Elysian Fields Celebrates 10 Years
Elysian Fields: n. 1. any place or condition of perfect happiness; paradise.
Elysian Fields is celebrating its tenth anniversary this month. The store that offers "books and gifts for conscious living" also provides its customers with a spirit-nourishing oasis of tranquility amid the frantic bustle of daily life. Natural Awakenings talked with Elysian Fields owners Kim Perkins and Lea Semple to get the story behind the store.
Whose idea was Elysian Fields? How did it come into being?
Lea: I think it happened spontaneously between both of us. Several years before we opened the store, we came up with the idea to have a retreat center. That idea, over the years, evolved into a bookstore, because we couldn't find the books that we wanted to read. And I knew that bookstores don't make much money, so we decided to sell some gifts as well. Then we chose a name, wrote a business plan, and put an ad in the yellow pages, even though we didn't have a store. The ad, "Elysian Fields, Coming Soon," was in the yellow pages for four years. We got a phone with an answering machine, and we got all these messages from people.
Kim: We took down everyone's name and address, so finally, when we did have a location, we had a mailing list of 500 people. We didn't plan it that way. We knew that it was going to open; we just had no clue how.
How did you meet?
Kim: In the early 1980's, we were both living in Naples. Lea wrote a wonderful, eloquent letter to the editor about natural pest control that appeared in the paper. When I read her letter, I said, I need to work with this woman. She had created a grass-roots organization, so I went and volunteered, and that's how I met her.
What kinds of work did you do before you opened Elysian Fields?
Kim: Lea specialized in going into retail stores that weren't doing well and helping them get back on their feet - it's called "retail magic." (laughs) She's very gifted at display and buying.
Lea: I've done a lot of things. I've worked in candle factories and sold sheepskin coats and had a landscaping business and was a nanny...I have a very eclectic background.
Kim: I worked in banking, and I've owned businesses, including a nursing agency and telecommunications company. My background is more in management, personnel and business.
How does your partnership work?
Kim: We each have very definite areas of responsibility. Lea does all the buying, and she is responsible for how the store looks. I handle things like leases, financing, and personnel. So we complement each other, and everything balances out.
Lea: We make a great team.
Kim: We use all kinds of different resources to make decisions. We use information from dreams, from cards, from astrology. We truly honor these sources and we combine them with a vast array of practical business tools.
Lea: We use metaphysics in a very practical way every day. It's a natural part of everything we do here.
How did you get interested in metaphysics? Were your families supportive of that area of interest as you were growing up?
Kim: I was born into a metaphysical family. Both my parents were metaphysical ministers. My father had this incredible library, so I grew up reading about all kinds of master teachers and different world religions. So I thought that was normal. But Lea was the pioneer in her family.
Lea: My family was very white collar, business people, no real spiritual interests. And I always had this, from the time I was born. So I've been searching and searching, starting from scratch. Actually, I was fortunate to graduate from a Rudolph Steiner High School in New York. I found the school kind of by accident, and it was a real blessing for me to end up there, because it was a very spiritual environment. I finally found someplace where Icould get some different points of view. Because of my experiences, I wanted to have a store that offered the kinds of information that I had to search for.
How has Elysian Fields changed during the ten years you've been in business?
Lea: Our idea was to create a place where anybody from any belief system, any walk of life, any background, would feel comfortable and enjoy their experience and find something that they connected with. We wanted to create a safe, peaceful, open atmosphere. I think the way that it's changed the most is that so many, if not all, of the things that we were trying to make available have become very mainstream. The whole idea of bringing spirituality into your everyday life in very practical ways is commonly accepted now. It wasn't ten years ago.
So have you seen a change in your customers?
Lea: I think so, because the interest in all these subjects has grown so much. Now, it isn't just a few people who are interested in these things; it's everybody. So our customer base has expanded.
Kim: I've noticed a major difference in our customers. Now they're more open, they're well informed, and they want to find ways to bring love and peace and that sense of connection with spirit into their lives. That used to be a new idea, that you could do that. Now people know you can do that, so they focus is on how you are going to do that.
What are you doing to celebrate your ten-year anniversary?
Kim: We have been celebrating all year long. Every month, we've been giving away a customer appreciation gift, just to say thanks. Also, Amy Zerner and Monte Farber, the creators of the Enchanted Tarot and the Enchanted Astrology Decks will be here giving readings on Tuesday, November 13. And Angi Ma Wong, the author of Feng Shui Do's and Taboos, will do a book signing on November 16, which is our actual anniversary. At 6:00 that evening, we're going to have a gratitude circle, followed by an open house, with foods and gifts for everyone. Then on Saturday, Angi Ma Wong will do two feng shui workshops.
You have such a wide variety of gifts - how do you select them?
Lea: Every item is chosen specifically for its quality, and it has to fit in with the store. Whether it's personal care products or candles or jewelry or CDs or Tibetan statuary, it's got to have a connection to the books, to spiritual living, to enhancing a sacred atmosphere. It's got to have a special something - it's not just stuff.
Do you have a favorite item in the store?
Kim: We both love the books. That's why we did this. Even though we win awards year after year for best gift store, Lea and I think we have a bookstore. (both laugh) I love the stones and crystals too - Lea does most of the buying, but I order the stones.
Lea: I have more fun buying books than anything. That's really my love. And I do have a favorite item - the Peace Cranes.
How has being involved with Elysian Fields impacted your life?
Lea: It is my life. My life and my work are the same, there's no difference between the two. It's wonderful to be able to do something that is so much a part of who I am every day.
Kim: I think a lot of the joy for me comes from talking with customers - we have amazing customers. I get to surround myself with wonderful people and beautiful things. I mean, how does life get better than this? There's a synergy here that I've never felt anywhere else.
Do you see yourselves staying with Elysian Fields in the future?
Kim: When we moved to this location in 1995, when we lost our lease suddenly and had to relocate, Lea and I looked at each other and said, do we really want to keep doing this? And the answer we came to was, the store wasn't done yet. So we did keep doing it. In a way, it's like being stewards.
Lea: But there have been times that we've been here 120 hours a week. This has been a labor of love right from the beginning. We both put an immeasurable amount of our lives into making this happen. We make it sound like everything was very effortless and it has always been wonderful, but making something wonderful takes a lot of hard work and long hours. It just doesn't happen on its own.
Even though it's a lot of work, it doesn't sound like you would turn it over to other people even if you could.
Kim: Slowly, but surely, we are hiring people to take over some areas of the business. Some day we'd both like to be able to take two-week vacations! And even though we work together, we don't get to spend much time with each other - we'd like to do more of that.
Lea: There are parts of my work that I can teach someone. There are certain parts, though, that I don't think any one of us could give up and have Elysian Fields still be Elysian Fields. So we're pretty committed to staying with those essential parts. It is a lot of work - but we still love it after 10 years.
