A new essential oils and herbs shop opened last week in downtown Pullman and saw great success in business over Mom’s Weekend.

SAM’s Apothecary is stocked almost entirely with local products from farms on the Palouse, shop owner Kraig Brown said. The shop specializes in handmade soaps, lotions, balms, aromatherapy sprays, jewelry and the CD’s of local artists.

“Everything we sell can be very beneficial on all levels,” Brown said. “Emotional, physical and spiritual.”

Brown said he first became interested in holistic medicine three years ago and had always dreamed of opening his own shop. He was inspired to make his dream a reality after he attended an aromatherapy conference and found himself dealing with an unexpected health problem.

He decided life was too short to wait, so he took a leap and opened the shop. Brown said he named the store SAM’s Apothecary after his late mother. Apothecary is an archaic word, meaning a place that specializes in natural medicines. The name serves as a way to bring people into the shop, Brown said, because curious customers will explore it while trying to figure out what the store sells.

Brown is three months away from an aromatherapy certification and currently works at Pullman Transit, what he calls his “day job.” He said he hopes to one day be able to grow his business so that it can become his full-time job.

Brown said SAM’s Apothecary will partner with other local resources to host several holistic medicine classes for the community. These classes will include topics such as aura awareness, psychic healing and planting medicinal herb gardens.

Brown said he believes the holistic medicine market is growing. Since he opened his doors over Mom’s Weekend, he said the community has welcomed him warmly. In the first couple of days of business, the shop customers included both visitors to Pullman and locals. By Monday, he said the store had sold out of handmade soaps.

“I think this is a resource that has been overdue,” Brown said. “Even a single herb has many uses.”