New owner hopes Aspen Botanicals will offer options, healthy lifestyle

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Customers who walk through the doors of Aspen Botanicals Nutritional Apothecary will find salves, tinctures teas, salt soaks, hone, bulk herb, smudge, incense and health and beauty products.

But new owner Jenna Handloff says she offers so much more.

“I’ve been crafting with herbs for about 10 years,” Handloff said Thursday while standing inside her store located at 116 Eighth St. “Some people come in looking for something very specific — I’m dealing with headaches, I can’t sleep at night, or I’m dealing with a lot of anxiety. I’m not allowed to prescribe or diagnose, but they can come in, and I can offer just some simple kind of information about the herbal remedies that are offered here. It goes from supporting both male and female health, to doing a deep cleanse, to you know, serving the cold and flu season.”

Handloff is not a physician but has been crafting with herbs for about 10 years and offers her own knowledge and experience to help guide her customers who might walk through her doors with hopes of addressing a specific issue like headaches, sleep or stress issues. But she says many of the people who have come through her doors since she bought the business in June are looking for a more holistic approach to health.

“I think the herbal world is getting into, like, ritual building,” Handloff said. “Things like making that pot of tea at night, taking that bath, doing those things that help the nervous system settle in and creates kind of this pattern for wellness.”

Handloff purchased the store in June from Suzanne Tully who has owned and operated the store for the past five years. Before that, Handloff developed Chick + Mum, a line of all-natural, herbal self–care products created to soothe and support mom and baby.

Those products are available in the store that focuses on herbal wellness offing teas, bulk herbs and tinctures. There are also products that deal with topical herbal wellness, including bath and skincare products. The store also offers botanical protein powders, herbal capsules and vitamins, minerals and a little bit of CBD.

“The majority of the products in the store are handcrafted,” Handloff said. “I use different kinds of, like, sustainable beeswax and shea butter, and I craft a lot with olive oil, sesame oil and honey. Honey is a big one. We carry a local honey from Meeker.”

Handloff said, in addition to offering the things needed to make the perfect cup of coffee or tea and other items needed for nutritional support, her store also offers books and literature, and she consults people who might be looking for information about healthy routines, rhythms of the body or seasonal wellness. She also offers classes and workshops.

“People can come in and learn how to make an herbal syrup or do a fire cider or just kind of learn about the rhythms of the seasonal change,” she said. “Classes and education are a part of this business, too.”

The store is open from 12:30 p.m. until 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and on Saturday’s from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Handloff maintains those hour in the fall, winter and spring, so that she can also work as an assistant teacher at the Mountain Village Montessori School in Steamboat.

“I just wanted to create a space where people can learn about themselves and gather with others. I really hope to form this little community of people who are interested in caring for themselves and looking at some different methods … It’s always really nice when people come in, and they have lots of questions to ask because it feels good. It feels nice to be able to support them with that understanding and open door for anyone who wants to come in and see what’s going on here and learn a little bit more about plant life and the nature behind those natural healing modalities.”

To reach John F. Russell, call 970-871-4209, email jrussell@SteamboatPilot.com or follow him on Twitter @Framp1966.