STROB Apothecary

04/24/2026

Starting this Friday, walk in between 2–5pm and I (Olivia) will blend something custom for you, right at the counter. No appointment needed.

Tell me what's going on. Stress that won't let up. Sleep that won't come. A feeling you can't quite name but your body keeps bringing up. We'll sit with it together for a few minutes and figure out what your body is asking for. Then I'll make it while you're standing there.

Body oil. Roll-on. Inhaler. (Salves are available but take up to a week to complete). Whatever fits you.

This is what a clinical aromatherapist can do for you! A custom blend built around your body, your life, right now , by someone who's trained to listen to both.

Come find out what that means for you.

Every Friday, 2–5pm, starting today.
📍 2111 Baldwin Ave, Suite 1 · Crofton, MD · Inside Vega Therapy Services

04/24/2026

Dear STRŌB Community,

You're standing in front of a table full of crystals at our big crystal sale. Rose quartz. Amethyst. Black tourmaline. Clear quartz. Citrine. Labradorite. They're all beautiful, they all have "properties," and you have absolutely no idea which one is supposed to come home with you.

Now what?

🔮The Two Schools of Thought 🔮
There are two main approaches to choosing crystals, and both are completely valid.

Method 1: Match Properties to What You Need
This is the logical, research-based approach. You identify what you're dealing with (anxiety, grief, creative blocks, physical pain, boundary issues) and you choose a crystal known to support that specific thing.

🗻Need grounding? Black tourmaline, hematite, smoky quartz.
🩷Working on heart healing? Rose quartz, rhodonite, green aventurine.
🧠Seeking clarity? Clear quartz, fluorite, selenite.

This method works especially well if you're new to crystals and need a starting point, or if you're very goal-oriented in your healing work.

Method 2: Let the Crystal Choose You
This is the intuitive, energetic approach. You walk through the shop (or browse a table) and notice which crystal keeps catching your eye. Which one you keep coming back to. Which one feels warm in your hand or makes you want to hold it a little longer.

You might not even know what it "does" until you look it up later and often, what it does is exactly what you needed.

This method works when you trust your body's wisdom more than your thinking brain. And honestly? Your body usually knows. (That's how pendulums work!)

The truth is most people use both methods. You research what might help, then you let your intuition pick between the options. Or you follow your gut to a crystal, then research it and go "Oh. Yeah. That makes sense."

🌿 First Steps with a New Crystal 🌿
You've chosen (or been chosen by) a crystal. Here's what to do next:

Cleanse It
Crystals pick up energy from the earth, from the people who handled them and from the space they've been sitting in. We cleanse your crystals at the counter before you leave, but its always a good idea to clear the proverbial slate 😂 before you work with new mineral friends.

🌕Moonlight: Leave it outside or on a windowsill overnight (especially powerful during full moons)
💨Smoke: Pass it through sage, palo santo, or incense smoke
🎶Sound: Use a singing bowl, bells, or even your voice
🌍Earth: Bury it in soil for 24 hours (not all crystals can handle this—research first)

Charge It with Intention
Hold the crystal. Tell it (out loud or silently) what you need support with. "Help me stay grounded." "Remind me I'm safe." "Support my creative flow."

Think of it like programming. You're giving it a job.

Work with It

• Carry it: In your pocket, bra, or bag
• Meditate with it: Hold it during meditation or place it on your body
• Keep it visible: On your desk, nightstand, altar, or workspace
• Sleep with it: Under your pillow or on your nightstand (some crystals are too activating for this, just ask us!)

💚 Common Questions 💚

"Can I have too many crystals?"
Only if they're cluttering your space or overwhelming your energy. Some people work with one crystal at a time. Others keep a whole collection. There's no right answer, just what feels good to you. We have more information on where to store crystals in this blog (https://www.skool.com/strob-education-hub-1286/classroom/a6f12550?md=389acf77f36d48609b440befc78c7a19) over in The Brew Crew.

"What if I don't feel anything?"
That's completely normal, especially at first. Not everyone is energetically sensitive in that way. It doesn't mean the crystal isn't working, it just means you might experience its support more subtly, like a gentle shift in perspective or mood over time.

💎 This Saturday: Every Crystal We Own, 20% Off 💎
Speaking of choosing crystals, this Saturday our entire collection comes out.
Every crystal we own will be on display, covering the front room and filling every available surface in the shop. Tumbled stones. Towers. Raw specimens. Palmstones. Rare pieces. Everyday allies.

All of it. 20% off. Saturday only. 12-5pm.

