Pictured: Salt Your Soul Co. offers a wide variety of plants for plant lovers and first-time plant owner alike. Photo courtesy of Jen Zak.

Salt Your Soul Co. is the go-to destination for lovers of all things plants, crystals and unique finds. First opened by Jen Zak last year as a passion project, Salt your Soul Co. now not only offers a massive array of quirky gifts, but also supports fellow small businesses by carrying their products.

From the very beginning, Zak dreamed of running her own business. Her first retail endeavor was selling handmade dog collars at craft fairs. However, after going to college at Penn State Zak entered the corporate world and moved to the Sarasota area, working a 9-5 job until the end of 2019 when she entered a deep depression. “I didn't know where I belonged or if I had a purpose and it was all post divorce. I had two small children, and someone said ‘Jen, you just have to get out of your environment, go somewhere else’,” Zak says.

This inspired Zak to travel to Santa Fe for a month, where she lived in a casita on a mountain and discovered the power of crystals, nature and the West. During the trip, Zak visited a salt cave, which is a room completely full of Himalayan salt. The salt is thought to create a high level of negative ions which can help with relaxation, lowering blood pressure and releasing muscle tension.

Zak set out on a mission to bring the Himalayan salt phenomenon to Sarasota. “There is something about that salt. It’s so clearing, grounding and it just feels really good. Since I couldn’t build a salt cave, because you need to have an enclosed area or the salt will destroy everything, I thought I'll just bring in salt lamps and salt, inhalers, and salt, pillows, and little salt stones.”

Zak returned to Sarasota and opened Salt Your Soul Co. in November 2022. The store now carries salt lamps in a variety of sizes and an unbelievable stock of plants, along with other gifts. Among Zak’s best-selling plants are Elephant ears, Monsteras and Hoyas, but she also carries an array of rare hanging Philodendrons. While plants can intimidate some guests who were not blessed with a green thumb, Zak assures her guests that Salt Your Soul Co.’s plants are foolproof. Along with the plants and salt products, the shop carries nearly 150 different types of crystals.

Zak has also created a community by hosting events like a monthly plant swap at the store, where anyone can come trade plant propagations and cuttings. She also organizes events at the store, such as macrame group lessons or a Groovy Kids Club, where children can come paint pots, all tied to other small businesses from the area,

Salt Your Soul Co. carries unique items made from high-quality small businesses, perfect for anyone who strives to build connections, whether that be through attending events and swaps or just by stopping by to learn about something you might have never heard of before.

7212 S Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, 941- 923-9951, Saltyoursoul.com

Pictured: Salt Your Soul Co. offers a wide variety of plants for plant lovers and first-time plant owner alike. Photo courtesy of Jen Zak.