About

We are Renee Carroll and Nikki Bradshaw, a mother and daughter team from Buffalo, NY. As lifelong proponents of enjoying the outdoors and learning about natural healing, we have spent years working out in the garden together and experimenting with handcrafting lots of food and herbal products. We also come from generations of women interested in health, food, and herbal medicine--women who were collectors of information, with kitchen tables covered with books and articles and cupboards full of tea.

However, another thing we shared was decades of chronic migraines. We both went through the typical conventional medicine experience of being diagnosed and then trying one medication after another, finding that some of the medications offered some help but often also caused a myriad of side effects. Although we recognize that conventional medicine can be invaluable for acute medical situations, we saw that it doesn't always have solutions for chronic health issues. As people who believe that we should use all possible tools that are available, we began looking for alternatives that could offer our bodies more positive, supportive, and preventative ways to help us feel our best.

We began reading everything we could find about magnesium, and in the process stumbled across the idea of transdermal magnesium, or absorbing magnesium through the skin. We began making magnesium balm and found that it not only eased our migraines but helped us to sleep better as well. Giving our product to friends and family and hearing their feedback about a variety of benefits provided the motivation and encouragement we needed to continue reading more research, branch out, and start a business. We found that "alchemy" was the perfect word for us in our journey of transformation as we work for change in our own wellness and the healing of others!

 

Nickel City Alchemy handcrafts organic, vegan, and cruelty free balms and salt soaks with natural magnesium and essential oils for people who know ​that true transformation comes from the simplest sources.

 

nick·el [ˈnik(ə)l]
cit·y [ˈsidē]
​noun
1. a nickname for Buffalo, NY, otherwise known as the Queen City, City of Good Neighbors, and City of No Illusions.
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42°54′17″N 78°50′58″W

al·che·my [ˈalkəmē] 
noun
​1. the medieval forerunner of chemistry, based on the supposed transformation of matter. It was concerned particularly with attempts to convert base metals into gold or to find a universal elixir.
2. a seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or combination.