Tincturing Around

By Julie M. Kailus

Experts remind us we’re all responsible for our own health. A new place in town is taking that advice to heart. Welcome to Rebecca’s Apothecary, where old-fashioned is in, locals are treated like family, and custom botanical remedies are handmade with love right in the back of the store.

Just walking into this warm, inviting store feels like returning to a childhood home where organic smells generate a powerful sense of peace and tonics are inspired by generations long past. Once you meet the owner, Rebecca Luna, it’s clear that the authentic environment is simply an extension of Luna herself. Educated at the acclaimed (but now defunct) Boulder-based Rocky Mountain Center for Botanical Studies, Luna, a certified clinical herbalist, developed a passion for plants that has become her life’s mission.

One look into a bin of stunningly green and bright pink locally-grown echinacea flowers and it’s obvious that this apothecary shop is about a lot more than selling potions. It’s about working with the community to give herbal medicine back to the people, says Luna, a single mother who planned and saved for seven years to open her dream herb shop.

“It’s everybody’s right to know that if your nose is stuffed up, you can steam with thyme,” Luna says. People deserve to know, as well, that peppermint soothes tired feet and that chamomile calms cramps and colic. “Lavender works great for burns, and you can use rosemary for finding mental clarity and fighting fatigue,” adds Sarah Adlerstein, a naturopath and acupuncturist who works at the shop. And their message is validated as Rebecca’s signature “hi, hi” beckons the next customer inside the store or as she greets a mother and child for whom she recently created a salve for a rash. Made on the spot or pre-mixed in house, salves are just one example of the countless herbal creations available at this warehouse of botanical delights.

There are a variety of ways to shop at Rebecca’s Apothecary. For those short on time—although I promise you will find it difficult to get out of this store—there are baskets and antique shelving units filled with pre-mixed or -packaged essential oils, sprays, lotions and lip balms, as well as an inspiring medley of inexpensive containers. Other “off the rack” items include hand-poured candles, handmade felt hot water bottle covers, eye pillows, chimes, a wall of carefully selected botanical books, and various other items made by a network for 15 or more local artisans.

Other shoppers might prefer to build a remedy right over the counter. If this is the case, Rebecca and her cheery staff are ready to help with whatever’s ailing you. It’s important to note that herbalists are not doctors, Luna says. “We don’t diagnose; that’s unethical. We usually ask people if they’ve already been to a doctor. Most of the time people already know what they want. It’s our job to help them make it.” Certain botanicals, such as lavender and St. John’s wort, are so popular that people come in requesting custom remedies made with these ingredients. For example, one loyal customer, SuzAnn Brown, often stops in during her lunch hour to “tincture around.” She recently mixed a mist, which she named the Surge Spritzer, for a co-worker who suffers from the hot flashes associated with menopause. “All of my holiday presents will come from here,” says Brown, who personalizes her gifts with Rebecca’s handwritten labels.

Consider the Source

Local herbalists choose Rebecca’s as their supply store because everything is sourced as close to home as possible for the highest quality. “We’re sticklers about sourcing,” says Luna, who buys seasonal flowers, roots and leaves from family-owned outfits like Boulder’s Earthstar Farm. Established, ethical wildcrafters (those who collect botanicals in the wild) and larger harvesting outfits from around the country supply the rest. For customers who already know how to make herbal preparations or want to experiment on their own, Rebecca’s stocks supplies galore, from bulk clays, butters, waxes, oils and dried herbs to grinders, presses, strainers and scales.

The care that goes into this apothecary shop is evident in everything from its friendly atmosphere and ethical sourcing to its effort to keep prices affordable for local people. Drummers come in for the shea butter to heal chapped hands and mechanics for grease-busting Soothing Skin Salve. “We even sell essential oils by the drop,” Luna says. “Normally it’s hundreds of dollars for an ounce of rose absolute. We sell a drop for 45 cents. Everybody deserves to be close to rose.” What you can buy or create is always up for fascinating discussion at Rebecca’s: Think delectable two-hour weekend soaks in exotic Queen’s Bath or “edible love scrubs” such as the honey face mask or coconut-lavender moisturizer, hand-crafted for bedroom bliss.

Extras like free demos and hot herbal tea, as well as expert advice from on-staff herbalists and apprentices, just add to the balanced—energetic yet calming—ambience of the store. But the atmosphere comes some from someplace deeper than a feng shui book. “I’m from an Italian family where everyone cooks and you sing to your food,” says Luna. “So when we make medicine, we put good energy and thoughts into it.”

This is a place literally spilling over with good karma. Pass it on. l

Rebecca’s Apothecary is at 1227 Spruce St. For more information, call 303-443-8878 or see www.rebeccasapothecary.com.