Greetings from the Grove! It’s Michelle, your dedicated shopkeeper (and blogger). For all our friends and loyal customers, here’s a quick look at what’s been going on around the store.
Improved website
Groveandgrotto.com got a l’il makeover a couple of months ago, and doesn’t it look snazzy? We switched to a new store format that supports the most recent security features and a better browsing experience. (We also ditched our signature seafoam green color...everybody is using it these days. Oh well!)
You told us you wanted the site to be more mobile friendly, and we listened. We also added more category pages to help you dig through our growing inventory.
Typically, I do all the website and design work myself, but my brilliant techie+artist wife (that's her, above) is always available in case I get stuck.
We have gotten some feedback that the blog posts are harder to find. (The new store’s search function only returns product pages.) But don’t worry—all the past blog posts are still hosted on the site. Try browsing by topic or looking on my author site. If all else fails, shoot us a note and we’ll be glad to send a link to the content you’re looking for.
Travel
2019 has been a year of travel for the Grove and Grotto staff. Besides setting up our booth at Texas events, we ventured out to some trade shows and conferences in other states. These trips allow us to meet awesome authors/teachers, learn about products that aren’t available through mail order, and basically get the knowledge we need to continually make the store better.
In February, we went to Tuscon on our annual gem-buying trip. In June we flew to Denver for the International New Age Trade Show, one of the largest gatherings of the mind/body/spirit industry. (That's me, waiting to place an order with Llewellyn.) And in July, I went solo to Atlanta for Mystic South, an exciting new weekend conference for Pagans. If you missed it, check out my detailed event review here.
New Items
Our customers love variety, and we love seeking out unique and inspiring goodies for the shop. The quickest way to catch up is to shop our New Arrivals page.
This year, with the expansion of our warehouse, we’ve focused on adding larger altar pieces like chalices and figurines. Other new additions include the Ancient Elements incense from Sun’s Eye, some adorable enamel pins, and the best of 2019’s crop of Tarot and oracle decks.
My fave new deck is the Magickal Herb Oracle from Cheralyn Darcey. It mixes stunning botanical collages and herbal lore into an excellent tool for divination and study. I met the author in Denver and she was delightful faery kin—she even signed my copy of her newest title, The Book of Faerie Spells! She has a unique rapport with the world of herbs and flowers that permeates all her books and decks.
Community
Even though I work alone most days, I do my best to stay connected to the Pagan and witchy communities where I live. Writing about witchcraft and selling ritual supplies is an amazing job, but nothing compares to actually doing magick with magickal people.
Grove and Grotto will appear at several gatherings this fall, including next weekend’s DFW Pagan Unity Fest and the Council of Magickal Arts Samhain event.
So many people look forward to these annual events. For many, it’s the only contact they have with real practitioners of the Craft. If you don't have a witchcraft store nearby, vendors like us bring the store to you! We believe in sharing the love, supporting as many events as possible with our attendance or donations, or both. Check out this prize box we prepared for October's Austin Witches' Ball fundraiser:
Over the past few months, managing our busy storefront has meant less time for writing and social media. But I’m still posting new articles when I can. Two recent articles I’m proud of are this one on psychic empathy, and this one on my two favorite topics, magick and booze!
Well, that's about all the time I have. Time to make that daily warehouse and post office trip. Thank you for reading, and for supporting our little shop. Love you all bunches!
Sincerely,
Michelle Gruben
Owner, Grove and Grotto
Read past store updates (we post 'em every six months), or see more articles in the archive.