John Kinney discusses a piece of agate that he believes looks like half a brain Monday morning in Centralia.
John Kinney examines a large piece of agate Monday morning in Centralia.
John Kinney conducts a tour of his shop in Yardbirds, “Spiritwear Jewelerys,” Monday morning in Centralia.
Spiritwear Jewelerys owner John Kinney examines one of his crystals Monday morning in Centralia.
Spiritwear Jewelerys — also known as “House of Crystals” — began as a way to start anew. Just over a year later, it has become a place for local artists to sell their crafts.
“Word of mouth has really grown for us — that’s really cool,” said business owner John Kinney. “I’ve seen a lot of transition in here, a lot of growth.”
Kinney did multi-family property maintenance for 36 years, before retiring. After Kinney learned his wife had dementia, he decided to retire early. As he began downsizing, Kinney started selling off his possessions at a shop in Yard Birds Mall in Chehalis. He opened the original shop in December 2017. Four months later, the shop began to evolve.
“I was selling all my tools off, all my equipment,” Kinney said. “Then all of a sudden I had individuals who were crafters, artisans, so I invited them to come in (and sell).”
The store contains Native American themed art — Kinney is of Lakota descent on his mother’s side and Pawnee on his father’s — including dreamcatchers that Kinney makes. Other artists’ work includes jewelry, letter openers, windchimes, walking sticks and an assortment of odds and ends.
“A lot of things in here are from other artisans,” Kinney said. “So what I wanted to create was, like, an artisan’s consortium and it’s been real popular.”
Most of the artists are located in Washington, but Kinney also has work from his sister in Ohio. Since he opened, Kinney estimated that he has had around 1,000 customers and about 600 repeat customers.
“It’s turned into what it is and become very popular,” Kinney said. “It’s blowing me away.”
Kinney originally began selling other artists’ work, after June Blankenship from Winlock showed him some of the jewelry she makes.
“That’s when all this jewelry came in,” Kinney said. “I used to make all this stuff. Well, I’ve already given it away and sold it to friends and family. When June came in and brought her artwork in I went, ‘Whoa, that’s really beautiful.’ Then it kind of blossomed from there — more, and more, and more.”
However, Kinney’s most popular part of the store, he said, is the “agate tree.” It’s a stand with polished gemstones people can examine. Kids are especially fond of the tree, and Kinney often gives them a mood ring while their parents shop.
The store’s common theme, though, is that Kinney just sort of collects things people bring to him. If it fits with his motif, Kinney will sell it. People mostly bring him rocks and crystals. One man from Salkum brought him geodes, or round rocks with crystals inside.
“It’s amazing because people come in here and educate me and tell me where they have been finding stuff,” Kinney said. “If they have lived here all their life, they go out and they hunt for this stuff. I didn’t realize there were that many rock hounds in here, in just this area.”
One of Kinney’s favorite pieces in the store is a large piece of quartz that he believes looks life half of a brain. Kinney found it near the Cowlitz River.
“What amazes me is that it is pure agate,” Kinney said. “It’s got a lot of quartz crystal in it and what I tell everybody is that everything that we experience is volcanic. Because if you think about it, when the earth turns into molten lava, well it’s bringing up all the minerals and all the different organics in the earth and that’s where we get all this stuff.”
