Learn more about the show and meet Minyka, the visionary behind Traveler's Moon, who is creating space for curiosity, healing and connection on the Outer Banks.
From polished mineral clusters on coffee tables to tiny stones tucked into purses and pockets, crystal curiosity is catching on. More people than ever are becoming interested in crystals, gems and minerals and the idea that objects from the earth have deeper powers than beauty alone.
For Outer Banks resident Minyka, that crystal curiosity evolved into a certainty that the earth’s objects have healing powers. One single crystal completely changed her life and career and inspired a metaphysical shop and the first-ever Traveler’s Moon Gem & Mineral Show, coming to Nags Head this weekend.
The three-day event will bring together vendors from across the region and beyond for a colorful showcase of crystals, minerals, fossils, rocks, precious gems, jewelry, metaphysical tools and handcrafted goods, all designed to invite visitors into a world that Minyka describes as equal parts science, spirituality and self-discovery.
Held at the Comfort Inn South Oceanfront in Nags Head, the show will feature 10 to 15 vendors, raffles and door prizes from local businesses, educational conversations and what Minyka calls “an experience, not just a shopping outing.”
“There’s going to be so much eye candy,” she says with a laugh. “Yes, of course we want people to purchase something, but we also want them to just be exposed to it all. We want people who are simply curious to come experience it.”
Minyka is quick to point out that the show is a collaboration among local and regional metaphysical businesses.
“We are creating a community,” she says. “We are a huge community and we love and support each other.”
Admission will be $5 for a single day or $9 for all three days, and the event will also include a healthy food truck and raffle prizes from local businesses across the Outer Banks.
For Minyka, the show is about more than buying crystals. It is about creating visibility for a growing community of local small businesses that many visitors and even locals don’t realize exist.
“There are so many people here doing this kind of work, but people still come into my store and say, ‘I didn’t even know there was a place like this on the island,’” says Minyka, who opened Traveler’s Moon in Nags Head in 2020.
That sense of community is central to the Travelers Moon store, a cozy, eclectic shop tucked into the Gallery Row area of Nags Head. The store sells a variety of goods and tools like crystals, books, instruments, divination tools, oracle cards, games, jewelry, art, herbs, teas and essential oils, all of them with some sort of healing properties. Traveler’s Moon is also a gathering space for classes, conversations, workshops and healing sessions, including hands-on art classes in watercolor, polymer clay, jewelry making, décor crafting and so much more.
The store’s name, Minyka explains, reflects the idea that everyone is traveling their own path of inner wisdom.
“We’re here to provide the tools, the guidance, the classes, the space and the knowledge,” she says. “Our tagline is ‘enchanted gifts to guide you on your journey.’”
To get to know the woman behind the store and the upcoming show, I recently sat down with Minyka at Traveler’s Moon in Nags Head. Here’s what she had to say.
What first drew you into crystals and metaphysics?
It all started with one piece of amethyst. I was visiting Mystic Jewels in Duck and bought it simply because it was pretty and purple, my favorite color. As I bought more pretty stones, the store owners would want to tell me about their healing properties, but at first, I wasn’t interested in the metaphysical side at all. I thought the geology and science were interesting, but I didn’t believe crystals had healing properties. Then I started learning about quantum physics, frequencies and energy, and suddenly I realized there was actual science behind why crystals can affect us. That completely changed everything for me.
What is your background before opening Traveler’s Moon?
I started in seminar school with a very religious background. I have a seminar degree. I also have an undergraduate degree in sociology and anthropology. And then I was exposed to world religions and drawn to metaphysics. Later I was trying to get my masters in psychology, but halfway through, I realized that's not for me. I really wanted to open my own business and have a metaphysical store. I got a master’s degree in business. Now I'm working on my doctrine in metaphysics.
For someone totally new to this world, how do you explain it?
Every crystal has a dominant oscillating frequency, while humans are constantly changing emotionally and physically. In quantum physics, if something has a frequency that is dominant and cannot change, and you have a frequency that can change, the frequencies will sync up to the one that is dominant. And that is how crystals raise our frequency. That’s the very simplified version but I do teach classes for more in-depth study.
What I love about this is that someone can come in here and not know any of that. They can just be drawn to something, like I was to the amethyst. There’s a reason your body is drawn to it, and it’s going to do something for you whether you know it or not.
How did Travelers Moon begin?
My boyfriend, Patrick, and I started out doing vendor shows, and I planned on opening a storefront eventually. Once we had enough money for the first and last month’s rent, we just went for it and opened in 2020. We moved to the Outer Banks specifically to open the store. I wanted to be somewhere near the water, somewhere with an offseason where I could recharge, and somewhere that would embrace this kind of business.
Your store feels more like a gathering space than a retail shop.
That was always the goal. We wanted people to feel comfortable here. We offer classes, workshops, game nights, crafting classes and metaphysical education, but we also want people to simply come in, sit down, drink tea and recharge. Sometimes people walk in and just need someone to listen to them. We’ve created what I call a sacred space where people feel accepted exactly as they are.
What kinds of classes do you offer?
Everything from watercolor painting and jewelry-making to wreath workshops and shell art using Outer Banks shells, moss and crystals. Then I teach metaphysics classes about grounding, intuition, chakras, healing techniques and energy work. I try to make them hands-on because people learn in different ways — visually, through listening and by physically creating something.
Do you also offer healing sessions?
Yes. I offer crystal divination sessions, crystal healing, transmutation work and house cleansing. Crystal healing is similar to Reiki in that clients lie fully clothed on a massage table while crystals are used to help facilitate healing. Transmutation work is about helping people move through stagnant energy or difficult situations and transform that energy into something more useful and positive.
What surprised you most about opening a business here?
The connections with people. I worked in retail most of my life, so I expected customers. I didn’t expect the deep conversations and meaningful relationships that would happen here. People come in and share things they feel like they can’t talk about anywhere else. They’ll say, ‘People will think I’m crazy if I talk about this,’ and I’m like, ‘I’m here for it. Tell me everything.’
What advice would you give someone visiting the gem show or the store for the first time?
Touch everything. Just let yourself enjoy the moment if it looks pretty, touch it. And maybe you'll put it down and you'll keep walking, but at least you receive the healing from it. And maybe you'll pick it up and be like, this has to go home with me. Don’t overthink it. If something catches your eye, pick it up and hold it. There’s usually a reason you’re drawn to it even if you don’t fully understand why yet. Remember, I used to be one of the doubters too.
What else should people know about the Traveler’s Moon Gem Show?
One of the reasons that we're charging a small entry fee is because we just want people to be exposed to all of this. The fee is for the experience, whether you buy something or not. There are going to be vendors here with really cool, unique pieces that you won't find anywhere else. There are going to be very educated vendors there who will answer all the questions you want to ask.
Also, there are going to be so many great raffle prizes and door prizes, so even if you don’t buy anything your chances of coming away with something are high.
Want to go?
The Show
Traveler’s Moon Gem & Mineral Show
Comfort Inn South Oceanfront, 8031 S. Old Oregon Inlet Road, Nags Head
May 15 to 17
Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission: $5 single day, $9 all three days
The Store
Traveler’s Moon
210 E. Gallery Row, Nags Head
(252) 489-7065
All images and photos courtesy of Traveler's Moon.
About the Author Molly Harrison
Molly Harrison is managing editor at OneBoat, publisher of OuterBanksThisWeek.com. She moved to Nags Head in 1994 and since then has made her living writing articles and creating publications about the people, places and culture of the Outer Banks.
