Meet Holly Hoops: Owner & Creator of Spirit of the Herbs CBD Apothecary / Certified 750hr+ herbalist

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

Hi Holly, what role has risk played in your life or career?
One of my favorite mantras to work with is “On the other side of fear is where the Magic happens.” My life has been filled with taking risks and has led me to exactly where I am. I don’t regret a single moment of it, especially the tough times. The challenges that come along with the risks are what have pushed me further than I ever imagined in my life, relationships, finances and business. In the beginning, before I really started lifting Spirit of the Herbs off the ground I was scared out of my wits to make it a full time job. The what if’s constantly popped up in my mind causing me to worry and think the worst could happen. But then something special happened. I started taking more uncomfortable risks, some that would keep me up all hours of the night and doing so has changed the way I think as a whole. It has become more comfortable to move through the discomfort because I know on the other side of that is everything that I want. This world is what you make it. You stand in your OWN way. I make the decision daily to get out of my own way, to stop being fearful, to be in the courts, IN ACTION, making moves and making it happen. To have been creating in my kitchen and selling my salves out of my trunk for years, to having a warehouse with a full staff is literally a dream come true and I wouldn’t have gotten here without releasing fear and taking the risks. 

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
At Spirit of the Herbs, we follow the Wisewoman tradition of healing. I love this quote from one of my favorite wise women, Susun Weed, it truly encompasses the nature of its healing abilities. “The Wise Woman Tradition is the oldest tradition of healing known on our planet, yet one that is rarely identified, rarely written or talked about. A woman-centered tradition of self-love, respectful of the earth and all her creatures, the Wise Woman Tradition tells us that compassion, simple ritual and common herbs heal the whole person and maintain health/wholeness/holiness. The Wise Woman Tradition embraces the Earth, local plants, deep nourishment and self-love. Our relationship with our bodies shifts when we look through this Wise Woman lens. We go from perceiving ourselves as unclean and in need of purification, to recognizing the intrinsic perfection, interconnectedness, and wholeness of our body and our spirit.” ~ Susun Weed, Healing Wise It is our mission to alchemize products with materials that are ethically sourced, natural and organic. We set intentions and use positive mantras when creating batches. We follow the moon and create our products accordingly. Most of our topical products start with our Full Spectrum HIGH CBD Healing base oil. We infuse our carefully selected blend of organic herbs into a nourishing, moisturizing oil blend and let it sit for a lunar cycle (28 days) This method follows the ways of our ancestors and the essence of T I M E is unique to our process in a world where everything is mass-produced. The month-long soak makes our base oil incredibly potent and is what fuels our salves, bath bombs, lip balms etc. I am really proud of of our Healing Salve. It was my first product I made in my kitchen that people truly loved. I started making 6 here or there, then batches of 12-24, then I was making 100 at a time. Now we are making literal thousands and it is mindblowing to me where we are today. I cannot keep up with how many emails we receive on a regular basis on how our salve is helping people feel better. People have written to me about ailments and discomforts I’ve never even heard of yet that the salve is supporting and it makes me cheesy grin and feel like I have finally found my divine path of serving others in this lifetime. I started in my little kitchen at my house, selling salves out of my trunk and hand-cutting out labels 2013-2019. I was driving for Uber, taking every cannabis trim job I could get and just making ends meet. But I had a dream and nothing was going to stop me. We’ve had some big bumps in the road, but when you have a drive to achieve something, you want to hustle even harder to get over those bumps. Honestly, if it wasn’t for my support team, my parents, family, close group of best friends, my Memaw, life would be way more difficult. When times get hard I call on them for advice. Being vulnerable and raw and letting people constructive criticize me are how I push through. It’s uncomfortable, awkward and sometimes messy but self-reflection is one of the best self-care tactics you can do for yourself for growth and transformation. I am incredibly receptive to the support of my core team while balancing with my own morals and values when handling situations at hand whatever they may be. I want the world to know that Spirit of the Herbs is a company founded in helping people feel better through Cannabis and herbal medicine. It is our mission to empower those around us to seek support from plants, especially the Cannabis Plant, to heal and balance their bodies physically, mentally and spiritually. The relationships we have with our customers and friends mean so much to us. We encourage emails and questions so we can explain The Endocannabinoid System and how the Cannabis plant works for humans and pets. This plant is physiologically meant to be a part of our bodies and we are determined to abolish the stigma around it.

