Natural Mystics Smoke Shop in Fredericksburg, Virginia

Description:

Natural Mystics, originally know as Natural Mystics Reggae Shop, opened in the summer of 2001 by native lifelong Fredericksburg residents and high school sweethearts, Katarina and Brian Fletcher. Brian had been a reggae music fan since he was 13 years old and was an Environmental Science major who graduated from the local Mary Washington College, which has now become the University of Mary Washington. Katarina was an International Affairs major with a concentration in development studies and also a graduate of Mary Washington College. In their free time, they loved to go to live reggae shows and concerts.

During their travels in Costa Rica and Puerto Rico, as well as along the east coast of the U.S., they found that they always enjoyed shopping at small cultural gift shops, music stores and smoke shops. These travels, along with their desire to work for themselves, inspired them to open a little store of their own in their hometown of Fredericksburg, Virginia in order to promote the Caribbean “one love” lifestyle in which they had become so fond. After having tested the waters by vending at the University of Mary Washington Multicultural Fair, sponsoring and promoting successful local reggae shows and founding the benefit concert known as One Love for Africa, which later became the One Love Peace Festival, they decided to take the plunge. They found an available storefront in the heart of downtown Fredericksburg, located at 1002 Prince Edward Street, and this has been Natural Mystics’ home ever since.