Exploring Life & Business with Ashley Turiya of Aspen and Sage Botanicals

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Turiya.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started my business formulating fun and delicious teas, hot chocolates, and chocolates with my young son during the pandemic. This was a fun way to pass the time and discover a few gems that have become the products I sell. I was also finishing my clinical program in herbalism and nutrition at the Colorado school of Clinical Herbalism and a capstone was necessary to graduate. I created teas, herbal-infused chocolates, a natural sunscreen, a nourishing body butter, and local wildcrafted salves as my thesis.

I graduated in 2022. I started selling at the Nederland farmer’s markets that summer. In 2023 I started a website and an Etsy account. A lot of my business is word of mouth and from the wonderful friendships I have made here in the mountains and from my friends back in Seattle, Washington where I am from. I also have a consulting partner in Mount Shasta who makes tinctures and herbal products and I am hired as the herbalist to perform herbal consults.

I have never met her in person! I had reached out for an informational interview on how she became self-reliant being an herbalist and she offered a partnership! A lot of my business has grown on partnerships stemming from me reaching out to people I admire and asking if there are opportunities to work with them or information interviewing and learning from them.

This year I am focusing on selling beautiful body system based teas to local stores and coops. I sell my sunbutter, body butter and salve at the mountain peoples coop in Nederland and my teas eventually there. My teas are sold at the nederland healing arts ie Legendary Medicine clinic.  I will be teaching herb walks in the mountains this season as well through Rebecca’s Apothecary and through my own website.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being at CSCH was so helpful to have a small herbal community that loved my products. Doing the farmer’s markets in Nederland was very challenging to find that community in the general public and to make the efforts worth the time and money that went into it besides the festivals where tourists came: those were profitable and fun.

Selling is not my favorite thing at all! I love talking to people about health and herbalism individually and in small groups. The markets really showed me where I needed to actually redirect my business to herb walks, offering consultations and continuing to grow local and regional relationships with small businesses to sell my products and offer herb walks.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
My business is an online herbal apothecary and offers wellness coaching, herbal classes, and plant walks. My business has an online store at www.aspenandsagebotanicals.com.

I offer herbal and nutrition consultations with an emphasis on a holistic approach including asking questions about exercise, sleep hygiene, dietary preferences, allergies, and overall goals. I have ten years of education beginning at Bastyr University in Seattle, WA in the naturopathic program and finishing my clinical herbal and nutrition studies at the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism. I offer compassionate and effective holistic wellness coaching.

I also offer classes on herbal topics and nutrition throughout the year locally. In addition, I love being in the Rockies here. I wildcraft as many of the herbs I use in my products as I can and I lead herb and plant walks seasonally to educate the community about ethical harvesting and about the local herbs and plants. These walks take place in beautiful places usually along creeks in the mountains west of Boulder.

I have a tea line that is a “tonic” for each body system and some seasonal tonics as well. I include cacao elixirs with mushroom powders and rose hips as well. I create natural sunscreen that provides anti-aging properties and a natural glow without having to apply a ton of makeup! I create salves from wildcrafted herbs for pain and for all-purpose use!

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
I would like to offer herbal, sound healing, and yoga retreats at some point so anyone with a retreat space in the mountains or if you are a holistic chef and want to collaborate. I would also like to teach more so any business focused on wellness would like an herbalist class. I would like to increase my following on instagram and build my own plant walks so anyone wanting to hire me for a peaceful plant/herb walk in the mountains please contact me! I also offer practicums to students of herbalism and for people wanting to dive deeper into herbal studies, these are offered outside real time in the mountains learning about the local plants.

Sign up for my plant walks! I would love to expand the groups I offer plant walks to and invite organizations to reach out and hire me for a plant walk or an herbal day. I offer wonderful teas as well and would like to host tea parties and elixirs to offer more conscious community gatherings and mama community too and ladies’ nights out with fun herbal elixirs and foot baths! I also would like to formulate for restaurants their drinks and teas so please reachout to me if you want an experienced herbalist creating some fun delicious beverages!

Pricing:

• Herb walks are 2 hours for $45
• Practicums are $45 an hour
• Products are priced on the website and in-store
• Consultations are $70 for a first session after that a $1 a minute with a 30-minute minimum offered via phone zoom or in person!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.aspenandsagebotanicals.com
• Instagram: @aspenandsagebotanicals
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/ashleyturiya/?actingBusinessId=958422501858325108

Image Credits
Whitney Devoto Photography