Justin Kistler, owner of Geology Rocks!, always had a fascination with the planet Earth and discovering the natural art of geology. Kistler wanted to open a space for people from all walks of life to experience natural art.

“We didn’t get in the business in the beginning for wellness and spiritual growth,” Kistler said. “We knew that that was part of it, but didn’t realize just how big of a part it was. … Through the years, you can’t help but develop more of a spiritual side or an open-mindedness towards the certain appreciations for [crystal healing], so we try to just reciprocate the information we’ve learned.”

Kistler said Geology Rocks! has a core understanding and respect of the cultural practices tied to the minerals they sell.

Mathias Morales, retail associate at Geology Rocks!, feels he is connected to a clear purpose through working at the store.

Morales said he had a strong affinity towards rocks growing up and is now able to pass on that love and educate himself more through customer interactions.

“When it comes to the metaphysical side of the shop … I’m learning as much as [the customers] are learning,” Morales said. “I’m over here to help explore and help them as well as myself understand it to a better degree. From the geology perspective, some rock collectors or mineral collectors will come in and they’ll actually tell me a little bit of a story of the history of one of the items that we may have.”

Geology Rocks! provides educational pamphlets with each crystal purchased so customers can research chakra meanings and origins.

“We definitely try to summarize each chakra to where they [customers] can figure out the core of their problems,” Kern said. “They [crystals] do have their own energy.”

Kern educates customers about what crystal is aligned with each chakra.

“Chakras are like little energy centers in your body and each one has its own little energies that they revolve around and harness,” Kern said. “Connecting the crystals to that chakra helps to work through any issues or imbalances and align them.”

The shop also offers sound healing with singing bowls that help align chakras.

“Each singing bowl has a different sound frequency, and then so healing can be done through sound, as well through certain hertz measurements,” Kern said.

Kistler attributes the success of Geology Rocks! to the passion that comes from the employees.

“Every single person that works within my company loves what they do,” Kistler said. “They get to help people on a daily basis and we get to communicate all of the cool stuff, not just the metaphysical, but the history behind the mining expertise … I think that passion comes with the people who work within this company is what brings people back.”

For more information on crystals, minerals and specimens, customers can visit Geology Rocks! and Minerals website and follow the shop’s Instagram for giveaways, live streams and fun crystal facts.