Our Team

Owner Karen

Owner

You may have seen the sweetly smiling redhead in an enormous geode on a billboard alongside I-35 in Austin, but who is that Mona Lisa of crystals that some of us pass by everyday? Meet Karen Richards, the Owner and Founder of Nature’s Treasures Texas!

Born in California, she has explored and lived in many regions of the US before making her home in Austin, TX over 30 years ago. She has been a successful business woman in a wide variety of fields for over 40 years and is so happy and humbled to share Nature’s Treasures with you all for the last 20 years! Her love of Nature is apparent from the beautiful natural treasures she chooses to place in her store, the classes she brings to the community, and her commitment to sustainability and responsibility in caring for the Earth and all of its inhabitants.

Karen feels fortunate to have had so many enlightening and heart expanding adventures in her life and knows they are not over; indeed, some of them are just beginning! She thanks each and every one of you for your support over the years, for helping her create the largest Metaphysical, Rock, & Mineral Store in the USA, and for your shared love of Nature’s Treasures.

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Retail Manager

Michael received his Bachelor's of Science in Earth Sciences from Rice University in 2008 and continued on to earn his Master's of Science in Geosciences from The University of Texas at Austin in 2012. As the Nature's Treasures Retail Manager, Michael sees to daily operations, employee relations, customer relations, jewelry purchasing, educational outreach, and marketing & advertising. Keep an eye out for him on the “We Are Austin” morning show with CBS Austin. Michael is a geek at heart, loving all things mineral and the X-Men. Be sure to say “We rock!” when you see him around town playing PokemonGo!

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Inventory Manager

Amanda received her Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education in 2007 from Concordia University in Austin, TX. Amanda joined the Nature's Treasures family as a front counter employee in 2010. Since then she has worked her way up and is now the Inventory Manager. She oversees the entire inventory process from our shopping trips to Denver & Tucson to processing and even stocking and restocking new and exciting products within the store. Amanda enjoys swimming and being in nature, but truly dreams about one day opening her own bakery!

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Although born in Colorado Springs, Alex grew up in neighboring Georgetown, but has always spent most of his time in Austin-proper. As a business management major at ACC, Alex recognizes there is so much to learn about the world. He first started on his spiritual path through music, numbers and numerology. Alex says "I love everything about Natures Treasures, and the conversations with the customers more than anything else". When he is not working in the Depot or at the Front Counter, he mainly spends his time on music production and DJing! He strives to find the perfect balance between performing and producing so he can make high quality and organic sounding techno. Alex has a strong belief that music and good vibrations can truly heal our souls!

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Allison moved to Austin from Florida to further her education in geology and vertebrate paleontology. In her free time she enjoys hiking, camping, skating, and reading. You will see Allison working mostly in the Rock Depot and Rock Yard, but she also helps restock the Showroom as part of the Inventory Team.

"My favorite stone is a silicate mineraloid known as Opal, the vibrant color play and the odd lumpy crystalline structure has always interested me. Most opals are 65-145 million years old and often found in sedimentary Cretaceous rock (the same time period when dinosaurs lived). She has a strong connection with water, rock, and all organic material, and Opal is the product of Earth’s entire natural being in one. "

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Growing up in the suburbs of Houston, Amy spent much of her time as a kiddo running around with her Barbie camera taking candid photos of her family and pets. She later received her degree in Digital and Photographic Imaging from Texas State University. After graduating, she moved to the eccentric city of Austin, worked in the hospitality industry, and began to build her portfolio to make photography a full-time career. The stars aligned and she found an opening for a staff photographer for the online department at Nature’s Treasures. Although fairly new to the world of crystals, she immediately loved learning more about the positive light they can impart on a person’s life. In addition to photography, Amy assists with building new product pages, shipping, and graphic creation for online ads and marketing. In her free time she enjoys practicing Tarot, drawing, cooking meals from scratch, going to local breweries, and going on hikes with her 2 huskies, Asuka and Kai. If you don't catch her at Nature’s Treasures be sure to stop by and say ‘Hi’ when she’s bartending at Pinthouse Pizza!

