Australian Shopping Concept Shackpalace Rituals Curates An Eclectic Array Of Purposeful Products

The art of ritual is elevated to empowerment at Shackpalace Rituals, an Australian store and e-commerce website that has branched into crystals, cutlery and skincare products.

Based in beachside town Byron Bay, the high-level shopping concept is filled with a panoply of elegant products ranging from $5 palo santo sticks to a $549 table lamp that connects customers to their makers and the materials they wield, and are meant to get them off the treadmill of continual consumption.

“[We want to encourage] the idea of paring back our homes and surrounding ourselves with objects that inspire us with their aesthetics, sustainability and usefulness,” says Samara Macchia, manager of Shackpalace’s online and brick-and-mortar stores.

Macchia is one of four family members who collectively founded Shackpalace, an entity that’s expanded in three unique directions, three years ago. It started as an eco-conscious home design firm called Shackpalace Design Studio and has since given birth to Shackpalace Rituals and a custom vacation rental house dubbed Holiday at Shackpalace in Noosa Heads, a popular tourist destination, that incorporates HippyLux wellness rituals and retreats.

The building of the minimalistic holiday house spawned the spin-off store. “During this process, we discovered so many beautiful objects and wanted to share our discoveries and designs with others,” says Macchia. The 430-square-foot retail space is decorated with recycled timber shelves painted with a dark, organic wax coating and adorned with ritual trays. Macchia details, “Our space is small and nurturing with a delicious aroma of essential oils and palo santo.”

At its store and site, Shackpalace Rituals stocks two beauty offerings: Lepaar, a local holistic luxury brand, and its own exclusive line of products. The former incorporates a signature blend of 24-karat gold, frankincense and myrrh into. The latter includes hair and skin solutions crafted in Byron Bay by herbalist Hannah Forrester of Alchemy of Plant and Sun. She depends on wild-crafted and certified organic ingredients. “The authenticity and smell of these products really shine through,” says Macchia.

The beauty products are housed in dark violet glass bottles and jars blocking out light that could degrade their formulas and helping extend shelf life. Macchia points out customer product favorites are face serums and the Luxurious Body Oil. There are no plans to invite further beauty brands into the Shackpalace Rituals store although she doesn’t rule out adding more products to the two current ranges.

The Macchia family hasn’t done any external fundraising and nearly all key business functions are carried out in house with the exception of some accounting practices. Bookkeeping, as Macchia puts it, is “a boring part of an otherwise very creative lifestyle.”  If Shackpalace were to get a windfall of money, however, she would like to increase stock levels and relocate Shackpalace Rituals to a larger store in an area with greater foot traffic.

While she continues to grow and learn as retailer, Macchia doesn’t waver from Shackpalace Rituals’ mission of fostering mindfulness and rituals that enrich everyday life. She says, “[The biggest thing I’ve learned as an entrepreneur is] to be authentic and have a passion for what you do so the lines between fun and work become completely blurred.”