Plus two readers:

🔮 Miss Elizabeth - Tarot & Lenormand
♉ April McCoy - Astrology & Oracle

Walk-ins welcome for readings. Crystal hunting strongly encouraged.

If you've been waiting for the right moment to add to your collection or start one, this is it.

Come find yours Saturday.

See you then,
The STRŌB Apothecary Team 🌿✨

Click here for an update from STRŌB Apothecary!

04/23/2026

When customers tell us Shut-Eye Shuttle has them ready for bed before the cup is empty, we believe them. (Cuz we know EXACTLY what we put in it!)

Chamomile, Lemon Balm, California Poppy, Lavender, and Catnip blended by hand right here in the shop.

That’s Romula .creations putting this batch together, and yes, it smells exactly as good as everyone says when they walk through the door.

This is one of those teas people come back for. Over and over again. We regularly have to make more every other month.

Shut-Eye Shuttle is on the shelf now at STRŌB.
📍 2111 Baldwin Ave, Suite 1, Crofton MD (inside Vega Therapy Services)

🫖 Want to know what we’re blending before it hits the shelf? The Brew Crew is our community on Skool — $7/month, link in profile!

04/22/2026

Dear STRŌB Community,

We've got fresh herb restocks,including long-requested arrivals, a special announcement about one controversial herb, plus events happening this weekend and next weekend!

🌱 New Herbs on Our Shelves 🌱

We have brought in a few new choices for herbs including Cramp bark and Neem leaf which so many of you have asked about! In addition to those requests, we've also gotten in three other special herbs:

• Bayberry root bark - Traditionally considered for liver and gallbladder support, plus excellent for gastrointestinal infections (a customer request that led us here)
• Stone root - traditionally considered for lymphatic and urinary support
• Slippery Elm bark - Read below for why this one's complicated

🌿 About Slippery Elm: Why We Finally Brought It In
For 5 years we've resisted offering Slippery Elm bark in bulk to aid conservation efforts. This tree native to the US is really prone to Dutch Elm disease, and we've mostly been able to get away with using Marshmallow root (another AMAZING demulcent) instead.

But there are a couple of indications where Slippery Elm is genuinely better. The impetus for finally bringing it in? A customer coming in asking for help with a chronic gastric infection.

Slippery Elm is more nutritive and has traditionally shown to rebuild damaged gut tissue better than Marshmallow.

That said: Please try to choose Marshmallow whenever possible. It's more plentiful and puts less stress on the Slippery Elm population. We'll help you determine which one makes sense for your situation.

📚 Sky House Apprenticeship: Nettle Restocked
For those purchasing your Module 1 kit for Sky House's Herbal Foundations Apprenticeship, Nettle is back in stock! Come grab what you need.

🔮 TONIGHT: Seeker's Circle Study Group
7pm | Virtual in The Brew Crew
We're discussing Chakras tonight and will be invited to engage in a healthy chakra meditation. One recommended book is Wheels of Life by Anodea Judith, but you don't need to have read anything to join the discussion.

--> Join The Brew Crew to Participate (https://www.skool.com/strob-education-hub-1286/about)

💎 This Saturday: SUPER Seeker Saturday
April 25th | 12-5pm | Extended Hours!
Two readers (Miss Elizabeth Tarot + April McCoy Astrology/Oracle) PLUS 20% off ALL crystals!! Our entire collection out on display for one afternoon only.
Walk-ins welcome for readings. Crystal hunting encouraged. More details coming in Friday's email!

🌾 Next Saturday: Chesapeake Herb Gathering 🌾
May 2nd | Fox Haven Farm, Jefferson, MD
The annual Chesapeake Herb Gathering organized by Wild Ginger Herbal Center is being hosted this year by our farm partner Fox Haven Farm + Retreat Center!
Sean and Romula will be there tabling herbal teas and pottery at our STRŌB tent.

Tickets are still available (https://www.wildgingerherbalcenter.com/chesapeake-herb-gathering2.html) , and the speaker lineup is incredible.

--> Get Tickets to Chesapeake Herb Gathering (https://www.wildgingerherbalcenter.com/chesapeake-herb-gathering2.html)

There's so much happening in the STRŌB sphere right now as it ripples out further into the community and it's really exciting to see the expansion!

We couldn't do it without you.

See you soon,
The STRŌB Apothecary Team 🌿✨

The Brew Crew - Your digital sanctuary for herbal wisdom and cosmic guidance. $7/month for full access. Tonight's Seeker's Circle at 7pm!
--> Join Now (https://www.skool.com/strob-education-hub-1286)

Click here for an update from STRŌB Apothecary!

04/19/2026

It’s the number one thing people say when they walk through our door.

