Welcome to the 1871 General Store.
1871 began with a safe space and a simple thought: in a world that spends an extraordinary amount of time telling us who we should be, perhaps we need more opportunities to remember who we already are.
From that thought came 1871: A Time Before, a storyworld about people, choices and what it means to live a life that’s truly your own.
At its heart is a fictional town called SageBrush Crossing.
It’s home to a growing cast of characters with their own stories, relationships, hopes, mistakes and choices to make. Some know exactly where they’re going. Others are still figuring it out. None of them are there to tell you how to live your life.
Because there’s no single right trail through SageBrush Crossing.
And there isn’t one through life either.
That idea has gradually escaped the boundaries of the fictional town.
It has become card decks, journals, conversations, collaborations, and experiences designed to bring people together. Some invite reflection. Some help us remember and share the stories we’ve collected along the way. Some are simply there to create conversation, laughter and moments worth remembering.
And that’s how The 1871 General Store came about.
Think of it as the place where some of the things created in and around 1871 find their way into the real world.
You’ll eventually find original card decks, books, journals and other curious things on these shelves. Things to put between friends around a table. Things to give someone you care about. Things to make you think. Things to make you laugh. Things that might start a conversation you weren’t expecting.
One idea sits underneath almost everything we create:
Everyone has a story.
Every town has a story. Every family has a story. Every friendship has a story. Every chair, table, pub, club and community gathers stories of its own.
1871 creates reasons for some of those stories to be told, shared, remembered and sometimes newly made.
Everything you'll find here has been created as part of that growing world.
And 1871 itself is still growing too.
There are more characters to meet, more stories to tell, more places to explore and plenty of ideas that haven’t found their final shape yet.
SageBrush Crossing was never about knowing exactly where the trail would lead. It was about having somewhere to slow down long enough to be able to choose our direction.
So have a look around. Pick something up. Start a conversation. Make a memory.
Or simply wander through and see what catches your eye.
Welcome to The General Store.
1871: A Time Before
Every town has a story.
Step into SageBrush Crossing’s.
A small but important note
1871 is created by a professionally qualified coach, and some of the things you’ll find here draw on coaching principles, reflective practice and questions designed to encourage better thinking and conversation.
They are created to invite curiosity, not to diagnose, prescribe or tell you how to live. They are not a substitute for therapy, counselling, medical care or other professional support.
Many 1871 resources may also be used by appropriately qualified coaches, therapists, counsellors and other practitioners as part of their work, where their use falls within the practitioner’s own professional competence, responsibilities and scope of practice.
Whether you’re using 1871 personally or professionally, there is no requirement to follow a particular trail.
You decide what you explore, what you leave alone and what, if anything, you choose to do with it.