Bliss has lived just outside Lagos, in the Algarve for 15 years and told me her business was really inspired by her love for crystals and nature. She added that “at school we were always encouraged to use our imagination so I have always been making things.”

“I also used to go on family walks around our house and I was about eight years old when I found my first crystal when we went on our walk and I was amazed about this thing that was in the earth and had not been touched”.

However, it was actually in 2020 when there was a devastating forest fire in Vilarinha in Aljezur that really affected their own community that caused her to start Blissful Creations. Bliss remembers “the day after the fire, my family went to see what was left behind and when I stepped out of the car I was amazed to step out onto a field of quartz”.

A Field of Quartz

Bliss then went on to share how this led to Blissful Creations, “The field of quartz was really quite special and I remember stepping out and thinking I cannot forget where this is. I then went home and I looked for crystals behind my house and on our piece of land and to my amazement I found crystals and I was just so happy”, so that is what opened the door for Bliss to start her unique business. “It is really special because not many people are aware that you can find crystals here in Portugal and no one really talks about looking for crystals.”

Types of Crystals

Bliss told me that “in the Algarve and pretty much all over the world, you have a very high concentration of quartz because quartz is the second most abundant mineral in the crust of the Earth.” Although it is not easy to find, “you can find quartz in the countryside in the Algarve and sometimes you can find them at the beach but they are round and softer due to the sea.”

Bliss has found a vast array of quartz, “including milky quartz and clear quartz with many versions” including one she called citrine which is orange in colour. Additionally, in clear quartz she sometimes finds “what looks like it has blood inside as well as clear quartz with fossilised moss but she affirmed that the best one she has found is clear quartz with rainbows inside which she explained happens when crystals get damaged and they get fractured inside and, in these fractures, they refract light, creating a beautiful rainbow.”

Bliss’ Connection to Crystals

Bliss told me that it is all about “the creativity and rewarding sense that I get when I go out and look for these crystals and when I find something worth having it is deeply satisfying.” Also explaining that the process is therapeutic, describing it as a meditation and that if I feel stressed, I can go out and find crystals which is something I really enjoy doing and not think about anything apart from crystals.”

The Power of Clear Quartz

Bliss explained that “Crystals help on some kind of level in relaxing your brain and that if you look at them whatever shape they are, they are beautiful”. Clear quartz is appropriate for all birth stones, all birth months and clear quartz also helps to clarify the air and mental state and it aids psychic abilities and it is a cleansing crystal, it eliminates all that brain fog that people tend to get from stress.”

“Crystals have been used throughout history and it dates so far back: turning crystals into amulets and wearing them because they believed they would ward off evil enemies or spirits. In Ancient Greece for example, the Greeks believed that clear quartz was ice frozen so deeply that it remained frozen forever”, humorously adding that “eventually they figured out that it wasn’t water frozen for eternity!”.”

Bliss Crystals

The Perfect Keepsake

Bliss’ jewellery makes for a really great gift and the perfect keepsake choice for your time in Portugal. Bliss sells “rings, necklaces, bracelets and fairy ears out of crystals” as well as recycled jewellery with other crystals and wonderful handmade custom crochet pieces made to order. Bliss sells her amazing jewellery on her Instagram page and also in the boutique at Moinhos Velhos in Lagos. She told me that “they have they been popular amongst guests who stay at the detox retreat and all of the crystals are kept as they were found and I only clean them with a toothbrush and water.”

Bright Future

Bliss told me that she would like to do “some silver smithing courses to learn more about working with metal and soldering it because at the moment her crystals are attached by wire.” In the future Bliss would also like to start selling her products in little tourist shops in Lagos and she would like to have a website in the future.

To shop all of Bliss Lloyd Pack’s beautiful creations please check out @blissfulcreations.co on Instagram and you can also find her jewellery at Moinhos Velhos in Lagos. In addition, you can find Bliss on Tik Tok @blissful_creations.co

Author

Following undertaking her university degree in English with American Literature in the UK, Cristina da Costa Brookes moved back to Portugal to pursue a career in Journalism, where she has worked at The Portugal News for 3 years. Cristina’s passion lies with Arts & Culture as well as sharing all important community-related news.

Cristina da Costa Brookes