107 – Sarah Begin of Earth Alchemy & Frankfort Suites

Sheri and Leo talk with Sarah Begin of Earth Alchemy and Frankfort Suites.

Sarah was born in Frankfort and has lived here most of her life, except for a stint in the Army from which she was medically discharged.
She studied Psychology and Sociology in college because of her interest in how the mind works.
Her first job after the Army was working for Ann Wingrove at Completely Kentucky.
Ann and Liz Taylor at Poor Richard’s Books had her open up Kentucky Coffeetree Café for them, and introduced Sarah to her first husband.
Sarah learned the ropes of running a small business from them.
She decided to become a stay-at-home mom with her first pregnancy and later opened her own in-home daycare.
She also worked as a bridal consultant at Elder-Beerman part-time as well, eventually becoming an assistant manager.
When her child entered school, she got her real estate license.
She helped her now ex-husband start his own piano service business locally.
She worked her way up in management at Elder-Beerman, then got married and had a second baby on the way, and decided to pull away from working for others.
She decided to open her first business, Frankfort Suites, doing AirBnBs.
They owned a fourplex that was a money struggle and they were close to bankruptcy, when she had the idea to furnish a unit for short term rental.
They became the first Airbnb in town, which meant a lot of explaining and patience with City Hall.
She has answered a lot of questions for others wanting to open their own rentals, including some who needed the financial boost during COVID.
Sarah does all the rental cleanings herself.
She and her husband both grew up poor, and growing up, she would say she wanted to be happy when asked about future plans.
During COVID, she realized that she wanted something more satisfying as she spent more time at home working with herbs and natural things.
She became certified in crystal therapies and began doing treatments out of one of her Airbnbs when it was available.
She decided she needed a more purposeful space and looked at the developments on Taylor Avenue, landing a much bigger space that offered room for more, like her husband’s artwork, an alumnus of Berea.
During Covid, she encouraged him to do sidewalk art in Frankfort to raise people’s spirit,s and all of this came together in Earth Alchemy, wanting to help people and feed their souls.
She brought in her friend, who does several different forms of massage, to use some of the space.
The retail space evolved when Nature’s Way closed, and Frankfort no longer had a provider for natural remedies.
When the owners were trying to sell the Taylor Avenue space, she was told she would need to move out, so she took Earth Alchemy to the largest of her Airbnbs, the house at 511 W. Broadway, right across from the Farmers Market Pavilion.
Retail is downstairs, with therapies and classrooms upstairs.
She has since dropped her Airbnb inventory by half and sold the smaller houses back to the community.
Sarah describes crystal therapy as physics, synchronizing your energy.
Your chakras are your vibrating energy centers that go through the middle of your body.
Entrainment is the scientific term for the synchronization of movement, which happens when Sarah aligns crystals down your chakras to reset them.
Clients can react very differently to treatment, feeling hot or cold, weighted down or floating.
Besides crystals, Sarah uses aromatherapy, plants, sound therapy, and grounded meditation during treatment.
She only touches clients twice during the process.
Eastern medicine works by prevention, so typically regulars come in every 2-3 months, and Sarah finishes sessions by discussing with clients what she has found in terms of energy and blockages.
Earth Alchemy is a safe community space for those who come in. There are other helpful things on offer besides crystal therapy, like sound therapy and massage.
The shop carries all natural healing supplies, like salves, ointments, sprays, oils, butters, soaps, face care, and more.
Sarah demonstrates using crystals as a filter for different forms of imbalances.
Sarah is an advocate for supporting local businesses!
Her sons are 13 and 17, and she is running two businesses while raising them.
She uses FaceBook as her primary means of advertising for her holistic business.
Her husband, an engineer with Lockheed Martin, helps with the website and maintenance around the Airbnb and Earth Alchemy.
Sarah clearly states that she is not a doctor and she does not give medical advice.
She believes that Eastern and Western medicine can work together.
Sarah’s advice to those wanting to open their own business is start from the heart—ethics and truth, with love.