There are those unforgettable and anguishing phone calls that divide life into two chapters. Before and after.
For Ashley Searing, that gut-wrenching moment came in 2020 when her younger brother, Nate, took his own life. He was 25 years old.
Nate was athletic. Outgoing. Honest to a fault. The kind of person who could light up a room and keep everyone laughing. Ashley said there was nothing to suggest her brother was carrying a burden too heavy to bear.
“You never would have expected that he was struggling with anything,” Ashley said quietly. “You never would have expected that he would have made that choice. It just goes to show that you may not know what’s going on in your own backyard.”
Grief has a way of shaping and contouring the survivors. For Ashley, grief also became the catalyst for a new journey that she had never imagined.
Today, every customer at RejuveNate Plants & Wellness in the southwest Chicago suburb of Crest Hill encounters more than lush greenery, hand-painted pottery, and thoughtfully curated wellness gifts. They step into a space built on love, a place intentionally designed to help people slow down, breathe deeply, and remember they are never alone.
Even the store’s name tells this story.
“The name is intentional,” Ashley explains. “RejuveNate after my brother Nate. Everything that comes out of RejuveNate Plants & Wellness is dedicated to him and his life.”
Finding therapy in the dirt
Ashley said she never set out in life to become a retailer.
Before opening RejuveNate Plants & Wellness, she worked in education and had little experience running a business beyond a high school retail job. RejuveNate is the first business she has owned.
Her brother’s death coincided with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when the world seemed to pause.
“During COVID, I needed an outlet to get outside and keep myself moving forward,” Ashley recalled.
That outlet became gardening.
Ashley’s grandmother had taught her when she was younger how to care for plants, but now those lessons took on an entirely different meaning.
“I was looking for an outlet and a release,” she said. “I love getting dirty and having dirt all over my hands. It became my way of helping myself.”
What started as personal therapy slowly blossomed into something much larger.
All that gardening led to RejuveNate, and now six years later, the store has moved to its second location, something Ashley never imagined as possible.
“This is way more than I ever thought this place would be,” she says. “I never expected to be here. I never expected we’d be around for six years.”
Retail with a purpose
Plants may be what first catch a customer’s eye at RejuveNate, but Ashley believes the greenery can do much more than beautify a room.
“You’re a product of nature,” she says. “So, it makes sense that nature, in turn, helps you.”
She speaks passionately about the calming effects of green spaces and how interacting with plants can encourage people to slow down and reconnect with themselves. That philosophy extends throughout the entire store.
Every pot sold at RejuveNate is hand-painted by Ashley and her team.
“The reason behind that is the art therapy piece,” she explains. “When you’re getting creative in any capacity, you’re increasing serotonin and dopamine levels while decreasing stress and anxiety.”
She hopes customers realize her store offers more than a transactional opportunity to buy a beautiful planter.
She hopes they are inspired to create something themselves.
“We hand-paint everything to encourage people that positive outlets are important. Creativity is important.”
More than cultivating customers
Ashley often says RejuveNate has become her therapy. Many customers tell her the store has become their space for zen. Ashley intentionally designed every corner to create calm.
“I just wanted a safe space where people could come and literally walk in, take a deep breath and release whatever struggles or stress they were dealing with for the day.”
The store feels less like a storefront and more like a home. That was intentional, too.
“They come just to de-stress,” Ashley said. “I never wanted to be in a strip mall or a corporate building. I wanted it to be a home because, in a sense, you always have to go back home.”
Some customers come for the serenity. Others shop. Some simply sit quietly with a book or chat it up with Ashley while surrounded by all the greenery.
“The most rewarding part about owning RejuveNate is definitely the people we’ve met and the stories that I’ve been told,” she says. “They’ve allowed me to realize that I’m not alone.”
One story, in particular, continues to stay with Ashley. While teaching a Paint & Plant Wellness Class at a local school, Ashley spoke with students about finding healthy outlets during difficult moments.
A few weeks later, one little girl remembered the lesson, according to Ashley. Her parents had been going through a difficult season.
The child looked at her mother and said, “Miss Ashley says when we’re stressed, we should go outside and run dirt through our hands.”
Together, mother and daughter went outside, sat in the grass and sifted dirt through their fingers.
“If I can connect with a six-year-old and that six-year-old can go home and help Mom and Dad,” Ashley said, “then I think we can connect with anybody.”
Moments like that remind her why her brick-and-mortar matters.
“Sometimes people aren’t confident enough to talk about their own struggles,” she says. “If they’ve got to use us as that vessel, then that’s okay.”
Why retail matters
For Ashley, retail has become something far greater than running a business. She says the store has become her ministry. She listens to stories. She offers encouragement. She builds relationships one conversation at a time. And perhaps most importantly, she reminds customers that they belong.
“I hope customers walk out of here with a sense of community,” she said. “A sense of relief and knowing they can always come back and feel like they’re a part of something.
“I love retail because I love waking up and doing something different every day. You never know who’s going to walk through that door.”
Every customer brings a different story. A different need. A different opportunity for connection.
“I always say people are brought into this place for a reason. If they’re not coming to us for a reason, we’re going to them for a reason.”
Lessons learned along the way
Like many independent retailers, Ashley’s journey has not been without challenges. She needed to learn how to manage cash flow, calculate state sales tax, create a pipeline for purchase orders.
“I think the biggest learning curve was trying to figure out how to manage all of it,” she says.
Her advice to aspiring retail owners is unabashedly candid.
“Don’t give up. Don’t get discouraged.”
She remembers the early days when one busy Saturday might be followed by several quiet weekdays.
“Of course, that’s discouraging because you’re thinking about all the bills you have to pay.”
But perseverance matters.
“If you believe it, you can do it. It will come into fruition.”
She also encourages new retailers to never stop learning.
“You wear multiple hats as a small business owner. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Go take a class. Lean on people who know more than you do.”
Keeping Nate’s name alive
Ashley does not measure success in dollars. She calculates it in lives touched.
“No, I’m not rich by any means,” she said with an earnest smile. “But we pay the bills. It supports itself. It supports me, and that’s all I can ask for.”
More importantly, the store fills an emotional bucket and provides Ashley with the space to honor her younger brother.
She often wonders what Nate would think if he walked into RejuveNate today.
Then she mustered the strength to pull off a slight smile through her tears.
“I think he’d be 100 percent proud.”
Not because his name is on the sign, but because his life continues to inspire hope in people whom Nate Searing will never get to meet.
“I think he’s making more of a difference now that he’s not on Earth than when he was here in a sense,” Ashley reflected. “I think he’s helping more people.”