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Ashley is a native Texan, born and raised in Austin. She truly enjoys spending time with her kitten Cashew. Here at Nature's Treasure's Ashley splits her time between the Retail Showroom and Rock Depot, where she loves making cabochons!

In addition to Nature's Treasures, Ashley also works at Inner Space Caverns. She has a great knowledge of rocks and crystals and is always ready to share what she knows. With a love of foraging Ashley also uses her knowledge of flowers to create home made dyes and paint that she uses in her own art.

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Ashley is an Austin native who now lives just outside the city, where she enjoys spending her time "in the dirt" gardening. Whether she is with her sweet little dachshund, Rascal, or tending to her year round vegetable garden, her peace comes from being in nature. When she is at work, Ashley splits her time at Nature's Treasures between the Front Counter helping customers and in the back office as an admin for our General Manager. She is looking forward to helping establish a community garden at our new location after our big move!

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Charles is originally from Jacksonville, FL, and has only been in Austin for the past year as of June. Charles got his bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Cultural Anthropology from the University of North Florida in 2016 and has been applying what he’s learned ever since. Charles’s fascination with Social Psychology, as well as, various diverse cultures, histories, mythologies, and spiritualities has made him a constantly learning student and an eager and patient teacher to customers and colleagues alike who ask him questions. Charles’s personal interests include reading, cooking, games of all kinds, and having fun with friends. Charles has brought with him years of experience in both retail and customer service as one of the newest members of the store’s online team.

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China Rose grew up all over finding that home is where the heart is. She moved to Austin from Durango, Colorado with her daughter in 2015. A renaissance woman, China's jobs have varied from sushi chef to landscaping. Now she helps coordinate inventory and orders for Nature's Treasures Online. Outside of work, she enjoys skateboarding, cooking and swimming, and aspires to breed insects and become a mermaid someday!

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Chris is a Houston native that moved to Austin in 2016. With his B.A. in Studio Art and Philosophy Minor, he continues to pursue his artistic endeavors in various media including darkroom photography, painting, drawing, and jewelry making. Working at the Front Counter of Nature's Treasures, he has rediscovered a childhood passion for crystals that compliments his vast knowledge of classic and esoteric beliefs.

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While studying at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, Christine traveled to Austin, Texas with her class for a design project which inspired her to move out to our weird city after graduation. She finds joy in befriending stray animals, making people laugh, and creating magic with art, design, and computers. You might see her covering our in-store events for social media or peeking out from the corner of the Online Store - but most likely feeding a stray cat.

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Elaine has been at NT since August. She is also a painter that has had her artwork shown in Texas and California. Her favorite crystals are zebra calcite, moonstone, and labradorite. In her spare time she likes spending time with her pet turtle, Shelly.

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Born and raised in ATX, Katie G attended The Art Institute of Austin and studied Media Art and Animation hoping to join Pixar Studios! However, as life sometimes goes, spirit led Katie to San Marcos where she learned office administration! Today she uses both of these skill sets at Nature's Treasures helping to create product content, maintain inventory, , handle shipping and intuitively select items for customers of the Online Store. Katie loves to draw, play with tarot cards, watch anime, and read manga like a nerdy cat girl! Katie aspires to continue to grow spiritually and one day join the Nature's Treasures Practitioner Program and to animate the world!

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Originally from Orange County, CA, Katie has always loved crystals, but didn't really start learning about them until about 4 years ago through various online groups. Having a family of 6, Katie likes to spend her spare doing all sorts of arts and crafts, including making jewelry. She also enjoys learning about different cultures, reading and singing. At Nature's Treasures you can find Katie in either our Retail Showroom or in our Rock Depot helping customers find treasures of their very own.

