NORTH SYDNEY, N.S. - A North Sydney woman who designs healing gemstone jewelry has launched a new online store and will soon have her line featured at a Golden Globes gifting suite.
Lisa Lee is a Toronto native who moved to Cape Breton 13 years ago after falling in love with the island during a visit.
In 2016, after 20 years working in marketing, she found herself in a transition to a new path. In the process of “discovering herself” she explored Reiki healing, a technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing that can involve the use of stones and crystals.
“My belief system is, I believe when you have positive thoughts you can attract more positive outcomes,” Lee said in an interview. “I thought Reiki healing would be a great asset to try to help clear away those negative energies.”
The 42-year-old single mother of one daughter became a master Reiki practitioner and learned about the healing properties of gemstones and crystals, and went looking for jewelry that promoted healing, but found little that appealed to her personal sense of style.
“That’s when I started to create this line of jewelry and I decided I’m going to go full-on because when I looked at the market out there and what’s available, nobody is doing anything that I’m doing, in terms of the luxury collection approach,” Lee said.
Self-described as “the Tiffany’s of healing gemstones,” Lee’s pieces are handcrafted by a local Cape Breton Reiki healer, and she said they are infused with their 11-step healing process that is outlined in description cards as part of packaging.
The collection includes gemstone puffy hearts, gem source essences, palm gemstones and sterling silver charms and bracelets for children and adults and necklaces.
“We put a lot of value into the product, we make sure when people receive the product the packaging is beautiful,” Lee said.
Most of the five-person team involved in the business is currently based in Cape Breton and they are all Reiki healers, she added. Her sister, who works with the business, plans to relocate to Cape Breton next year.
“My goal is to create a successful company, hire Reiki healers, and most of them will be out of Cape Breton, and to support the local community,” Lee said.
Wherever possible, they want to make use of local Cape Breton services, in areas such as photography and printing, she noted.
“I want to make sure we have jobs created here and that the products are created by people here,” Lee said.
After paying much attention to detail, the online store launched on Thanksgiving.
As for how she received an invitation to take part in the Golden Globe gifting suite, Lee noted her friend Diana Morrissey, who also makes handmade jewelry, attended it earlier this year. Morrissey was among several people to email the people behind the gifting suite about Lee’s website. That led to a discussion about Lee’s mission statement and the offer to take part.
“This is something that I know will take this company to the next level, and to just get out there to Hollywood,” Lee said.
While she understands she offers a niche product, she also hopes it will eventually break into the mainstream market.
More information about Lee’s business can be found at her website, lisayounglee.com, where she is currently holding an online contest that comes to an end next week.
