Today we’d like to introduce you to Emilynn Barber.
Emilynn, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My parents are both small business owners and I always been an entrepreneur. When I was a little kid I would sell my drawings at my parents yard sales, and later when I learned to finger knit I sold scarves to nearly my entire middle school class. I also am a lover of learning and sharing knowledge, I pursued my love of art at MICA for two years before getting my degree in culinary arts from the Culinary Institute of America. After taking a year long class on essential oils from Tiffany Carole, I started Another Dash of Salt in 2019 as an Etsy business offering bath salt blends that I hand crafted with high quality oils and locally sourced dried botanicals. My business truly came to life 3 years later when I was brave and applied to set up a booth at the Moon Market in Frederick MD. This experience allowed people to actually interact with my products and introduced me to some amazing makers! From there I started adding in my other interests, art and tarot to my booth. As my business and confidence grew I began offering classes starting with Tarot Club. Our first Tarot Club was me, my best friend Frith, and a coworker at a little plant shop in Fells Point, and now has grown to a monthly gathering of 15-20 at Ministry of Brewing! After I started offering Tarot Club at Ministry I also began offering Maker Nights, where once a month I provide all the materials for people to come and create together. We’ve done eraser stamps, embroidery, still life drawing and more so far. My favorite part of my business is the beautiful community that has come together through these events.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Definitely not always! There has been a learning curve in where my products or the Tarot readings do best. Then also with things like setting up a tent and battling the wind for outdoor markets. Last year I definitely learned cold weather outdoor markets aren’t for me. I am grateful that my husband (Another Dash of Salt’s resident intern) is always there to help problem solve, or just keep me company at slow markets.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Another Dash of Salt?
Another Dash of Salt helps you embrace the magic of self care through hand crafted bath blends, tarot and art. I have a line of bath blends, shower steamers, roll on oil blends, and room & body mists. I love seeing people interact with each scent at our pop ups, it can be such a polarizing thing but there truly is a scent for everyone at my table. I offer tarot readings at most pop ups and offer bookings for private readings and events. I think because I have a very warm not scary or intimidating vibe I’ve had the joy of doing many people’s first tarot reading! I love connecting with people and holding space for them as we navigate the paths they can follow. Finally every month you can find us at Ministry of Brewing for Tarot Club and Maker Night. If you’ve ever been interested in learning tarot, Tarot Club is a great place to start. Each month I design several tarot spreads for us and a card to learn more about. I have made some cheat sheets and provide guidance along the way. It is open to all levels, and is a low pressure way to get to know tarot and other people interested in it! Our Maker Night is like a GFA program without the worry about being graded, you just get to create and learn something new with other people! It’s all about having fun! We’ve done a bunch of different projects – New Year’s bingo boards, embroidered bookmarks, and eraser stamps are a few recent ones. I am most proud of the community we have built through these events.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
I love collaborating with other small businesses for events and pop-ups. Recently I did an Tea & Tarot event with Wight Tea Co. at The Charmers Club that was so much fun! If anyone wants to collaborate or for private readings/event inquiries they can reach out to me on IG or at anotherdashofsalt@gmail.com. I truly appreciate everyone who places an order on my website, stops by my events for a refill of their favorite product, sits for a reading, or joins one of my events! You can always find out my event schedule on my instagram @anotherdashofsalt or website anotherdashofsalt.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://anotherdashofsalt.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anotherdashofsalt
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1CDqMUmDqW/
