We had the good fortune of connecting with Dana Hutchinson and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Dana, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I was diagnosed with a chronic autoimmune condition in 2010, called Lichen Sclerosis, which was made extremely worse by Western pharmaceutical treatment. I began seeing a Chinese medicine practitioner in Sydney, Australia that opened my eyes to the world of Chinese medicine and how they view the body from a holistic and “root cause” perspective. I immediately started to see improvements in the balance of my system, and knew that I had to dedicate myself to helping others find relief from their health conditions. I began studying Western clinical herbalism and traditional Chinese medicine in 2011 with the idea in my head that one day I would move back to the USA and open up an eastern/western apothecary clinic. I had always had entrepreneurial drive from a young age and decided to harness my eagerness for working for myself and make it come to life. After studying for 5 years, I opened the Wildflower Clinic in Denver, CO in 2016. I continued to see clients in the day time and pursued further education for the next 3 years to master TCM diagnosis, assessment, and Chinese formulation. I think my main thought process in the beginning, was just to say “yes” to everything that came my way. From wholesale tincture orders, to workshops, to retreats, to corporate trainings; I would say “yes,” we offer those modules and figure it out as the demand came through. Today, our main areas of treatment are autoimmune conditions, infertility, reproductive issues/ endocrinology, sleep dysfunction issues, GI issues, and emotional trauma.
Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My business is a medical & clinical apothecary called the Wildflower Clinic. We are an herbal clinic that specializes in TCM diagnosis (pulse, tongue, nail, and skin assessment), customized botanical medicine formulations, and energetic healing modalities (flower essence therapy & reiki energy healing) to address a variety of client health symptoms & imbalances. Our clinic seeks to address Eastern medicine theories, practices, and formulations with the energetics and clinical actions of Western clinical herbalism. We specialize in autoimmune conditions, infertility, and reproductive health issues + a myriad of other health conditions. Our clinic in Denver, CO has 100 bulk flowers, leaves, roots, and barks & also has 85 medicinal sugar cane alcohol extracted in-house tinctures. We produce custom herbal medicine for each client depending on their constitution, symptoms, and goals. There is no one size fits all medicine to us. We take time with our clients, with each of our intake consultations lasting 2 full hours either in-office in Denver, or over the phone/zoom for our clients across the USA. We have truly grown over the last 4 + years through word of mouth referrals, teaching a variety of workshops + seminars + conferences, and hosting our herbalism/yoga retreats across the USA. We love teaching and spreading knowledge about herbal medicine & helping our clients take control of their vitality!
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Coffee- Metropolis Coffee
Breakfast- Whole Sol Union Station
Lunch- Root Down
Dinner- Postino or Barcelona
Tacos- Tacos, Tequila, Whiskey
Favorite Store- Perfect Petal on 32nd st.
Bakery- Make Believe Bakery
Hike- Mount Quandary 14er or Mount Evans 14er
Swim- Golden River, Golden
Explore- Boulder town, Alma town, Fairplay town, Sloan’s Lake
Visit- Red Rocks, Aurora Reservoir, Breckenridge, Golden
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to my mother, Cynthia Hutchinson, who passed away in 2015 from brain cancer. She was diagnosed in 2011 when I was living on the other side of the world in Australia. I would have never gone down the path I went down if she did not get sick. Her sickness affected me in a way that I cannot describe. Watching your parent slowly degrade day by day and loose the abilities they once had, is something that I don’t wish upon anyone; and unfortunately many folks have had to endure this same gut-wrenching process, as I have. Her sickness made me resilient, it made me a fighter. It made me reflect on the things I wasn’t proud of in myself, it made me adapt. It also made me determined and motivated to pursue a path to help other humans suffering from health symptoms, ailments, and conditions. I didn’t want anyone else to loose someone they loved in the way that I had. I think about her everyday & thank her for all the lessons she taught me not only in her sickness, but in the way she supported me, encouraged me, and lifted me up my entire life.
Website: www.wildflowerclinic.com
Instagram: @wildflowerclinic
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5fjakgw7GJGg5j97RIBWyQ?view_as=subscriber
Image Credits
Dana Hutchinson, Wildflower Clinic Property