In a heartening conversation, Charlie, the visionary behind Earth Star Healing Collective, detailed his journey as an LGBTQ entrepreneur in the jewelry industry. He discussed how the brand stands as a beacon of support and celebration for the LGBTQ community in its field. Drawing inspiration from a desire for representation and inclusivity, Charlie navigated the unique challenges and opportunities that marked his journey, while maintaining a steadfast commitment to his values. As he looks to the future, he shared his excitement about new initiatives aimed at furthering LGBTQ impact and representation. Charlie ended with sage advice for aspiring entrepreneurs keen on promoting LGBTQ inclusivity, emphasizing the need for authenticity, dedication, and a commitment to their vision.
Earth Star Healing Collective brings unique handmade jewelry heavily inspired by cottagecore, witchy & queer styles. They also offer consciously sourced crystals from all over the world.
Pride Month is a time to celebrate diversity and inclusivity. How does your brand embrace and celebrate the LGBTQ community within your brand and the industry it operates in?
Earth Star embraces and celebrates the community by creating conversations, awareness, and acceptance through both TikTok content and Pride-themed pieces. When folks wear the crystal jewelry I create, I want them to feel the inclusivity and love they are made with.
Whether folks are allies, questioning, in the closet or not, our jewelry pieces are for everyone. This particular line was created with the goal of allowing folks to be able to embrace and express their queerness with jewelry that also intends to be subtle if needed for safety. The crystals I select for each piece promote healing for each identity and can be customized with flags or symbols we may not already carry. Our shop evolves as the community grows in diverse gender and sexual identities. I think that is what queer wellness looks like.
Earth Star tries to prioritize community care and aid where we can, by donating funds to 2SLGBTQ+ organizations, not-for-profits, or directly to individuals in our community needing mutual aid. Spectrum Waterloo, Ok2BMe and BindersOUT are a few of the groups in Canada we have supported in the past through fundraising at events. As well as seeing portions of our online sales help with gender affirming surgeries for trans folks.
We are also proud to be offering a pride collection all 365 days. Each year we add new styles to the collection that folks can look forward to!
Can you tell us more about your journey? What inspired you to create your business?
Earth Star actually emerged from a low period in my life mentally. I started using crystals in my daily life to help with my anxiety and to keep me grounded. At the same time, I loved making and sharing jewelry with friends and family members, often just as gifts. In 2018 I wanted to see if my jewelry and crystals could have a reaching impact, that provided folks the similar positivity they gave me. When the pandemic hit and during all the lockdowns in 2020 this felt especially important. During this period I decided to change up our jewelry styles to be inspired by the LGBTQ+ Pride flags and other queer influences. I wanted to shift our social media content to be actively responsive to spiritually queer and trans folks. Fast forward to now, where the fundamental motivating force for our handmade pieces and content creation is to forever inspire and be inspired by our queer culture.
As an LGBTQ entrepreneur, have you faced any unique challenges or opportunities in the business industry? How do you navigate those experiences while staying true to your mission and values?
While still acknowledging there is privilege in my whiteness, there are absolutely struggles and concerns of safety I experience being a queer and non-binary owned business in the crystal community.
Online, the world of crystals is often dominated by a very cis, straight and white lens, being sold by and marketed to this assumed and shared experience. In my four years running Earth Star there have been plenty of folks both online and at in-person events who feel the need to voice their – to put it mildly – dislike or disagreement about the LGBTQ+ products and content that we create.
The rise in hate being voiced towards queer and trans folks for simply existing, primarily online is difficult. It requires lots of self-care and social media breaks when possible, to avoid being disheartened as an individual and as a shop. It’s really important and needed for LGBTQ+ spiritual folks to have spaces where they can be authentically and unapologetically themselves. I’ve had the unique opportunity to help curate and exist in such a niche space, while sharing my queer joy and products for people to feel good in.
Looking ahead, what are your future goals and aspirations for your brand? Are there any new initiatives or developments that you are particularly excited about, especially regarding LGBTQ representation and impact?
Long-term, I would love to see Earth Star become synonymous with a “Queer Safe Place”. No matter what, I am going to keep showing up to queer spaces, events, and markets and keep creating more content for folks to relate to, but I would love to see these expand in distance, literally and figuratively.
Moving forward into 2024, I am manifesting more of the type of collaborative projects I have been involved in with other businesses and LGBTQ+ organizations. Furthering conversations, education/awareness surrounding queer and trans wellness while providing aid to the collective community, which is especially vulnerable in today’s political climates.
Can you share any insights or advice for individuals who may be interested in starting their own business, particularly those who want to highlight LGBTQ representation and inclusivity?
Don’t dim your queerness or transness to make others feel comfortable. You deserve to show up for the 2SLGBTQ+ community and for yourself, however that reflects itself in your business. Customers will come and go, and your work may not be loved by every single person, and that’s okay because it’s not for everyone! Secondly, there’s no perfect time to start a business – if you have an idea or product to put out into the world, be brave and do it! Take the leap. I’m forever thankful I did.
