Vampire Unicorns co-owner Melissa Kempthorne, right, helps Jamila Johnson of Vancouver work on a Brigid’s Cross during a workshop in the Camas store. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)Photo Gallery
CAMAS — Washougal residents Melissa Kempthorne and Omar Ramirez launched Vampire Unicorns as an Etsy store in 2021 as a “retirement plan,” Kempthorne said. The online shop offered hand-blended tea, candles, apparel, crystals, jewelry and kitchenware with an Addams Family sensibility — dark, but with a sense of humor, like the TV show and movies based on Charles Addams’ cartoons. Think bat-shaped spatulas and a tea called “Rest in Peach.”
Online sales were robust, so when Kempthorne, 50, was laid off from her job as the regional sales manager of a flooring company, she and Ramirez, 48, decided to open a brick-and-mortar store. They found a spot in east Camas near Activate Church. However, they weren’t sure how people in east Clark County would respond to a “metaphysical store” like Love Potion Magickal Perfumerie and Crystal Rainbow in downtown Vancouver and Celestial Awakenings in Hazel Dell. They joined the Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce and scheduled a ribbon-cutting.
“The chamber of commerce said it was the biggest grand opening they’d had in their history,” Kempthorne said. “We had people lined up down to the church and around the corner waiting to get in.”
Vampire Unicorns (a reference to “the dark yet cute spirit animal that lives in each of us,” according to the store’s website) does sell plenty of crystals, pendulums and tarot decks, but Kempthorne describes the store’s aesthetic as half Goth, half witchy.
IF YOU GO
What: Vampire Unicorns
Where: 3510 N.E. Third Ave., Camas
Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
“Goth is more appreciating the darker things, like skulls and coffins and the aesthetic of black and vampires and supernatural things,” Kempthorne said. “The witchy is going to be more the crystals and the herbs. It’s more foresty and natural.”
Kempthorne, who grew up attending a Lutheran school, embraced a Goth identity in her late teens. She discovered a Goth club, where the atmosphere was laid-back and accepting. She said she could just hang out with her friends and have a good time without being hit on all night. She liked that Goths didn’t care about looks, body type or sexuality. Goths are outcasts who “just want to find their tribe,” Kempthorne said. That credo is carried over into her store as a meeting place where like-minded people can find friends, she said.
And find each other they have.
At a recent “Art of Spiritual Cleansing” workshop, a dozen people in their 30s to their 60s gathered to follow radiance coach and licensed social worker Vanessa Grace through an hourlong meditation. Several people came early to sip cups of Winter Solstice or Enchanted Forest tea and browse the wares in the brightly lit store. All except two were repeat attendees. Most had discovered the shop by noticing the storefront or hearing about it from others. It’s easy to see the appeal: Kempthorne and Ramirez have a gift for making people feel comfortable, greeting them by name and setting them at ease with a smile or helpful attention.
Vampire Unicorns offers two to three workshops every week, and currently has 12 instructors on the roster, covering everything from broom-making and spell jars to candle-pouring and tea-blending, Kempthorne said. The frequency of classes is designed to build community, she said. Fees are $18 to $100, with most in the $25-$45 range, but there is one free group — Broom Club, a regular crafting get-together open to anyone who’s taken a broom-making class at the store.
The store’s neighbors at the charismatic Christian Activate Church (host of the annual Christmas in the Park event in downtown Vancouver) have been generally friendly, Kempthorne said. There’s only been one notable exception, which Kempthorne preferred not to recount on the record in the spirit of preserving goodwill.
Usually, curious passersby will come in to look around but leave when they see it’s not something they’re interested in. That’s just fine, said Kempthorne, because she and Ramirez “respect everybody’s path.”
Tiffany Lovelace, who leads the pastoral care team at Activate Church along with her husband, Brandon, said she’d been curious about Vampire Unicorns since it opened and wondered what was inside. One evening she and other church members were praying together when she “felt like God was saying to go over there.”
Lovelace did, introducing herself as a pastor at Activate and inviting Kempthorne to church. Lovelace bought an onyx and silver ring — “They have beautiful jewelry,” she said — and has been praying for Kempthorne ever since.
“I just know that God loves her,” Lovelace said, “even if we have different views on spiritual things.”
Kempthorne said she appreciates the acceptance. She and Ramirez strive to make their store welcoming to customers of all beliefs, “no matter what they’re into,” although they draw the line at items bearing satanic symbols and intentionally keep the store kid-friendly, she said. (Kempthorne said she plans to offer kids’ workshops, too.)
Vampire Unicorns has also forged community ties by working with local instructors, such as Camas resident Miranda Straub, owner of Straub’s Snow all-natural shave ice, and Sophie Wegecsanyi, community event coordinator at Self-Balance Massage in Hazel Dell and former owner of Wattle Tree Place, a Vancouver store and café that closed in 2018.
In addition to the teas, fragrance sprays, bath salts and jewelry created by Kempthorne and Ramirez, shoppers can find locally made products such as potion bottles by Katie Califf of Mermaid Leather and framed pinned butterflies by Amber Kent. Vampire Unicorns also occasionally partners with another Camas store, Bridge Island Arts and Vintage, on events such as the Christmas ornament swap in December.
This community focus “isn’t just about selling things,” said workshop attendee Seth Michael, a Camas medium who offers sessions at Vampire Unicorns. Kempthorne and Ramirez have created a place where people who don’t align with the mainstream can feel welcome.
“We have so many regulars that come and shop here. I love how much word of mouth there is here — somebody told them about it and now they’re here. It’s such a nice compliment,” Kempthorne said. “It’s just people finding their people.”
