As soon as I walked into the doors of The Bag Lady, I was greeted with the soft scent of incense, bright beautiful colors and a quiet spirit that you are not normally welcomed with when entering a shop. The owner of The Bag Lady aspires to create that exact feeling — it is part of their mission statement to "aggressively promote an atmosphere of hilarity, serendipity, random enchantment, and unmitigated bodaciousness, preferably simultaneously, for customers and employees alike."

The Bag Lady has been in Charlotte for 16 years and at the present location at 1710 Kenilworth Ave. for four years. The current owner, Karen, became part of the shop 10 years ago when she first started working there; she acquired the shop about a year ago. The shop's full name, The Bag Lady: Provisions for the Wild Woman, was given by the original owner, Hope Swann, which came from the book, Meeting the Madwoman by Linda Leonard. The idea was to take a traditional female archetype that had a negative connotation and turn it into something positive. The Bag Lady represents each of us on our journey in life. What things would we want with us on our journey? Our beloved books that we turn to again and again, journals to record our thoughts, soothing scents and lotions to comfort us, beautiful things to surround us, a talisman or an amulet or a beautiful piece of jewelry to wear as a power piece, and things to make us laugh along the way.

As you make your through the shop, you will notice a variety of merchandise from books, jewelry, greeting cards and meditation tools that will fit any budget. The selection of humorous magnets and bumper stickers as well as their incense, candles, sage and crystals are among their best sellers. The selection of jewelry, much by local artists, is a must-see.

The Bag Lady is a must-visit shop and staple of the Charlotte area. I highly recommended stopping in.