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.
DENVER – SUCH AN AMAZING CITY TO LIVE IN! I’ve been here 9 years and have compiled a list of my absolute favorite places to take friends when they visit Denver (because they come out here often and 7 times out of 10 eventually move here because it’s so awesome lol)! Eats Pizza – Benny Blancos, Cosmos, Famous Original J’s, Blue pan pizza Bagels – Bagel stop cafe, Rosenberg’s Bagels Italian – Angelos Taverna Happy Hour, Odyssey, Brunos Meditteranean – EL FIVE (100% need to go here) Mexican – Cochino, 100% agave, El Jefe American – Steubens, Blackbird Ice Cream – Little Man Ice Cream, Dang, Mrs. Cooies YOU HAVE TO SEE RED ROCKS!!! We usually go like 14 times a summer, but with COVID we weren’t able to go this year unfortunately. BUTTT you can go up there and hike and walk around. The beauty and energy this place holds is sacred. We go to Denver Botanic Gardens all of the time! We have a membership there. I love watching the plants bloom in the spring and wither in the winter. I have a special connection to that place. Shopping on Broadway – near Buffalo Exchange Cheesman Park – lunch in the park + hula hooping! Take the electric bikes or scooters around town. Breckenridge, CO Glenwood Hot Springs Strawberry Park – STeamboat Springs (FAVORITE)

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
To my amazing Husband, Willy, for always being so supportive and understanding. Always having arms for me to fall into after nonstop working, building a dream. I love you so much! To my business partner and best friend since high school, Chris. Thank you for believing in me and this dream and helping us go to the moon! I want to recognize my mom, Pamela, and Aunt Nancy for giving me the true push and putting the fire under my arse to make Spirit of the Herbs my full-time job. For always being there during the tough times with the best advice and support a girl could ask for. To Tonja Reichley, my beloved herb teacher and friend. I have been studying Herbalism, Ritual, Celtic ancestral wisdom and the Wisewoman tradition with her over the last 7 years. In addition to studying in Colorado, I’ve traveled with her to Ireland 3 times where she ultimately sparked my passionate fire for ritual and herbal medicine. She helped me find my love for medicine-making with plants, herbs, trees and nature. To my Best Friend and Sister, Monika. I remember driving along when she came to visit Colorado (we are from Virginia originally) and saying “Wouldn’t it be cool if you lived here and helped me run Spirit of the Herbs?” Well remember when I was talking about risks? This was one of the bigger risks, but I was able to move Monika, her husband and two sons out to Colorado so she could be Director of Operations for our company. I remember her telling me “Holly, stop worrying, this balloon isn’t going to pop so stop thinking that.” To work alongside your best friend of 20 years is truly a blessing. I am grateful every single day for her determination, communication and commitment to this business and our friendship. This Spirit of the Herbs ship would not float if it wasn’t for her, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the human that she is. Also want to thank Tony Robbins and Landmark Forum for helping me GET OUT OF MY OWN WAY!!! I’ll never forget getting up on stage in front of 100+ people and declaring that “I AM SUCCESSFUL, I WILL ATTAIN MY DREAMS, I AM GETTING OUT OF MY OWN WAY” These people helped me shift into a new paradigm of thinking and release my old ways and start building my future exactly how I WANT. It changed and transformed my life after experiencing childhood trauma and helped me shift into womanhood and who I’ve wanted to become.

Website: www.spiritoftheherbsdenver.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/spiritoftheherbs
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Image Credits
Brittany Moberg – Breezy Photography