Case Study
Magdalena's Metaphysical
A full ecommerce and business management platform for a Richmond botanica — product sales, practitioner bookings, events, and gift cards on the front end, with an AI-assisted admin console running the entire operation behind it.
- •Unified product sales, practitioner bookings, events, gift cards, and content into one Stripe-powered commerce platform.
- •Gave the owner a full admin console — products, orders, refunds, shipping, discounts, bookings, events, blog, and a real email inbox — instead of separate tools for each.
- •Added an AI Store Assistant that drafts products, blog posts, and marketing copy directly from real store data, with owner approval before anything publishes.
- •Built the site and the admin console as installable apps with push notifications, so customers can be notified directly about new products and offers.
Problem
Magdalena's needed more than a visual refresh. The business needed a real platform: a spiritual retail brand that could sell products online, book practitioner sessions, run events, and give the team tools to manage all of it — instead of a website with no operational layer behind it.
Approach
The botanica was treated as a complete business platform, not just a storefront: public shopping, booking, and events on the front end; full commerce, inventory, and CRM in the middle; and an AI-assisted admin console behind it. The brand experience stays mystical and editorial, while the system underneath runs like a real retail and services business.
Build
Customers shop a full product catalog with categories and variants, book practitioner readings, register for events, and buy gift cards — all through Stripe checkout, with the whole experience installable as an app with push notifications for new products and offers. The admin console covers products, categories, discounts, orders, refunds, shipping (synced through EasyPost), gift cards, bookings, practitioners, events, blog content, a built-in email inbox, newsletters, subscribers, customers, and media — plus an AI Store Assistant, powered by Claude, that can draft new products, blog posts, and marketing copy straight from live store data, with every AI-generated draft held for the owner's review before it goes live.
Results
Magdalena's now runs retail, services, events, content, and customer communication from one connected platform instead of a website bolted onto disconnected tools. The admin console gives the owner real operational control — inventory, orders, shipping, bookings, and email — while the AI assistant speeds up the content and product work that used to eat the most time.
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Problem
The business needed more than a marketing website. The platform had to support customer activity, content, operational visibility, and ongoing management.
Solution
CEL3 shaped the public experience and supporting platform architecture so the client could manage the business with fewer disconnected tools.
Business Impact
The result is a centralized system that gives the client more control over daily operations and creates a stronger foundation for future workflow and AI features.