Hi Amy, can you tell us a little about yourself and how you got into natural products?
It’s funny, I think my journey with herbs and natural products started longer ago than I originally thought. During my last year as a student (circa 2002), I had to come up with a senior art project that I could display in a gallery exhibition. The emphasis of my art degree was in graphic design, so I came up with packaging for a line of herbal products I created called Dandelion Fairy Botanicals. I made the packaging from recycled materials and designed a logo for the product line. The products I created for the line included handmade soaps, candles and herbal oils. Looking back now, it was a glimpse into the future: I now make and sell herbal body care products! It took me many years to really learn about the plants and how to make effective natural products with them.
I moved to Tucson, Arizona in 2003 and fell in love with the plants of the Sonoran Desert. I have enjoyed working at marketing agencies, for non-profits, art galleries and sustainability companies, helping them with their design and marketing needs. But after a few years I felt I had to explore this passion I had discovered for plants. I took my first herbal medicine workshop in 2007. We made a rosemary tincture and lotion with herbal oil. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to learn more about plants and how I could use them as tools for creating well-being and balance. Between 2007 and 2009 I completed certification programs in Hatha Yoga, Kundalini Yoga and Permaculture. All this stimulated my desire to build a career related to plants and well-being.
In 2010, I began an internship with John Slattery of Desert Tortoise Botanicals in Tucson. I learned about sustainable wild harvesting; we learned to dig out roots and harvest tree bark, leaves, flowers and fruit. We learned about the native uses of plants. I had the honor of studying with a Seri elder named Dona Olga and a classmate of mine taught me what she knew from the Pasqua Yaqui tradition. We learned to make herbal remedies including ointments, tinctures and teas. I also studied a little with Charles Kane that year, learning more about the plants of the Southwest. We made tinctures and essential oils from fresh plant material.
In 2011, I became a health coach through Integrative Nutrition. From 2012-2014 I studied at the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism, where I became a Certified Clinical Herbalist, Certified Clinical Nutritionist, and Certified Flower Essence Practitioner. I can’t say enough about this school: it changed my life! I had the honor of learning from so many great teachers, including Paul Bergner, Lisa Ganora, Lyn Romero, and Kat MacKinnon. We studied clinical herbal medicine, phytochemistry, botany, anatomy and physiology, and herbal medicine making.
In 2013, I apprenticed with Erin Smith, the director of the Center for Integrative Botanical Studies (CIBS), and who is now the Sustainability and Education Manager at WishGarden Herbs. This experience further expanded my knowledge of indigenous cultures and their connection to the plant world. Through CIBS I was also able to study indigenous permaculture with Shannon Francis. During this time, I worked as a community herbalist at Rebecca’s Apothecary, mixing custom tea blends and educating customers about the natural products available at the pharmacy. From 2015-2017 I worked as a clinical nutritionist and herbalist at a functional medicine clinic in Boulder. I connected clients with many natural products to help them optimize their health, including supplements and custom herbal tea and flower essence blends. I now have a private practice and use all the knowledge I’ve learned along the way to connect people with natural remedies within the framework of a holistic lifestyle.
You are the Social Media Coordinator at WishGarden. What do you do in this role?
Although I have worked in herbal medicine and nutrition for the past 12 years, I also have 24 years of experience in marketing and graphic design, with 10 years focused on social media marketing, website design and online content management. This position as Social Media Coordinator combines all that experience in a wonderful way. It allows me to maintain a creative outlet through photography and graphic design, while using my herbal and food background to create content.
Since 2017, I have been working with WishGarden in this role and use marketing strategies to connect people with WishGarden formulas. Because I am so passionate about herbal products and wanting to make them accessible to everyone, this feels like a natural fit for me. I work closely with our Creative Manager Malia Thompson, our Sustainability & Education Manager Erin Smith and our Instagram Coordinator Jamie McKeown to manage the social media content calendar, daily Facebook and Twitter postings, social media advertising, promotion of special events and competitions on social media.
I also create custom graphics and photography for our social media feeds. I use these images and photos to highlight products and specific herbs that we highlight each month. I love not only informing people about the products, but also educating them about the herbs we use. This helps to promote an intimate bond with the plants themselves, rather than just with a product.
Another priority of mine is to make sure we post about some of our herb distributors who either harvest sustainably from the wild or grow organic herbs and use sustainable farming practices. The quality of the herbs we use is very important to us. We like to let our customers know that they can trust us to do the work behind the scenes to create products for them that are made with only the finest ingredients and with the utmost respect for the plants and our planet.
The project I’m working on now that I’m most passionate about is a fundraising campaign for a joint project we’re doing with Big Green.
We’re raising money to create Wellness Learning Gardens for kids! I work closely with Erin Smith, key players at Big Green and the faculty at GALS School in Denver to design these gardens and develop a curriculum for young people to learn about herbs – how to grow them and how to use them in their daily lives. It’s so exciting! We’ll be launching a fundraising campaign soon, so keep an eye on our social media feeds if you’re interested in helping us reach our fundraising goals! We also collect donations at events across the country. Information about these events can also be found on our Facebook feed and events page.
You are a certified clinical nutritionist, a certified clinical herbalist, an integrative nutritional health coach, a certified flower essence practitioner, and a permaculture designer and consultant. How do you integrate all these areas of knowledge into your private practice?
Well, this is the fun part for me: creatively weaving all these wellness modalities into unique sessions for my clients. A session looks slightly different for each person, depending on their needs and which modality is most effective for them at that time. I use herbal medicine, nutrition and permaculture principles to recommend holistic lifestyle strategies. I use customized blends of tea, tincture and flower essences to increase vitality and enhance lifestyle strategies. And I use health coaching techniques to help my clients set and achieve their health goals.
What is your favorite herb and why?
I knew you would ask this question! This is a tough one. herbalists can never just name one! Well, I named my daughter Rosemary, so that might be my favorite. The first herbal remedy I ever made was a rosemary tincture. It remains a very powerful herbal ally for me, in all its forms. And my daughter’s middle name is Larrea (Latin name for creosote), so that comes second for me. Anyone who has ever smelled creosote after a healthy monsoon rain knows why this plant holds a special place in my heart. I have other favorites for other reasons: Oregon Grape Root, Calendula, Althea and Artemesia.
Do you have a favorite WishGarden product?
Milk Rich Supply Booster, hands down! I took this religiously when I was breastfeeding my daughter. I literally drank bottles of it for 19 months!
For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, or to sell any products.
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