Meet Courtney Yalen | Funky Creative, Enthusiastic Herbalist

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

Hi Courtney, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I LOVE taking risks. I literally and figuratively live for getting thrown on the top of a mountain and having to figure my way down. I’m spontaneous which inherently lends itself to risk and mistakes, which are a huge part of the learning process and weirdly my favorite parts. Of course if you ask me this mid-meltdown I would likely disagree on it being my “favorite” part.. but taking risks is how we experience being uncomfortable and are able to grow more than we thought we could. A lot of creatives only portray their “successes” on social media and never their mistakes, letdowns, or the risks that failed. In the last few years I have been working on standing up for myself and being less of a pushover in both my professional and personal lives, which always feels like a risk in the short term. It always takes courage to work up to the risk, effort to push through it, and at some point, pride (and maybe therapy) after the risk. I vacillate between thinking life is short vs life is long. I have no answers but I do love my spontaneous and risk taking nature…I’m never bored!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
A lot of people are afraid to use or wear color(s), and I want color to be EVERYWHERE! I hear people quite often make comments like “I could never pull that (earrings/outfits) off” when the truth is, all it takes is confidence and authenticity. No part of me feels confident wearing jeans and a white tee shirt, so if you ever see me wearing that, please ask if I’m okay (I’m not). I’m also a Leo and love being the brightest and loudest person in a room, so wanting to wear a neon orange fake fur lined leather trench coat comes naturally to me. I don’t want people buying my earrings or hiring me to paint a mural if they don’t absolutely love my style. Taking the sales pitch and financial stress out of art makes this worthwhile for me. My day job is flexible and supportive enough where I have my personal business for my own and don’t need to stress about selling a certain number of earrings – except to pay off material costs and business fees. I took a risk in 2022 and quit my previous job to focus exclusively on Ozibu, and I did not enjoy it. I need a balance of flexibility and structure in my life and I’m proud and excited about my current set up. I thought my brain was legitimately going to explode when I first started Ozibu, there is an unbelievable amount of work that goes into a website and starting a small business and I have infinite respect for all the small businesses out there – PLEASE support them when you can! I also want people to know that starting and growing a business is hard and nobody has the answers, there is no “right” path and doing what feels feasible for you and your life is always paramount. I feel that starting Ozibu has solidified that I don’t actually have to grow up, I just now have to pay taxes after playing with clay and painting all day.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I actually rarely spend time in Denver – every weekend in the winter I’m skiing somewhere, and every weekend in the summer I’m camping or backpacking. Shoulder seasons I usually go to the desert or am making art. A lot of people have told me that my house is “an insane museum” because each room is a different color scheme and theme, so I do genuinely love spending time at home and in my yard with my stray cat community (yes I’m single).
My favorite area in Denver has always been South Broadway – I think I’ve been to Historian’s more than any bar or restaurant in Denver and I don’t really know why? Average priced beer and a rooftop? The thrifting is fantastic – a stacked Goodwill, Crossroads, Goldmine, Boss Vintage, and a few others. Sweet Action is also the best ice cream in Denver hands-down. They always have at least two vegan non-sorbet flavors (I’m not a sorbet girlie but they have sorbet too). I went there the other day and got maple apple bread and vegan peanut butter chip. They have some WILD flavors and switch them up constantly. There are also really fun bars around – Sputnik (great vegan bar food options too), Irish Rover, Skylark. This area always has shows going on. I love a dive bar and the vibe of South Broadway has just always been so fun, whether at noon or midnight.
Washington Park always makes me feel like I’m in a Lifetime Original Movie, in a fun way. There are always people playing sports, having picnics, throwing frisbees with their dogs, having parties, and more. Everyone seems to be in the best mood and enjoying their time outside, which is probably why I brought my boyfriend here to break up with him a few years ago. The road is also smooth (unlike Cheesman) so it’s more comfortable to rollerblade/skate on.
Any restaurant owned by Denver Edible Beats is great to me – Linger, El Five, Vital Root, and Root Down. They used to own Ophelia’s Electric Soap Box as well, but I believe they recently sold it. Each restaurant is in a fun location and has unique and delicious healthy menus, and most are made for sharing too, so it’s easy to bring friends to and try several items on the menu. I had two graduation lunch and dinner parties in 2016 with my family, friends and their families, and we went to Linger and Ophelia’s. They’re always crowd pleasers.
In the summer I love biking everywhere I can. I’ve been trying to get better at being spontaneous, but truth is I’m not a city girl. My favorite hike within an hour or so of Denver has always been Chicago Lakes. So I suppose here’s to having visitors and making no plans and hoping going off of vibes alone works!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
It’s hard not to get imposter syndrome basically all of the time to be honest, and I don’t think just one person can be recognized for my self confidence and success as an artist and human because everything builds up. However, my boss in college (Sandy J) is the first person who showed me that you can be colorful, funky, and take aesthetic risks, all while being professional, intelligent and well respected. I watched her command a room lecturing on epidemiology while wearing a ruffled fuchsia and chartreuse pantsuit. She could tell I was depressed before I knew what that meant and supported me through it all. She always found ways to support my wild ideas and made me feel comfortable asking questions about life and how to be self sufficient in a lot of things, but how to reach out for others. She showed me that you don’t have to have one single identity – as long as you’re authentic, the right people will love and gravitate towards you. She taught me that taking risks is important and what makes life exciting. I had always had people in my life who chose one path and became experts in it, and I never felt connected to that or a desire to be that way. Sandy went to art school (so did I) and then she decided she wanted to study health and international development after college, which is what I did and a huge reason why she hired me in the first place. She was proof to me that you can do and be so many things in one life and it’s never too late to try something new or be someone different – even for a day or two. I will also shout out my dad, who calls or texts me almost every day to tell me how cool he thinks I am – he’s a six time Emmy award winner and multi hall of fame inductee, and he says that I’m the coolest person he knows?! He is also a constant reminder to find joy in seemingly small things – he left me a voicemail the other day to tell me that his two favorite songs played in a row on the radio and isn’t life just so amazing when that happens? It sure is, dad.

Website: https://www.ozibudesigns.com

Instagram: @ozibu.designs