Peace boutique in Naperville promotes conscious living
There's a phrase used a lot in yoga - at least in the kind of yoga Kate Mason practices, the kind that's not just an athletic pursuit but a dive into the spiritual.
"May all beings be happy and free," Mason says the mantra begins, "and may our thoughts and actions contribute to the happiness and freedom of all."
The saying is the basis of a new store Mason is opening July 7 under the yoga studio she's run since 2011 at 143 W. Jefferson Ave. in downtown Naperville.
Peace, as the boutique is called, focuses on selling products that do no harm to people, animals or the environment, locally sourced goods and accessories that support a mindful lifestyle of yoga and meditation.
The store is an extension of Mason's Abhyaasa yoga studio and her belief that good things come from living in the moment, making healthy choices and keeping toxins out of the body and mind.
"People are always telling me how it changed their lives," Mason said about the studio where the 15 instructors she employs teach hundreds of students. "So we just keep going with it."
She's calling Peace a "conscious living boutique," and from it she'll sell natural body products, jewelry, art, journals, athletic wear from the Free People Movement line, meditation cushions and yoga accessories.
"Downtown Naperville needs a space like this," said Mason, 50, a longtime vegetarian with a master's degree in public health.
Many of her suppliers are local creatives, such as one Abhyaasa yoga instructor who makes "eye pillows" to cover the eyelids while meditating, another who makes jewelry and another who sells inspirational T-shirts.
There's also Michelle Shipka of Plainfield, a bath products maker Mason met in the dog park at Springbrook Prairie Forest Preserve. She'll sell soaps, salt scrubs, lotion bars and bath fizz cakes from her My Bath Thyme line to people she expects will be eco-conscious consumers.
"People are looking for a more natural and sustainable product," Shipka said.
In a co-op section, up to five entrepreneurs can claim a spot to sell their wares, giving the store an "organic evolution," Mason said.
"We just really try to build as many collaborations with local businesses as possible," she said.
Jules Prokop, a Naperville business coach who runs Petals pop-up flower shop, will sell blooms in "Jars of Happiness" from one of the co-op spots every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. She's excited to be part of a store that helps make mindful living and an attitude of gratitude into an ongoing lifestyle.
"The fact that she's bringing lifestyle tools and resources to the community is amazing," Prokop said.
Peace plans to celebrate its opening July 7 during the downtown Naperville summer sidewalk sale with sidewalk yoga, mindfulness talks, an adult coloring book station, cashew chocolate snacks and immunity drink shots.