Jen Black’s Path from Graphic Design to Self-Care Artistry
Introduction:
Meet Jen Black, our featured artist behind Alchemy + Herbs Healing. Jen began her creative path as a graphic designer but felt drawn to something more personal and impactful. Following her love of painting and drawing, in 2018 she embraced the healing arts and became a Reiki Master and Transformational Hypnosis Practitioner, offering various self-care energy healing services. This fusion of creativity and healing inspired her to create self-care products and Reiki-infused wearable art.
Moving to Asheville, NC, gave her the space to explore and fully expand her unique offerings. Today, she continues to connect with a broad audience through online events, sharing her passion for art and healing in ways that support and uplift others.
Learn about Jen’s creative process that fuels her passion for helping others live their dreams.
Artistic Origins:
Vicki: “Can you share the story of what led you to your current offerings and how your artistic journey began?”
Jen: “The path that led me to where I am today has been long and winding, but the consistent thread throughout has been my need for creativity in all areas of my life. Growing up, I was always drawing or painting, and my love for art has never waned. I knew my career had to involve creativity, which is why I initially gravitated toward graphic design. I’ve been working professionally as a graphic designer since 2003, and although I love the work, I spent years feeling called to do something that would help people on a more personal level and transform their lives so they could begin living their dream lives. In 2018, I began shifting my business to incorporate healing services, and then I started making self-care products and ritual tools at the end of 2019. That’s when the huge shift in my business happened.
When I first decided to shift my career towards healing, Reiki seemed like the perfect step. After completing my Reiki Level I certification in December 2018, I knew I was headed in the right direction, and I am now a Reiki Master. As an energy healer, I offer distance sessions to clients worldwide, focusing on clearing and balancing chakras, emotional release work, healing physical pain, and helping my clients manifest their goals. I’m passionate about helping others along their healing journey and continually adding new modalities to better facilitate this. I am also a Sacred Soul Alignment practitioner and a certified crystal healer, and my favorite of all the healing modalities I offer is Transformational Hypnosis.
In 2019, my husband and I relocated to Asheville, NC, after living in California for almost a decade. Leaving behind our tiny Bay Area apartment, we suddenly had a large home where I could have a workspace to explore creative outlets again. Graphic design can sometimes feel limiting from a creative standpoint, so I turned back to painting to express my creativity. I decided to combine my love of art and healing to create Reiki-infused wearable art, which was the first product I ever created.
I never could have imagined that those first few wearable art pieces would lead me to eventually create a large product line of intentional items, but I’m so grateful for how things evolved. In the past five years alone, I’ve been able to support hundreds of people through the products and services I offer, and I can’t wait to see that number continue to grow. The self-care items and ritual tools I create are meant to support you in your healing and personal development, and the incredible feedback I’ve received from customers has me excited to see how this will keep evolving.”
Pivotal Moments:
Vicki: “Is there a pivotal moment or experience in your life that influenced your business?”
Jen: “2020 was a year of massive shifts and a turning point in my business. At the beginning of the year, I partnered with friends to host monthly pop-up events called Mystical Night Markets, where I first put myself out there selling my wearable art. January 2020 is also when I took a cold process soap-making course, leading to the personal care products I now create. After making my first batch of soap, I brought a few bars to the next event, and to my surprise, they sold! Customers started asking about other scents (which I didn’t have at the time), prompting me to expand my soap offerings.
When the pandemic started, my graphic design work dried up almost instantaneously, forcing me to pivot my business. I had already been trying to move away from design and more into the healing side of my business, so I focused my time on that. That fall, I was offered the opportunity to host a private sale in a popular Facebook group to share my products. Terrified at the thought of going live to sell my items online to strangers, I pushed past my fear and accepted the invitation. I wanted to create something new for the sale, leading to the idea for the Empath Trio soaps. The sale was a huge success and changed the trajectory of my business.
At the time, I was only offering my wearable art and cold process soap, but then I added a few bath salt blends and Lavender pillow spray. As the end of the year approached, I had a few customers reach out about placing holiday orders and were looking for unique gifts. I made a few one-off custom blends of bath salts and oils for them and got such amazing feedback that I decided to add some of them to my regular offerings. Those few holiday orders led to me creating more and more blends for oils, sprays, and bath salts that make up my current product offerings.
After the success of that first Facebook sale, I began participating in more virtual pop-up events and eventually started my own private Facebook group to regularly share my products and offerings. Although I couldn’t connect with many customers in person that year, 2020 showed me that I could reach even more people virtually than by only vending at small local markets. Online, I found an audience interested in the types of products I offered and who recognized their value.
2020 was a challenging year for everyone, but I’m grateful for the changes it brought, making it easier to work with clients remotely. Even though I had offered distance healing sessions before, many people either didn’t believe they worked virtually or preferred in-person sessions. During the lockdown, more people were willing to try virtual healing sessions, shifting their views on distance work. While I still love connecting with customers in person, I’ve also formed deep connections with people all over the country, who I probably wouldn’t have met if not for the increased online presence during social distancing.”