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Jimmy joins us from Katy, Texas. He moved to Austin 2 years ago. An avid rock and fossil collector, Jimmy found himself working in the Rock Depot on the weekdays and then commuting back to Houston to work at the Houston Museum of Natural Science on weekends. These two places have been ideal environments for Jimmy to learn and find joy as he loves all natural beauty. When not working you might find him partying, throwing edged weapons, or hiking. He loves working in the Rock Depot where I can share my passion with our customers and learn tons in the process.

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Justin grew up in Leander and received two associates degrees from Austin Community College. He joined the Nature's Treasures team as part of a competition with a friend to see who could get a job in a geology-related field first. In addition to a passion for rocks, Justin loves biking and went abroad to Bosnia to bike the mountainous terrain there. You may see him in our Rock Depot, but if you're into Austin night life you might also see him around town playing in his band, Onyxyria.

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Juyna was born in Kerrville, TX and grew up in Georgetown, TX where she studied Business Management at Southwestern University before completing her degree at Texas State to be a little closer to family. Juyna was a frequent customer for a number of years before joining the NT family as a front counter employee in 2015. She is now the Inventory Department's Assistant Manager and loves being a part of processing all the new treasures after the buying trips. When Juyna isn't behind the scenes at NT, she loves being with her nephews (who are growing way too fast), exploring natural wellness & healing remedies, and diving deeply into the spiritual realm. Her new passion is creating crystal healing grids infused with glyphs.

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A native Austinite, Leah now lives in Cedar Park (NW Austin) with her wonderful husband Wa (Wayne). She loves bringing people together, and is always looking for ways to do so by coordinating events at the Nature's Treasures Event Center. When she's not coordinating guest speakers, she is a personal evolution coach and author. Her passion is the New Paradigm, which is the topic of the fiction and non-fiction books she has written.

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Madisen grew up in Mason, Texas before moving to the Austin-area. She attended Texas State University, where she obtained her Bachelor's in psychology with a minor in anthropology. As one of the Front Counter Trainers and Aura Readers, she enjoys interacting with both customers and employees, especially when she gets to discuss astrology or help people find crystals that heal energetic ailments. Outside of work she enjoys dancing, archery, and horseback riding!

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Born in Colorado, Mari moved around a lot, and has lived in at least 10 different states. She has lived in Texas for about six years.

Career highlights include working with two United Way agencies, one as an Executive Secretary and one as a Medical Transcriptionist. She is thankful that she had the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom to her four children, including 21 years of homeschooling.

Hobbies include traveling, reading, playing board games, hanging out with family, collecting carousel horses.

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Nance grew up in Pennsylvania before moving to the Southwest to finish her education in Arizona. In addition to being a semi-retired optician, Nance works at Nature's Treasures as the Events Manager, Aura Reader and Front Counter Staff Member. In any role Nance loves learning new things and assisting customers and coworkers. She loves nature and exploring, and utilizes her intuitiveness and massage training in 'assisted touch meditation'. Despite a busy family life, she reads oracle cards and loves to create, write, garden and photograph nature when time allows.

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Pam has been with Nature's Treasures Retail store for a year helping customers find what they need. She was born just down the road in San Antonio, but has lived all over Texas before calling Austin home. She has spent her life as a teacher and healer. She taught ballroom and Country Western dance. And has worked with Doctor's as a Massage therapist helping pain patients.

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Born in Missouri, Seren (on the left in photo) found a new home in Austin, where they have lived since 2007. Seren joined the Nature's Treasures family just over a year ago, but has loved crystals as long as they can remember, especially Aura Quartz and Opalite, and aspires to be a tarot reader and personal crystal shopper in Florida. Outside of the crystal world, Seren loves anime and recently attended PensaCon in Pensacola!

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You might not have met Cheryl while at the store, but if you are reading this - you might recognize her work. She maintains the main NTRock.com website, creates the monthly newsletters and designs billboards, flyers and other eye-catching ads that notify you of sales and special guests presenting here at NT. Cheryl is a mosaic artist and sometimes teaches classes here allowing you to use the beauty and bounty of Nature's Treasures in a permanent piece of art. Always and forever a Rock-Hound.

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