Our founder, starting out with a mission to create a welcoming and healthy space.
My Spa Problem
I never intended to sell salt lamps. In fact, I’d never even heard of a Himalayan salt lamp until I was searching online for a “natural air freshener.” It was fall of 2012 and I was about to open a new detox spa outside Nashville, TN. But I had a problem. The air smelled terribly dank—the result of long-standing water in old pipes in the vacant hair salon I was remodeling.
“My “Natural air freshener” search brought up a website featuring lovely glowing pink salt lamps purported to clear indoor air of odors, allergens, viruses, bacteria, electromagnetic frequencies, etc. by emitting negative ions. In addition, those Himalayan salt lamps were touted as helpful for calming anxiety and relieving depression.
Despite my skepticism about those claims, I ordered 20 medium-sized Himalayan salt lamps—the recommended amount to freshen the air in my 1200 sq ft space. As directed, I set the salt lamps throughout my spa and left them on.
When I came back to check on my spa, just 24 hours later, the air was absolutely fresh! Like “outside-right-after-a-thunderstorm” fresh. I was beyond impressed! These salt lamps would become a permanent addition to my spa.
But the most impressive thing happened after I opened my spa. Customers came to me and asked, “What’s different about your air?!” They told me they were breathing better in my spa than at home with HEPA filters. Their asthma calmed down, allergies and sinuses cleared, COPD symptoms improved.
Then there were the customers with anxiety and depression who remarked how calm and peaceful they felt in my spa. So much so, they didn’t want to leave. “What is different about your space?!” they asked. Everything my customers were telling me, I’d read about on the Himalayan Salt Lamp website.
“It’s the salt lamps,” I replied. Their next question? “How much are they?” I had inadvertently stumbled into the salt lamp business.
I began making unique artisan Himalayan salt lamps by up-cycling and repurposing containers, often from thrift stores. I sold more than a thousand of my unique Himalayan salt lamps through my detox spas until I got out of the business in 2019.
One of our signature Himalayan salt lamps with a massage ball—designed to heal and inspire.
It’s All About The Balls!
Fast forward to Loveland, Colorado, fall of 2023. I hadn’t made a salt lamp in 4 years. But when a friend asked me to make 50 to sell in her gift shop, I restarted my salt lamp business—just to do a few Christmas gift shows.
Then, I had a new thought. What if I added a Himalayan salt massage ball to my salt lamp designs? Salt lamps are a nice addition to a computer workspace (negative ions are said to neutralize EMFs), and a warm salt ball would feel good on cold hands and could help relieve “tech neck.” I added salt balls to a few of my salt lamp designs.
One show day in November, I handed hot Himalayan salt balls to several older women in my booth and started my “cold hands/tech neck” spiel. But they weren’t listening…because they were experiencing relief from pain and stiffness in their arthritic hands. Every one of them bought a salt lamp with a ball.
Over and over again, customers reported relief from pain and stiffness wherever they applied the hot Himalayan salt ball. And those dealing with anxiety and other nervous system disorders claimed to feel calm and peaceful when holding the balls.
Soon, every one of my salt lamps included a ball, and my sales tripled. By the end of 2024, the “hot salt ball addition” had catapulted BoCo Home from a small work area in my basement to a 1500 sq ft workshop in an industrial park.
Plans for BoCo Home in 2025 include several new Himalayan salt therapy lamp designs incorporating 3 or 4 salt balls—along with new salt therapy tools such as salt ball rollers and hot salt therapy packs.
Starting in February 2025, we are offering “Build-a-Salt-Lamp” workshops at our new Loveland, CO location. It’s a 2-hour event, minimum 6 people.