Farmer’s Market: healing stones
By Terry L. Wilson
Scripps Ranch resident Linda Gonzales brings the healing power of precious stones to her K2 Wellness Gems and Crystals booth each Thursday at the Scripps Ranch Farmers Market and Family Festival.
“I make custom crystal and gemstone jewelry,” Gonzales said. “I travel the country gathering top quality stones, then craft them into different styles of neck-wear.”
After a 30-plus year career working for San Diego government, Gonzales retired from the 40-hour workweek crowd to craft gems – especially those that are said to have special healing powers.
“I have two daughters, Krystal and Kristina. Krystal has been diagnosed with a life-threatening disability and Kristina goes to college,” Gonzales said. “A few years back, Krystal went into an emotional spiral. I needed to find an outlet that would give her a purpose in life, so I retired from my job with the city to take care of her. My daughter has a passion for jewelry. She especially admires crystals and gemstones, so we began making jewelry.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic locked the outside world down, Krystal sank into a deeper depression when she was unable to get outside, leaving mom with a problem to solve.
“I had to find a way to motivate her, so we began producing and selling more jewelry,” Gonzales said. “When the restrictions were lifted, that’s when I began going to various farmer’s markets. I noticed she (Krystal) was in a better mood. She wanted to help make the bracelets. Now we make jewelry fulltime.”
Krystal sometimes works the Scripps Ranch Farmers Market booth with her mom. Krystal not only sells the jewelry, according to her very proud mom, she also provides the creative flair by designing the pieces.
“Krystal has a very creative mind, so she feels honored when people buy her pieces,” Gonzales said. “She will come up with a unique look and I’ll piece them together. Kristina helps by taking all of our photographs and creating the company’s websites. She is in college and works part-time, and helps when she can.
For centuries, gemstones have been said to have the power to heal, and were once used to ward off evil spirits and to cure ailments. Today, those stones are part of “alternative medicine.”
“I have seen how the crystals have helped my daughter,” Gonzales said. “A lot of the jewelry that we make is in swirls and wire wrapping. In Krystal’s mind, she sees the wrapped wires and swirls as something healing. Krystal says, ‘It’s beautiful because it never ends, it’s always spiraling.’ I think a lot of her emotions come out through how she designs some of the pieces.”
Tucson and Hawaii are two of Gonzales’ favorite locations for finding the perfect stones to match her daughter’s creative flair.
“I believe that the healing power of the stones work. I have seen this to be true with my daughter,” Gonzales said. “Among my favorite stones is Labradorite. It’s the stone of transformation when changes are happening in your life. Amethyst is a very healing deep purple crystal. It’s the one Krystal and I wore when we took up meditation to deal with her disease, and she has outlived her life expectancy. She will soon be 23. So, yes, I do believe in the healing power of crystals.”
The Scripps Ranch Farmers Market is held from 4 to 8 p.m. each Thursday at 10045 Carroll Canyon Road (next to Newtopia Cyder). There is plenty of parking across the street at the National University parking lot.
