New Orleans Mistic evolved out of an existing e-commerce website and an interest in the traditional religions of the African Diaspora.

By 1998, I had moved from the heartland of Illinois to the City that time forgot - New Orleans.

The mail-order company I had co-created in 1990 was reborn as an retail website called Herbal Brews. The following is an excerpt from that company's history:

Herbal Brews became a reality in the Fall of 1990. From a tiny apartment in Springfield, Illinois, my friend Mary and I found ourselves providing the handcrafted incense and oil blends that we created for our personal use to friends, family & acquaintances. We discovered that many people like ourselves, were dissatisfied with the mass produced, poor quality products that were available at that time.

We were creating herbal blends in conjunction with the moon's phases. We either grew or found people of like mind growing the herbs we needed to make our products. We created with thought, intent and care. The response to our goods was overwhelming. Herbal Brews evolution was almost 'too' logical.

Within a year we had a small retail catalog and worked diligently at providing local metaphysical supply shops with our products. We expanded our line by seeking artisans to fulfill the needs and requests of our customers.

It was tough back then. We sought the most environmentally conscious packaging available and made our labels with a typewriter and copy machine. We had a lot to learn about ourselves, our customers' needs and the mail order business in general. We expanded our minds and expanded our business to include practitioners of many faiths and disciplines. The business continued to grow. It seemed people couldn't get enough of a good thing.

Once I had decided New Orleans was the place I intended to plant my personal roots, I began looking for a location to open a full service botanica. I moved into the infamous French Quarter, reinvented Herbal Brews on the WWW and let herbs, bottle, jars and packaging materials take over my house.

I considered opening a storefront in the French Quarter but immediately recognized that the type of operation I desired was not compatible with the vibe of the area. I refused to sell mass-produced Voodoo Dolls.

I required a spot where the business could grow to include lifestyle services for customers and social services for the community. This place needed to be large! My vision demanded a retail storefront with private rooms, a yard big enough to handle gardens, and a Peristyle - a place where folks from diverse religious systems could meet and celebrate the Divine outdoors - in a safe environment.

After two years of searching for the perfect spot to locate the shop, it was finally provided in the Spring of 2002. Driving along Saint Claude Avenue, the main street of the historic Faubourg Saint Roch Neighborhood, I came across an "Available" sign on a small purple building.

I called the number advertised, and within minutes was touring the building. Unfortunately, it was too small, had no yard, and the street was too busy for customers to find parking. Not ideal at all.

Then in a moment of serendipity, a large moving truck pulled up to the property next door. I asked the woman if the building was available too. She said, "I guess so." "No one told me". It turned out the tenants had decide to vacate the premises with no prior warning - At the very minute I was standing there!

Within 24 hours I had leased a nicely sized Creole cottage on Saint Claude Avenue with parking and a huge back yard. The rest, as they say, is history.

New Orleans' Faubourg Saint Roch Neighborhood was as diverse as they came in the Crescent City. Truly Creole: Black and white, rich and poor, American, African, Caribbean and European cultures are all mixed up in a big gumbo pot of a neighborhood.

The Saint Claude Avenue area had a sizable Afro-Caribbean community with many transplants from Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Honduras, Guatemala and Trinidad. The neighborhood played home to New Orleans' Eight Ward Warriors - an organization of Mardi Gras Indians. We had many Spiritual Churches, rootworkers, psychics and healers.

Unlike a dusty old apothecary, we strove to embrace the heartbeat of our neighborhood - warmth, color, life On any given day you would find New-Agers and Reverend Mothers discussing "Spirit" over the clamor of other customers making product requests in English, Spanish or Kreyol - a gaggle of kids bouncing basketballs and slurping on "frozen cups" in front of the store.

Unfortunately, the neighborhood is gone now, and most of our friends and loved ones are scattered across the States in the aftermath of Katrina. On June 29, 2006 I sadly closed the door on the little Saint Claude shop for the last time. The building had sustained too much damage - more from the wind than the water.

I will always remember the good times I had on that little stretch of Saint Claude Avenue. The neighbors, the customers - my friends. The botanica was a challenge, but it was good work, and I would do it again in a second. However, New Orleans is not the same as it was before the hurricane. I don't know how long it will take to return to the New Orleans I used to love - or if it ever will.

Blessings to You and Yours,

~ Tribble
Proprietor