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FrontRangeLiving.com -> Escapes -> Apothecary Tinctura
 SOOTHING
BALMS, HEALING HERBS: Apothecary Tinctura aims to puncture stress with
earthy delights.
By Colleen Smith
Just walking into Apothecary Tinctura feels healing.
In fact, on September 11, 2001, as news about the terrorist attacks on the
United States sunk in, customers convened on the quaint Denver shop at the
corner of East Sixth Avenue and Fillmore Street.
"Women flocked here. We were packed," says clinical herbalist
Shelley Torgove, who owns the store. "Women left work and showed up here.
They drank tea. They helped us pour oils."
The therapeutic effect is part of Shelley' s design. "I wanted to create
a place where I'd want to be. I knew I wanted to work with plants and help
people."
 She's succeeding.
Shelley credits one specific element with conjuring calm in
her store. Each morning, before the doors are opened, the shopkeepers burn
copal, a resin collected during the moon cycle. The resin, mixed with rosemary,
creates smoke that purifies the store and, according to Mayan traditions,
carries prayers heavenward.
Apothecary Tinctura is a place to go even when you feel you haven't got a
prayer, when your body is out of sorts, and your spirit, as well. From Shelley'
s
own line of tinctures to teas and tonics, the shop soothes the soul by soothing
the body.
Moreover, there's something bewitching about the wall lined with large, clear
glass jars holding fragrant, colorful, textural herbs: gnarled roots and dried
twigs, bright red berries, silvery green dried leaves, aromatic lavender,
feverfew blossoms. The herbs seem to wield the power to heal before ever making
it to a tea or a tincture. Just the sight and smell of these organic wonders
somehow makes one feel better.
"Women in huge droves are coming back to this. They stand in my store
and open jars and smell; and they have a look of remembrance," Shelley
says.
Even as the dawn of the digital age fades and high tech strikes many an age-old tradition low, American interest in herbs enjoys a renaissance.
 "It has to do with
self-sufficiency," Shelley says, "I hear people say
things like, 'My grandmother used to make me drink this tea,' or 'My dad used to
use these mustard poultices.' People want to bring some of their health care
back into their own hands."
Never mind
the multi-syllabic tongue twister of a name: This shop has the goods to make you
feel good--whether bath bombs or lip balms, essential oils or incense, candles,
cosmetics, lotions, potions and even seriously decadent chocolates. Chocolate,
after all, is medicinal, right? All those antioxidants!
In case you don't recall memories of ancestral ties to herbal medicines, a
knowledgeable, pleasant staff will help you maneuver your way through the shop
and demystify the products.
 In the likely event that you need to soothe your Colorado-dry skin along with
your soul, Apothecary Tinctura stocks a full line of high performance Cowgirl
products made in Boulder.
If it's a remedy you require to soothe your body, and in turn, your soul, try
Shelley' s own line of tinctures and essential oils. Sore muscles? Try helichrism.
Feel a cold coming on? Reach for ravensara.
The Apothecary Tinctura line can soothe the soul in more ways than one
because purchasing Shelley's products also helps protect endangered herb
species. Plants are her passion. She's aware that when it comes to herbal
medicines, Americans have turned over a new leaf. Once the province of new age
naturopaths and age-old folk healers, herbs have gone mainstream. In recent
years, a number of once obscure medicinal herbs have become household names: St.
Johnswort, ginseng and echinacea-goldenseal among them.
 Shelley
notes that since herbs have taken root not only in the United States,
but around the globe, the United States exports literally tons of herbs. As the
national and international demand for herbs has risen, the availability of
plants has fallen. In some cases, the plants suffer loss of habitat. But in many
cases, the threat to herbs stems from indiscriminate harvesting.
The growth of the herb industry doesn't have to mean death to the herbs. The
key lies in moving away from wildcrafting--collecting herbs in the wild--toward
cultivation of medicinal herbs.
A graduate of the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine, Shelley opened her
first shop in 1997, on 12th Avenue in Denver. Soon thereafter, she launched her own product line. And to support at-risk plants, she adapted her
formulations. She uses no wildcrafted herbs. Her labels express "commitment
to your health and the health of the earth."
"We're the first in the country--and maybe in the
world--to have a product line in which everything is 100 percent sustainable
from a certified organic, cultivated source," Shelley says.
The key word in that phrase is "cultivated."
 "People believe the myth that using wild herbs is better.
Pharmacologically, it's just not true. Cultivated herbs are equally strong, and
sometimes stronger," she says.
The majority of herbs are still harvested in the wild. Wild herbs cost less
than certified organic cultivated herbs. But Shelley insists that if the big
herb companies would switch to cultivated herbs, costs would equalize.
"And if everyone who shopped at Wild Oats went in and said, 'I'm
concerned about endangered goldenseal,' chances are the store would switch to
selling only cultivated goldenseal. Stores want to listen, but when customers
are buying wildcrafted products, retailers can't see the problem."
Herbal medicine, nothing new under the sun, might be as old as humankind.
Though we can't be sure just how ancient the heritage of medicinal herbs is, we
know that herbal medicines are an ancestral tether for virtually every culture,
no matter now primitive or remote.
When a Neanderthal grave was discovered in a cave in Iraq, archeologists
found scattered among the bones the remnants of a number of flowers and
branches. Scientific analysis identified eight plant species native to the area.
Seven of the eight plants are still used for medicinal purposes.
Just knowing the ancient quality of the continuity of using herbs brings a
measure of comfort. Shelley encourages people to adhere to herbal traditions.
And she bemoans the high tech nature the herb industry is taking on.
 "A lot of these herbs now look like pills from the doctor, and they have
no connection to the earth. They have no smell or taste," she said.
"Only a small percentage of herb companies are run by people with a working
knowledge of how plants grow, how they seed, how they're harvested."
Knowing she will reap as she sows, Shelley is committed to practicing
environmental ethics and educating others to do likewise.
"We all need to be asking, 'What can I do on my end to not
impact the earth in a negative way?' I don't want the future for my kids to be
like it is in Europe, where it's illegal to collect herbs," she says.
And for people who think of these herbs as only so many weeds, Shelley offers
this sage advice: "Plants teach us about relationships. And they remind us
that we're not the most important creature on the earth--we're one of
many."
One of the many soul soothing aspects of shopping at Apothecary Tinctura is
leaving the store with a sack of wonderful botanical wares. Knowing there's a
sumptuous bath to draw, a sensual candle to burn, a healing tincture to take
always makes one sigh "aaaah," even while stepping from this healing
sanctuary onto the sidewalk skirted by 6th Avenue traffic.
Editor's note: It's important to talk to experts or investigate herb
remedies that are taken internally. Many are powerful and at least two, ephedra
and kava, are known to be dangerous. But that doesn't mean that you have to
scrimp on herbs that are soothing to the outside of your body. Check out our
story on home made potions with lavender
as well as home made soap with
essential oils and an interview with aromatherapist Mindy Green.
Lavender is one of the most drought-tolerant herbs, so if you'd like to add
herbs to your garden, check out growing lavender in
Colorado.
Recommended reading: "Planting The Future" edited by Rosemary
Gladstar and Pamela Hirsch, includes essays by 40 renown herbalists on both the
cultivation of medicinal herbs and the ravages of wildcrafting. Healing Arts
Press.
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As recommended by Shelley Torgove, clinical herbalist, remedies to soothe the
soul: