Spotlight | Sarah Keeley, Crystal Calendar Co
A unique ecommerce business built from a dining table.
Published 28 January 2020
Photography by Morgan Smith
On a drive home from Byron Bay (where else), Sarah Keeley was reflecting on her fascination with crystals. The local entrepreneur soon developed the idea of a yearly advent calendar with a special crystal to open up each month. The business launched last year, and Sarah’s calendars are already stocked all over the country – including Byron, of course.
We sat down with Sarah to talk about ideal weekends, developing a business from your dining table and where she finds inspiration.
—
first things first: why Toowoomba?
I was born in Moree but grew up in Sydney. When my husband and I met (he’s from Goondiwindi and had spent a few years in Toowoomba) we chose to move to Toowoomba for its schools, beautiful homes and affordability.
—
what is crystal calendar co?
I always struggle to describe what I do, so here we go…. I create products that use crystals to help inspire, heal and navigate people in their everyday lives.
The first product from Crystal Calendar Co. is one of a kind – a concept that popped into my mind this time last year. Its aim is to help people discover, learn and draw positive energy from crystals by presenting them in the form of an interactive wall calendar, one crystal for each month of the year.
—
What have you learned about running a business in Toowoomba?
What I have learned is that you can do anything from Toowoomba. My whole business was created from my dining table. With a few day trips to Brisbane and a few too many coffees at Burrow I’ve been able to manage the entire process from here.
Toowoomba has an amazing bank of talented creative people. My photographer (Morgan Journal – who is, fun fact, also TFG’s photographer!), my graphic designer (MVP Designs) and my website creator (Zanzera Creative) are all based in Toowoomba and are as good as they come.
What does an average day look like for you?
When I’m being good… I’ll head to boot camp with Georgie O in our beautiful Queens Park before getting the kids ready and off to school.
Throw in a quick coffee to get into work mode to finalise new product production, make sales calls and pack orders to send to my amazing customers all over Australia and the world.
Then back to school, afternoon activities with the kids, cook, clean, grocery pick up, repeat! (Hot tip! Woolworths Click & Collect has saved me hours each week.)
—
What does your ideal Toowoomba weekend look like?
First thing Saturday morning I will head to the farmers markets to gather our fruit and veg for the week.
My husband is a real estate agent so he works Saturdays. The kids and I will do Saturday sports, head to the park or hang out with friends at home.
An ideal Sunday would be driving out to Hampton to enjoy brunch at Emeraude as a family followed by a bush walk.
—
Only a Toowoomba local would know…
That we all can't wait for Burrow to reopen! (Note – it’s reopened now!)
—
FAVOURITE WEEKEND SPOT TO:
PERK UP: Burrow or Sweet Talk for coffee.
RELAX: By day, Botanical Gardens. By night, a G&T at home
EAT: Burrow for breakfast. A pork and fennel sausage roll from The Baker’s Duck (if you know, you know). Rice paper rolls from Original Saigon.
INDULGE: Flowers from Dawn Osbourne. I say indulge because when you receive them you feel like a queen.
SHOP: Harold’s Finishing Touches for my home. Ivy Designer Collections for me. Bowerbox for my friends.
CATCH UP: I love Queens Park. It’s a beautiful place to catch up with friends and let the kids run free; we are so lucky to have this amazing oasis in our city. Every Monday my friend and I will catch up at Sage & Butler to have our weekly pow wow and check in with each other. Catching up with close friends face to face is so important.
BE INSPIRED: Yoga with Amy Pattison. She’s amazing at what she does for both your mind and your body. Talks with Aaron at Harold's; he’s been so supportive of my business and is always there to bounce ideas off.
