Merchant Profile Series
One of my regular contracts is covering merchant profiles for Clover POS’ Meet the Merchant series. Here’s is the opening from one piece I wrote.
For Kelly Jorae Jefferson, health and wellness are second nature. From her California roots to her holistic health center in Fayetteville, Georgia, Sacred Waters Wellness Arts Studio, her journey has been a testament to the power of intuition, collaboration, and connecting with community.
Jefferson always had a penchant for natural approaches to health. She says, “It began with my own personal interest in using natural products as a young girl. I always liked the idea of something that smelled good, that was good for me, and I just think it was part of the culture and the environment of growing up in California.”
When she moved to Atlanta 25 years ago, Jefferson started working part time at an herb store. Encouraged by the store’s owner, she decided to open her own establishment, a health food store with a juice bar and vegan take-out cafe called HerbShop Cafe.
But Jefferson went through her own health challenges when she became pregnant with her first child and ended up selling the business. “I was not able to manage it,” Jefferson says. “So, I took some time off.”
Nevertheless, it wasn’t long before she found herself missing the business. “My husband took care of the household and said, ‘Hey, let me take care of you. You take care of our children.’ That was great, but I’m an entrepreneur,” Jefferson says with a laugh. “So, year one when I was at home with the baby, I said to him, ‘We’re gonna have to figure this out. You’re going to have to work with me because I gotta get back out there’.”
And that’s when Sacred Waters Wellness Arts Studio was born. While Jefferson had been out of the business, her vision had been evolving–she wanted to expand her offerings beyond retail to include services. Having remained in contact with many of her customers, she was struck by how many were struggling with gut health. And so Jefferson–already a certified herbalist–got additional certifications under her belt, including nutrition and colon hydrotherapy. In fact, that’s where the name of her wellness boutique comes from.
Read the full post here (published 9/2023).
