The location of my shop is quite convenient for me, as I live above the store with my cat and pet snake. I chose the location because it’s on a main road that is frequented by large amounts of foot traffic. This makes it the perfect disguise for my customers who want to slip in unnoticed amongst the busy crowd.
Since the shop is camouflaged and can’t be seen unless you know where to look, it’s all but invisible to most passersby. It would be a bit of a shock to one such passerby if they were to watch my customers disappear into thin air. I’ve tried to make it even easier for my customers to reach my store by placing white brindabella roses outside the doors, to act as an aisle of arrows directing them to the entrance. Brindabella roses are incredibly vibrant, and at night they light up like streetlights, so they seemed like the perfect choice for the outside of my shop.
My shop is built entirely of wood, and the windows are stained glass. I built it all myself, as per the gardening club rules. Apparently, you don’t deserve to own an apothecary unless you can build it yourself. So that is what I did. I grew each tree from a sapling and cast charms over the wood to keep it sturdy. I harvested grains of sand to create glass and even painted the stained glass myself, placing my favourite floribunda rose colours like a frame in every corner.
I’m proud of how my shop turned out, even though the design was quite basic. I took inspiration from mediaeval houses and fashioned a very simple square shape for the frame. There is a brick chimney at the top, which leads to a huge furnace at the back of my store where I burn leaves and cook poultices for my customers. Everything is surrounded by barrels and jars and desks, but most of all – plants. There are so many plants it is almost like your eyes can’t take them all in at once.