Sarah Gordon always wanted to open a hippy shop

When she was younger, Sarah Gordon — the owner of Holistic Gypsiez — always wanted to open a hippy shop, but she never imagined how it would turn out.

"When I was younger, a hippy shop was my dream," Gordon said. "It was actually me and one of my friends who had the idea."

Opening the shop hasn't been easy for Gordon. She and her friend had plans to open the business together, but her friend sadly died before it could happen.

"My friend actually overdosed in 2018," she said. "I was going through hard times, too. Then I lost another friend, and I kind of threw my plans out to her. She was going through cancer. I was going through health problems myself."

Due to her own health issues, Gordon discovered holistic healing.

"I was tired of trying to go to all these doctor's appointments and all the medications," she said. "So I just started diving into holistic healing for my friend and I."

Gordon attributes her interest in the practice to her grandmother and mother.

"I guess I kind of got a little medicine woman in me from my grandmother and mother," she said. "They always had their vitamins, and my mom got me into the crystals."

After her friend died, Gordon was angry. She went through a very dark period and didn't know what to do, but then she found reiki and things began to change.

"I went and did reiki, and it opened my eyes," she said. "Reiki put me on this path where I was starting to look at myself. I started doing some internal work on my own instead of therapy. I started this idea of putting a little shop together. In the beginning, I had the hippy ideal. As my path evolves, my store is evolving, too."

Before moving to Mt. Pleasant and opening the shop, Gordon didn't know anyone in town. She doesn't have that problem anymore.

"I started out in a little shop, and in no time, we moved to Mt. Pleasant," she said. "I filled every corner of the shop. I got to know people because I was always out in front. I didn't know anybody in this town until I started it. I just really loved it."

One of the hardest parts of running the business was dealing with COVID-19.

"When COVID happened, I stayed at home for two weeks," she said. "Then I was starting to get fear, and all of this stuff just started flooding over me. I was like, oh no, I'm going back to my shop."

During the pandemic, people still flooded the business. According to Gordon, the pandemic didn't affect her that much.

Gordon made the move to her new, more prominent location this year. The previous location was too small for the number of products in the store.

The most rewarding aspect of her job is helping others, like the help she received.

"When I get to help people in ways that I've helped myself, it's really rewarding," Gordon said. "It also keeps me accountable to myself, and it keeps me from going back. So I just keep going. There are days that I fight mental illness. There are days that I have medical issues, and this path has gotten me to where I have hope. I know tomorrow is a new day. I remember the days when I didn't feel like that. Now I just have my own power."

Comments: hunter.moeller@southeastiowaunion.com