We had the good fortune of connecting with Jennifer Bell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Starting a business has always been a dream of mine and more recently, I have also wanted to increase autonomy in my professional life, and being a business owner definitely fulfills that! For all of my career until recently, I have worked for large employers in traditional healthcare and corporate roles and have not had a good outlet to express creativity either. Owning my own business fills that void of a lack of creativity and gives me the autonomy I have been craving.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My background is in nursing and for 25 years I have worked a fairly analytical job in clinical research, both for an academic medical center and now for a medical device company.

My husband, Rick, and I have just over the last year dipped our toes into business ownership and a creative outlet at that. We have had the unique opportunity to buy a long-standing and well-loved small gift shop in our quaint mountain town of Allenspark, CO that came with community support and interest from not only friends and neighbors but the former owners as well.

We knew nothing about retail sales prior to buying this shop, but we know how to work hard. Our best asset has been to listen to our community, and get their feedback and what they want to see in our space. We feel our shop is an extension of this community and we want to continue the tradition of it being a welcoming space, as well as growing it to be a unique place for locally made products, crafts, and art and include coffee and other offerings. We truly feel that going small is the way to improve your life and buying local is the future.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The beauty of our area is, of course, nature. Allenspark, CO is a hidden gem just 25 minutes outside of the tourist town of Estes Park. No one should miss a visit to Rocky Mountain National Park, of course, which can be accessed primarily from Estes Park. But there is so much more to the area than just the national park. We love to spend time hiking in the Indian Peaks Wilderness and exploring nearby small mountain towns like Ward and Nederland, CO.

Estes Park has one of our favorite restaurants, The Rock Inn. A welcoming and warm (literally- they have a pot-bellied stove inside!) restaurant that caters to all tastes. Nederland houses our favorite brewery, The Knotted Root, and an excellent wood-fired pizza restaurant with more than just pizza on the menu, Crosscut Pizzeria and Taphouse. Eagle Plume’s on Highway 7 is a must-see. Part historical gallery and part beautiful shop, Eagle Plume’s is a destination between Allenspark and Estes Park that you should make time for. Going for a morning hike, followed by lunch and a beer is our definition of a perfect day followed by a cozy stay at a number of wonderful lodging options in and around Allenspark. The Raymond Store Cabins is a lovely recently renovated set of adorably decorated mountain cabins down on Riverside Drive in Raymond, CO. Raymond is a nearby community set along the South St. Vrain River. Sunshine Mountain Lodge & Cabins is another beautiful option for your own cozy cabin stay on a gorgeous mountain property. And to stay in downtown Allenspark, you can’t miss the Allenspark Lodge B&B for a comfortable stay and delicious breakfast.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My husband, Rick Sullivan, has been my partner in all of our endeavors for business ownership- we are truly a partnership! We are figuring this out together in all aspects.

Our Allenspark area friends and neighbors have been a critical support for us in so many ways in getting this business started, we couldn’t have done it without them!

Website: https://www.treehuggerstrading.com/

Instagram: treehuggerstrading

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TreeHuggersTradingCo

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.