So what is it? It’s the loose leaf tea steeping behind the counter. It’s the herbs lining the shelves. It’s the incense and the oils and the smudge bundles and honestly it’s probably also whatever Olivia just blended in the back.

It’s everything. That’s the answer. It’s always everything.

STRŌB is the kind of place you have to experience in person because a screen will never be able to hand you this smell. So come walk in, take the big inhale, and find out for yourself.

📍 2111 Baldwin Ave, Suite 1, Crofton MD (inside Vega Therapy Services)

Want the inside scoop on new blends, restocks, and everything happening at the shop? The Brew Crew is our community on Skool — $7/month, link in bio. 🫖

04/19/2026

Why ChatGPT and Google Can't Be Your Herbalist (And Why That Matters)

Here's the thing about looking up herbal remedies online: You'll get answers. Lots of them!!! Passionflower for anxiety. Elderberry for colds. Ginger for nausea. Valerian for sleep. The internet is full of plant lists and remedy charts and "top 10 herbs for..." articles.

And none of them know YOU.

They don't know that your anxiety looks different at night than it does during the day. They don't know you're also dealing with digestive issues, or that you're on a medication that might interact, or that you tried ashwagandha once and it made you feel worse, not better.

Herbalism isn't a search query. It's a conversation.

It's a knowledgeable human looking at your whole, complicated body and life and saying, "Okay, based on everything you just told me, here's what I'd actually recommend, and here's why."

It's asking follow-up questions. It's reading between the lines. It's clinical discernment that comes from years of studying plants, making medicine, and working with real human bodies.

It's also saying "I don't know, but let me find out for you" when we hit the edges of our knowledge, because keeping your trust matters more than pretending to have all the answers.

This is the work we do at STRŌB every single day. It's why people drive from all over to ask us questions in person.

And it's what we teach in The Brew Crew, herbalism as a daily practice.

While AI can give you valuable data, what we share is wisdom and we aid in your discernment. There's a big difference there.

The Brew Crew: $7/month for real herbal education from real herbalists.

Weekly formulations, live classes, community discussion, and humans who live what they share.

Link in profile | https://www.skool.com/strob-education-hub-1286/about

04/17/2026

🌿 HAPPY HERBALIST DAY! 🌿
Today we celebrate the herbalists, the plant whisperers, and the medicine-makers.

Tag your favorite herbalist below! 👇Show them some 💞. Tell us who taught you about plants, who formulated that tincture that changed everything, who answered your questions with patience and care.

We're celebrating some of our herbalist friends we'd like for you to know:








herbs
weeds

Here's to the people who tend the plants and tend the people. Happy Herbalist Day! 🌱✨

04/17/2026

Our locally-handmade jewelry section caught the eye as we readied the shop this morning. Artisans in this video: .to.sephiroth .charms and the dichroic glass by Glazener Glassworks

04/16/2026

Dear STRŌB Community,

There's a part of STRŌB most of you haven't seen yet, and we think it's time to change that.

🌿 Meet The Brew Crew 🌿
A Note from Olivia:
"Sean and I are teachers at our core.

We love sharing knowledge, empowering people to care for themselves and their communities with the plants and planets, and creating spaces where open and accessible learning happens.

For the past year, we've been building The Brew Crew (as The Collective) our online community for herbal education, cosmic guidance, the science and the woo-woo and above all, connection in a genuine community. It's where we teach live, answer questions face-to-face, and create STRŌB away from STRŌB in a busy world for people who want to go deeper."

💚 What Makes It Different 💚
This is live, interactive learning where you can participate in the conversation, ask questions and get the answers you were looking for in the way YOU need to receive them.

Just this week, Olivia made our newest herbal formulation recipe live on video in The Brew Crew.

With this new platform, Brew Crew members can be right there live, asking questions about substitutions, talking about how to tweak the recipe for what they're dealing with right now, and we can problem-solve together in real time.

That's what this space is for.

What you get:

• Weekly herbal formulations with the stories and science behind them
• Sean's Community Herbalism teachings covering the herbs, systems, and skills you need
• Olivia's variety of teachings on topical formulary, crystals, aromatherapy and tea
• Live micro-classes on specific topics in aromatherapy, tea blending, herbal preparations, and more
• Regular tarot and astrology content to help you navigate what's unfolding
• Weekly live gatherings where we're all in the same (virtual) room
• Seeker's Circle study group - this coming Wednesday (4/22) at 7pm we're diving into chakras
• 10% off coupon every month for any one order in-store or online
• A community of people who actually care about plants, wellness, and learning together

🌱 Why We Built This 🌱
The shop is our physical home, but we can't reach everyone there. Some of you live hours away. Some of you work when we're open. Some of you want deeper education than a 10-minute conversation at the counter can provide.

