CAMAS — Washougal residents Melissa Kempthorne and Omar Ramirez launched Vampire Unicorns as an Etsy retailer in 2021 as a “retirement plan,” Kempthorne stated. The web store provided hand-blended tea, candles, attire, crystals, jewellery and kitchenware with an Addams Household sensibility — darkish, however with a humorousness, just like the TV present and flicks based mostly on Charles Addams’ cartoons. Suppose bat-shaped spatulas and a tea referred to as “Rest in Peach.”
On-line gross sales had been strong, so when Kempthorne, 50, was laid off from her job because the regional gross sales supervisor of a flooring firm, she and Ramirez, 48, determined to open a brick-and-mortar retailer. They discovered a spot in east Camas close to Activate Church. Nevertheless, they weren’t positive how folks in east Clark County would reply to a “metaphysical store” like Love Potion Magickal Perfumerie and Crystal Rainbow in downtown Vancouver and Celestial Awakenings in Hazel Dell. They joined the Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce and scheduled a ribbon-cutting.
“The chamber of commerce said it was the biggest grand opening they’d had in their history,” Kempthorne stated. “We had people lined up down to the church and around the corner waiting to get in.”
Vampire Unicorns (a reference to “the dark yet cute spirit animal that lives in each of us,” in line with the shop’s web site) does promote loads of crystals, pendulums and tarot decks, however Kempthorne describes the shop’s aesthetic as half Goth, half witchy.
“Goth is more appreciating the darker things, like skulls and coffins and the aesthetic of black and vampires and supernatural things,” Kempthorne stated. “The witchy is going to be more the crystals and the herbs. It’s more foresty and natural.”
Kempthorne, who grew up attending a Lutheran college, embraced a Goth id in her late teenagers. She found a Goth membership, the place the environment was laid-back and accepting. She stated she might simply hang around together with her associates and have a great time with out being hit on all evening. She preferred that Goths didn’t care about appears to be like, physique sort or sexuality. Goths are outcasts who “just want to find their tribe,” Kempthorne stated. That credo is carried over into her retailer as a gathering place the place like-minded folks can discover associates, she stated.
And discover one another they’ve.
At a latest “Art of Spiritual Cleansing” workshop, a dozen folks of their 30s to their 60s gathered to comply with radiance coach and licensed social employee Vanessa Grace by means of an hourlong meditation. A number of folks got here early to sip cups of Winter Solstice or Enchanted Forest tea and browse the wares within the brightly lit retailer. All besides two had been repeat attendees. Most had found the store by noticing the storefront or listening to about it from others. It’s simple to see the attraction: Kempthorne and Ramirez have a present for making folks really feel comfy, greeting them by identify and setting them comfy with a smile or useful consideration.
Vampire Unicorns presents two to a few workshops each week, and presently has 12 instructors on the roster, protecting every thing from broom-making and spell jars to candle-pouring and tea-blending, Kempthorne stated. The frequency of lessons is designed to construct neighborhood, she stated. Charges are $18 to $100, with most within the $25-$45 vary, however there’s one free group — Broom Membership, a daily crafting get-together open to anybody who’s taken a broom-making class on the retailer.
Crystal objects corresponding to raven skulls, brooms and fairies are on the market at Vampire Unicorns. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)
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The shop’s neighbors on the charismatic Christian Activate Church (host of the annual Christmas within the Park occasion in downtown Vancouver) have been typically pleasant, Kempthorne stated. There’s solely been one notable exception, which Kempthorne most well-liked to not recount on the document within the spirit of preserving goodwill.
Often, curious passersby will are available to go searching however go away after they see it’s not one thing they’re excited about. That’s simply high-quality, stated Kempthorne, as a result of she and Ramirez “respect everybody’s path.”
Tiffany Lovelace, who leads the pastoral care crew at Activate Church alongside together with her husband, Brandon, stated she’d been inquisitive about Vampire Unicorns because it opened and puzzled what was inside. One night she and different church members had been praying collectively when she “felt like God was saying to go over there.”
Lovelace did, introducing herself as a pastor at Activate and welcoming Kempthorne to church. Lovelace purchased an onyx and silver ring — “They have beautiful jewelry,” she stated — and has been praying for Kempthorne ever since.
Tiffany Lovelace, proper, and her husband, Brandon, who lead the pastoral care crew at Activate Church. Lovelace has helped set up a pleasant relationship with its neighbor, Vampire Unicorns. (Contribute by Tiffany Lovelace)
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“I just know that God loves her,” Lovelace stated, “even if we have different views on spiritual things.”
Kempthorne stated she appreciates the acceptance. She and Ramirez attempt to make their retailer welcoming to clients of all beliefs, “no matter what they’re into,” though they draw the road at objects bearing satanic symbols and deliberately preserve the shop kid-friendly, she stated. (Kempthorne stated she plans to supply youngsters’ workshops, too.)
Vampire Unicorns has additionally cast neighborhood ties by working with native instructors, corresponding to Camas resident Miranda Straub, proprietor of Straub’s Snow all-natural shave ice, and Sophie Wegecsanyi, neighborhood occasion coordinator at Self-Steadiness Therapeutic massage in Hazel Dell and former proprietor of Wattle Tree Place, a Vancouver retailer and café that closed in 2018.
Along with the teas, perfume sprays, bathtub salts and jewellery created by Kempthorne and Ramirez, customers can discover domestically made merchandise corresponding to potion bottles by Katie Califf of Mermaid Leather-based and framed pinned butterflies by Amber Kent. Vampire Unicorns additionally often companions with one other Camas retailer, Bridge Island Arts and Classic, on occasions such because the Christmas decoration swap in December.
This neighborhood focus “isn’t just about selling things,” stated workshop attendee Seth Michael, a Camas medium who presents periods at Vampire Unicorns. Kempthorne and Ramirez have created a spot the place individuals who don’t align with the mainstream can really feel welcome.
“We have so many regulars that come and shop here. I love how much word of mouth there is here — somebody told them about it and now they’re here. It’s such a nice compliment,” Kempthorne stated. “It’s just people finding their people.”