Positive vibes only: Well Oiled Canonsburg sets up shop along West Pike Street
Katherine Mansfield
Melissa Robb added the wood fireplace, decorated with Mexican tiles, to her Canonsburg storefront because she felt the space needed one. The fireplace kicks out heat, which has been nice for both her and customers this chilly winter.
Melissa Robb transformed the vacant building that was 102 West Pike Street into a calm, inviting space filled with work by local artisans, hand-curated crystals and delicious incense. Well Oiled Canonsburg opened for business in June 2021.
Well Oiled Canonsburg offers walk-in or by-appointment private readings with a spiritual advisor daily. Reiki appointments are also available in the new storefront.
Amethyst is believed to relieve stress, balance mood and decrease anxiety. The lovely purple crystal is available in a variety of shapes and forms at Well Oiled Canonsburg.
Like Harry Potter uses wands to cast spells, these pretty sticks are believed to cast healing energy. The handcrafted items can also be used to cleanse and reenergize crystals.
Katherine Mansfield
Crystals are believed to possess certain qualities that can be used for a variety of purposes, including increasing creativity, calming anxiety and grounding. The shapes of crystals are also important for cultivating atmosphere, Robb said.
Katherine Mansfield
For those looking to set a mood elegantly, Well Oiled Canonsburg offers incense burners, along with a large selection of incense.
Well Oiled Canonsburg offers a variety of incenses, displayed beautifully near the front of the shop.
Among the most popular items at Well Oiled Canonsburg are handcrafed soaps by Ritual Soapworks. Well Oiled rotates the selection monthly and works with Ritual to create a scent of the month.
It's almost too pretty burn, but the candles handpoured by Wick'ed Candle Coven smell so lovely, you'll want to keep the wicks lit all day long. Well Oiled also carried wood wick candles by the same company.
Wick'ed Candle Coven keeps Well Oiled Canonsburg stocked with beautiful, handpoured candles.
Everything in Well Oiled Canonsburg has purpose, Robb said, including the candles, which help cultivate the atmosphere customers either need or are drawn to.
One corner of Well Oiled Canonsburg is devoted to divination and scents that set a mood for events like Tarot readings. Robb said she is in the process of connecting with Indie Tarot card artists, and is looking forward to adding to the store's offerings.
Handcrafted wood pens are among those products by local artisans for sale at Well Oiled Canonsburg.
A display near the front of Well Oiled Canonsburg offers shoppers a variety of monthly-themed jewelry, crystals and scents. Products on the bottom shelf are believed to open intuition and enhance divination abilities.
Everything at Well Oiled Canonsburg is displayed purposefully. Here, grounding crystals are on display.
Melissa Robb lights a candle near the center of the store to bring calm energy into the space.
Katherine Mansfield
Books, herbs, crystals and handcrafted pens grace a table near the center of Well Oiled Canonsburg. Robb hand-curates the crystals and works with local artisans to offer handcrafted products with purpose.
The wooden fireplace decorated with Mexican tiles is a focal point at the far right of Well Oiled Canonsburg. Robb installed the fireplace herself, and it kicks off heat in winter.
The eye-catching wooden fireplace is a perfect focal point to sit across from while admiring Well Oiled Canonsburg's crocheted critters and divination books and decks.
Katherine Mansfield
Herb bundles – including sage, for cleansing, and peppermint, for perking up a space – are available at Well Oiled Canonsburg.
Melissa Robb grew her aromatherapy practice at local craft shows before moving into a brick-and-mortar in 2017. Last summer, she expanded Well Oiled from Dormont into Canonsburg.
Aunt Rosie's suitcase pays tribute to Robb's Aunt Rosie, whose estate gifted Robb the funds to open Well Oiled Dormont. At Well Oiled Canonsburg, the suitcase is filled with Tarot and oracle decks.
Tarot decks are one of the most popular items at Well Oiled Canonsburg. The shop hosts a casual Thursday evening Tarot club, and the store's manager, Amy, will guide a Tarot Bootcamp weekly during February.
Well Oiled Canonsburg focuses on both spiritual and physical wellness, and Robb caters to fur babies as well as their humans. CBD chews for people, dogs and cats are available for purchase at the shop.
Bells are believed to cleanse a space of negative energy, and Well Oiled Canonsburg offers a lovely variety for work or for home.
Well Oiled Canonsburg leads a monthly Make and Take, where attendees learn through crafting. Candle Make and Takes have been popular.
Katherine Mansfield
On a recent weeknight, spiritual advisor Kat’s table was set for private readings. Private readings are offered daily to walk-ins and by appointment.
By Katherine Mansfield
You might say it was written in the stars.
While other entrepreneurs brave enough to open up shop during the COVID-19 pandemic met with roadblocks, like labor and supply shortages, expanding business into downtown Canonsburg was smooth sailing for Melissa Robb.
Robb first appeared on the local craft circuit in 2015, where her aromatherapy and other holistic wellness products gained a following.