The Brew Crew (https://www.skool.com/strob-education-hub-1286/about) solves that. It's where we can teach properly, where you can learn at your own pace, and where we can connect with you even when you can't be here in person.

✨ $7/Month. That's It. ✨
We kept the price low on purpose. Herbal education shouldn't be gatekept by cost. We want this accessible to as many people as possible.

$7/month gets you everything! The full content library, all live classes taught by Sean and Olivia, community spaces, and that monthly discount coupon that pays for itself if you shop with us even once.

The platform (Skool.com) is genuinely easy to use. You'll figure it out in five minutes.

💜 An Invitation 💜
If you've ever wanted to:

🌿Learn herbalism properly (not just Pinterest recipes, Google, or ChatGPT)
💧Understand how to use essential oils safely and effectively
🍶Make your own tinctures, salves, and herbal preparations
🔮Connect with tarot and astrology in meaningful ways
🌞 Ask Sean and Olivia your actual questions and get real answers
🤗 Be part of a community that values plants, people, and reciprocity

This is for you.

This coming Wednesday at 7pm, we're gathering in The Brew Crew's Seeker's Circle to talk about chakras. You could be there. We'd love to have you.

Join The Brew Crew →

With gratitude for this community,
Olivia, Sean & the STRŌB Team 🌿✨

The Brew Crew - Your digital sanctuary for herbal wisdom and cosmic guidance. $7/month for full access.
Join Now (https://www.skool.com/strob-education-hub-1286/about) →

Click here for an update from STRŌB Apothecary!

04/16/2026

We'll be closing today, April 16th from 1:30pm-3:30pm. We'll reopen from 3:30pm-6pm as usual.

Running a small business means making hard choices about when to close. But some things matter more than staying open, and today is one of them.

I'm attending the funeral of one of my elders, a woman named Priscilla who lived and abided by our guiding principles of reciprocity, discernment, humanity, abundance, and love long before STRŌB (or anyone who founded STRŌB) ever existed. She wasn't part of our shop community, but she was a champion of it. She told everyone she saw drinking tea, wearing a crystal, or in need of herbs about how "Olivia and her friends have a little shop in Crofton."

She showered me with love and praise, never letting me get away with imposter syndrome in her presence. She was a master fiber artist and Shawnee tribal member who grew up on Indian reservations and attended the Indian residential schools. She taught me and so many others, like my little moonbeam Gabby, skills with her own two hands. She worked tirelessly on beautiful projects to donate, using the proceeds to feed and clothe those in need for as long as I've known her.

She shaped my aspirations of how love can look, showing up in the world.

So today, we close for a short bit of time so I can be present for her family and community.

STRŌB will be back at 3:30pm to serve you as she would have wanted, with care, generosity, open hands and a story or two.

With gratitude for the lives and legacies of those who move and are moved though love,

💞Olivia

Hours today, April 16th:
Closed 1:30-3:30pm
Reopening 3:30-6pm

04/14/2026

Pinkies up, friends! You're invited to a tea party. 🍵

Pinkies Up! A Tea Tasting Party
Saturday, May 16th | 1:00 – 2:30 PM

Sip your way through 8+ teas in curated flights , some unique teas you may have already tried from our shelves, plus at least five new teas we're considering bringing in (your taste buds get a vote). Each tea is paired with a tasting morsel from incredible local creators, some of whom will have treats for sale to take home.

You'll learn a little tea history, sip from traditional tea cups, and have the option to add on a vintage tea cup & saucer set at checkout to choose and keep as your own.

Fancy hats optional but deeply appreciated.

04/13/2026

SUPER SEEKER SATURDAY ✨💎🔮
Saturday, April 25th | 12-5pm

This isn't your regular Seeker Saturday.. we're going BIGGER!

TWO INCREDIBLE READERS:
🌟 April McCoy from Cosmic Connections - Astrology & oracle readings
🔮 Miss Elizabeth Tarot - Tarot & Lenormand readings

Walk-ins welcome all afternoon for guidance, clarity, and cosmic insight.

PLUS:
💎 20% OFF ALL CRYSTALS 💎
Our entire crystal collection on display for one special afternoon. Browse, touch, choose. Absolutely every crystal is 20% off.

Saturday, April 25th | 12-5pm
Readings + crystal hunting + spring magic = Super Seeker Saturday
See you there! 🌿✨

STRŌB Apothecary
2111 Baldwin Ave, Suite 1, Crofton, MD