Creative Process:
Vicki: “Could you walk us through your creative process? How do you transform an initial idea into a finished piece?”
Jen: “New ideas for products can come to me in many different ways. Some ideas pop into my mind effortlessly, while other times, I’ll have a vision of a finished product and its purpose, but the blend itself can take months to fully materialize. Sometimes, I’ll notice a theme occurring in many people’s lives simultaneously, inspiring a product to support them during that time. Other times, I’ll be inspired by a season, a moon phase, or even a flower or herb growing in my yard, and I’ll create a product based on that.
The primary goal behind all of my small-batch personal care products is to nourish the body, mind, and soul. They are so much more than just skincare products — they are healing tools. Each product is created with a specific intention in mind, and there is so much love and healing energy poured into each one. I create each oil blend using my intuition, a pendulum, and by meditating and asking my guides for help. My hope is that these products encourage adding self-care to your daily routine while also providing healthier options for your home and body.
All of the products I create are Reiki-infused to enhance the healing properties of the herbs, crystals, and essential oils used in each blend. My small-batch personal care products are made naturally with as few ingredients as possible to provide healthy options that soothe your skin. Even the wearable art is handmade with positive intentions and Reiki-infused for love, abundance, and happiness, allowing you to experience positive energy each time you wear your jewelry. I love combining my passion for art and healing to create unique products for the mind, body, and spirit.”
Meaningful Creations:
Vicki: “Is there a product you’ve created or a service you offer that is particularly meaningful to you? What’s the story behind it?”
Jen: “As far as products go, I would say the Empath Trio soaps are particularly meaningful to me. The Empath Trio was born in 2020 during the pandemic when stress, anxiety, and depression were at an all-time high, especially for those sensitive to others’ energies. I saw a need for an easy, effective way to release these overwhelming emotions, leading to the creation of three intentionally crafted soaps: Clearing, Grounding, and Protection. These special soaps were the first truly “intentional” products I created, blending natural cold-process soap-making with pure magick and Reiki energy to support emotional and spiritual well-being.
Creating these three soaps led to an ongoing expansion of products crafted with specific intentions in mind. I’m so passionate about the Empath Trio that I even wrote a blog post about these soaps, detailing the backstory and how to work with each one: https://www.alchemyandherbshealing.com/blog/the-empath-trio-cold-process-soaps-intentionally-created-for-sensitive-souls
As for healing services, my number one passion is Transformational Hypnosis. This modality is an incredibly powerful way to make massive shifts in your life. Transformational Hypnosis sessions allow you to access deep knowledge already stored in your brain that our conscious mind can’t (or won’t) access in our day-to-day life. The answers to any questions you have about yourself or your purpose in this lifetime are already within you; you just need a way to access those answers, and Transformational Hypnosis is the easiest way to do so. I’ve seen incredible results with my hypnosis clients!
Future Aspirations:
Vicki: “Looking forward, what are your aspirations or dreams for your future as an artist/healer?”
Jen: “The driving passion behind Alchemy + Herbs Healing is to provide unique and creative solutions that will positively impact the lives of others. I offer a mix of Transformational Healing Sessions, small-batch personal care products, and ritual tools to ensure there is something for everyone, and I hope to continue doing this for many years to come.
As a small home-based business, it can be challenging to reach new customers. My hope is that through word of mouth from my former and current clients, I will be able to connect with more people who are looking to make positive shifts in their lives. My goal is to work with more clients through one-on-one healing sessions and support them through various stages of their journey by providing tools for them to continue the work on their own.
It is truly my passion and my goal in this lifetime to spread happiness, love, and healing to the world!”
Vicki: “Is there anything else you’d like to share about your art, experiences, or perspectives we haven’t covered?”
Jen: “It may seem like my various offerings are an odd mix, but to me, they are all forms of “designing” aspects of your life. My advice is this: DESIGN THE LIFE YOU LOVE TO LIVE THE LIFE YOU DREAM.
What does that mean? Whatever your dream life looks like, actively work toward that goal no matter how small or insignificant the steps may feel. If you aren’t sure where to start, don’t hesitate to reach out with questions or schedule a complimentary consultation. I’d love to support you in your journey to living the life you’re dreaming about!”
Find You:
Vicki: “How can someone contact you to purchase from you?”
Jen:
Website: https://www.alchemyandherbshealing.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alchemyandherbshealing/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alchemyandherbshealing
Private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/alchemyandherbs
Vicki: “Do you offer online or in-person workshops/classes?”
Jen: “I don’t have any workshop offerings currently, but I have a few virtual workshops in the works, so join my mailing list to be the first to know when they’re released! You can sign up here: http://eepurl.com/id9X_j
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