“It just got to be where I was so busy with that stuff, and we were doing so well there, that it just made sense to open a brick-and-mortar,” she said.
In 2017, Robb left corporate America to open her first metaphysical supply store, Well Oiled, in Bridgeville. Within months she’d outgrown the space and relocated to Dormont, where Well Oiled Dormont has been a staple ever since.
Last year, Robb spread her positive vibes into Washington County.
In March, she signed a lease for 102 West Pike St. in Canonsburg. By June, Well Oiled Canonsburg was open for business.
“It was a hustle,” Robb laughed. “We had to do a full build-out in here. This was just an empty space. It was a lot of work.”
Robb sourced displays, constructed two private rooms (for reiki and private tarot readings) and installed a gorgeous wood fireplace because, she said, the space needed one.
The renovation took less than three months to complete, and Well Oiled, already lovely, is more impressive for knowing that.
Crystals catch the natural sunlight flooding through two tall windows at the store’s front; chic furniture invites you to stay awhile, and the scent of burning incense evokes a sense of calm.
“I grew up in this area. My family has lived in Canonsburg for years. This is where my roots are,” said Robb, a certified aromatherapist and mother of three whose bulldog sometimes plays the role of co-worker.
“There’s nothing like this down here, so we had a real need in the community – not just Canonsburg, but Washington County in general – for a shop that catered to the kind of things that we carry and the kind of customers that we service.”
Well Oiled offers a variety of beautiful products that, Robb said, facilitate healing, self-growth and empowerment.
Essential oils and incense are always stocked aesthetically amongst accessories on natural wood displays, and Well Oiled carries a variety of locally-sourced products.
Handmade jewelry and candles almost too beautiful to burn, hand-crocheted critters waiting for adoption, handcrafted wood pens and hand-poured soaps – all created by local artists and artisans – make excellent gifts for you or a friend.
Among the biggest draws to the store, though, are tools of intuition.
One corner of the shop is dedicated to divination tools, like dice and runes.
“Aunt Rosie’s important here,” Robb said, pointing to the bright yellow suitcase – Aunt Rosie’s suitcase – filled with beautiful tarot and oracle decks. “When she passed away, her estate – part of it came to me. It was her estate money that gave us the ability to open up Dormont, so we kind of just keep a suitcase for Aunt Rosie.”
Above the suitcase is a bookshelf filled with literature on divination. Tarot decks are one of the most popular products Robb carries.
“A lot of the people that come to tarot club, they bought their first deck when we opened. They birthed their practice here,” said Robb, noting a free tarot group meets every Thursday evening, and the store’s manager, Amy, will lead a Tarot bootcamp weekly in February.
“It’s been really beautiful watching people grow and develop,” Robb said.
Development happens individually and through Well Oiled’s workshops, where staff guides attendees through trauma dealing and healing, teaches the basics of astrology or leads “make and takes” centered around the stars.
“I hesitate to call it therapy because we’re not licensed therapists,” said Robb. “We’re just basically a sounding board to help you navigate your own life, your own stuff. We’re a community to help people connect with themselves, to connect with others.”
Well Oiled Canonsburg’s spiritual advisors offer daily reiki and readings by appointment or walk-in, when available. Robb said private tarot readings have been popular at her new location.
“When we moved in here, there was a lot of not understanding what we’re doing, not understanding what was happening,” said Robb, who added her Canonsburg clients are wonderful, and the community has been supportive of her venture. “It’s been an education process. I know a lot of people call it ‘New Age.’ It’s really not. It just cycled back around again.”
Robb said the older generation is having fun reconnecting to things like crystals, which were popular in the 60s and 70s and have recently reemerged in the mainstream.
“A lot of that generation is very excited that we’ve opened because now they have access to this stuff again,” she said.
Robb – a self-proclaimed crystal hound – hand-curates the mineral specimens sold in her shop. She has excellent working relationships with importers and exporters around the globe, and she enjoys sharing each crystal’s unique properties with the curious.
In fact, she caters to the curious.
“(We) cater to people who are brand-new to this, curious but unsure of where to get started,” Robb said. “There is a lot of information out there, and it can be overwhelming.”
While the world outside is noisy, Well Oiled Canonsburg is an oasis.
“We try to cultivate a very nice, light energy. It’s a safe space for people to kind of escape from the world,” Robb said. “There’s just a lot of negative out there, and we try to make sure that this is not a space where that comes in.”
Robb recognizes that needs vary, which is why she is so careful in curating her offerings. One of the most fun parts of owning the airy storefront is seeing what crystals, bells or herbs customers are drawn to and helping them discover why.
“A lot of personal development stuff is happening out of here,” Robb said. “People are starting to realize that they want to have a hand in their own wellness. They want to do things that can proactively help them with their own healing. The world is a scary place, and so a lot of people are seeking out peace and looking for the things that give them peace.”
If you’re someone who’s seeking, let this be your sign: Whether it’s tarot cards or a leather journal, Well Oiled Canonsburg has something for everyone.