Nestled between the Food Conspiracy Co-Op and Tiny Town Gallery on Historic Fourth Avenue sits a 1,700-square-foot crystal shop and metaphysical haven for Tucsonans.
Whether you’re driving by or strolling through the historic block, you can’t miss the “Aquamarine Daydream” sign painted in bubbly letters above the shop’s vibrant aqua-colored doors.
The front of Aquamarine Daydream located at 408 N 4th Ave on April 20, 2022.
Inside the shop, a long table filled with over 200 small baskets of handheld stones from across the world takes center stage. The colorful rocks are organized into a gradient rainbow in true daydream style.
Surrounding the shop’s walls are iron and wood shelves housing crystals from places like Brazil, Madagascar, India, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Mexico, to name a few. From chartreuse sulfur crystals, to crystals shaped like mushrooms, moons and stars, to sterling silver jewelry, Aquamarine Daydream probably has what you’re looking for.
Prices range from under $1 to thousands of dollars, depending on the type and rarity of the crystals and stones.
Inside of Aquamarine Daydream, located at 408 N 4th Ave, on April 20, 2022. The bulk table of the store takes center stage.
Native Oregonian and owner of Aquamarine Daydream, Lovisa Axtell has more than 10 years of experience selling crystals and minerals and meticulously handpicks all of the gems sold in the shop.
“I hope people feel like their eyes were kind of opened to something new and beautiful (when visiting the shop),” Axtell says. “I feel like a lot of people don't realize the crazy things that are right under us, that could be right under our feet. I mean, it (crystals) just come from the dirt and through these crazy processes of the Earth.”
After coming to Tucson for the last 11 years for the annual Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase, Axtell decided to make the move to Southern Arizona from the Pacific Northwest in January 2021 to be able to get the “first pick of everything” at the prestigious event.
“I'll go through every single piece in every single box and every single pallet or until I get tired and decide to come back another day,” she says of her crystal-picking process.
Over the last decade, Axtell has made plenty of connections with local, national and international crystal and mineral sellers and miners to get the best for her online shop, Aquamarine Daydreams on Etsy.
Lovisa Axtell poses with an amethyst quartz frame which now sits at the Aquamarine Daydream shop. Customers will soon be able to take a photo within the frame after she sets up the photo op area.
While it was never Axtell’s intention to open a brick-and-mortar shop, she says once she saw the open location at 408 N. Fourth Ave., she knew she couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
“I drove by and looked at it and I was like ‘I would be an idiot not to get this, like this is the most perfect location I could ever think of’ and so I took the leap and I signed a lease last April,” she says.
Aquamarine Daydream officially opened its doors to the public in October 2021.
Now the metaphysical store carries more than just stones and crystals. They also have tarot decks, educational science books for adults and kids, and handmade sage bundles from Oregon.
Axtell hopes the shop can be a sort of “umbrella” for all things metaphysical while merging the worlds of metaphysics and science, she says.
"I really believe that anything can hold energy," she says. "And that you can personally put any energy that you want into an object. And so I could be like, 'I want this to, I don't know, remind me of the sunshine and make me feel good.' And then every time you think of it, you're gonna remember that, you know, so it doesn't have to be what someone in some faraway land that wrote a book said. It could just be something that you feel that you want to manifest and you want to bring to life."
Some of the many gemstones on the Aquamarine Daydream bulk table.
We all live in an Aquamarine Daydream ☁️
While you may think the shop name “Aquamarine Daydream” is a Grateful Dead “Sunshine Daydream” reference, Axtell says it’s actually a Beatles reference as it rhymes with their hit song “Yellow Submarine.”
“Now whenever I tell someone the name of my store, they're like, ‘Oh, I'll definitely remember that.’ Like, it just kind of sticks,” she says.
On the days that Axtell is working at the shop, you can find her furry companion, Ruby, a 2-year-old cattle dog heeler, beside her with a bright orange ball in her mouth, waiting to play a round of fetch. Although Ruby is a fan of fetch, she isn’t the biggest fan of being pet, so make sure to respect her personal space when visiting the shop.
Aquamarine Daydream owner Lovisa Axtell poses with shop dog Ruby through an amethyst quartz frame at the shop.
Beyond Ruby's adorable face, Axtell says the shop holds a “vibe” that she describes as “super friendly, helpful, welcoming and fun” with a family of employees who are there to help.
“They (customers) don't have to know anything about crystals at all, or even have an intention of buying anything when they come in,” she says. “Because this is just a space where you can just come and browse and like, learn and, you know, kind of explore all the different colors and textures and varieties of stones.”
As Aquamarine Daydream continues to serve Tucson’s metaphysical needs, Axtell plans on hosting small events at the shop, including tarot and tea leaf readings, Reiki healing and astrology classes, and even jewelry-making classes in the future. She’s also working on a selfie area in the store where you can snap a photo of yourself peeking through an amethyst quartz frame.
“I've heard a lot of people that are like, ‘Oh, this is exactly what Fourth Avenue needed because it just feels so special,’” Axtell says. “And especially coming from somewhere where it's like ‘These Californians are moving to Oregon,’ you know, it's not like that here. People are like, ‘Oh, welcome to Tucson’ and that feels really good.”
If you go
What: Aquamarine Daydream.
Where: 408 N. Fourth Ave.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday-Saturday.
For more information, check out Aquamarine Daydream’s Instagram page.
