One Year Anniversary!

Boline Apothecary has had its doors open for a year now, and we decided to celebrate! Party! Woo!

Coal Fired Bicycle played music

Let's look at our growth this past year:
We have grown mightily in this past year to include many new in-house products. (Last year at this time we did not have a nipple cream, a lymphatic massage oil, a Urinary Tract tincture, nor a Wrinkle Serum.)

We also have expanded our locally made offerings to include more men's grooming, mineral makeup, bath bombs, aromatherapy candles, and hair care. We continue to favor local over nationally distributed products, because they are better for you (no shelf stabilizers, excessive preservatives, and homogenizers needed when your lotion isn't trucked over the continent exposed to temperature fluctuations and the like! We also lessen our reliance on fossil fuels and add to the local economy when we shop local and choose locally made.

Schwag bags being taken!

We have had dozens of classes and workshops and attendance and demand has increased each month.

We have increased our bulk offerings each month and have many hard-to-find medicinal herbs as well as tea blends, smoking blends, and other items in bulk.

After the looming sale of our retail storefront's building threatened, we moved to a newer (and better) location and are thriving in our new spot.

We have a lot to celebrate! You can celebrate with us by taking advantage of our anniversary sale! Come on down between now and Friday!

Business update!

The building as it is now.

Since we successfully moved from Beechwold to Clintonville, we have seen a marked increase in foot traffic an expect that trend to continue, especially when the Clintonville Farmer's Market, which takes place outside our door, starts. We are blessed!

We have started making the new building our own- the inside has been painted, new flooring installed, and we had a utility sink installed as well. We are getting a dishwasher for sterilization hooked up in the next week.

Our corner sign, so people know where to
turn to find us. Isn't it lovely?

When the weather improves, the outside of the building will be painted, we will get new awnings, and the rest of our building signage will go up. We even have beautification projects planned that include murals, raised beds of flowers, and mosaics by local artists!

We are also teaming up with more instructors this year, giving more to charity and the community, and joining more farmer's markets to expand our reach. Lily has started writing a regular column for Fit magazine (her first article, on bitters, is available here).

We will be expanding our efforts to bring you medicinal seeds and seedlings from local growers this spring and have started to create a line of tools for herbalists (starting with our percolation cone set for tincture making). Our tonic club already has regular members and the offering there are expanding and changing with the seasons.

Now is the time to expand our product offerings, too and make our store more meaningful to herbalists and herb enthusiasts alike.

The apothecary looks even better now.

So we are seeking a silent partner. A small investment in the business will allow us to get more product lines into the shop, get a permanent bookkeeper, expand our essential oil offerings (arguably already the finest lines in the city- now we need to carry more oils in the lines!), and get some more signage and retail furnishings to make the shop grow and develop.

I have created a simple plan that I can show interested parties that asks for a 5K investment in return for 15% of the business. At the end of two years, if both parties are amenable, more of the shop can be purchased (and revenue shares begin). Conversely, if we wish to part ways, the initial investment turns into a loan with pre-defined re-payment terms. Either way, an investor is helping this unique business grow at a crucial time without losing the initial investment.

Are you interested? Email Lily for the partnership agreement and to set up an appointment to talk!

Help Make Columbus' First Herb Store a Reality!

So as many of you know, I am attempting to expand the vision for Boline Apothecary to be of maximum benefit to the people of Columbus. I am not the only one in the area making fantastic, organic, local remedies and body care- and we should all combine forces to make an epicenter of holistic wellness and healing.

To that end, I am seeking funding to launch a brick and mortar storefront. It will not only sell Boline Apothecary products but select others that meet a stringent criteria of locally made, organic, ethical, pronounceable, and effective. I have already approached herbalists, farms, gardens, soapmakers, and many others who I love and respect to carry their wares. I have also approached local potters to create custom work for the store: tea mugs with built in ceramic infusers, aromatherapy diffusers, and shaving mugs, for example. These are unique local items that you will not find elsewhere.

The store will do more than just selling things, however. It is a large enough space to host classes and workshops multiple times per week. We will be hosting classes and DIY workshops on herbalism, Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, Reiki, midwifery, massage, and so much more.

The storefront also has a great private practitioner space that will serve as low-cost rental for holistic health care professionals (I plan on having the space have a massage table as well as table, chairs, and other furnishings- so it can serve an aromatherapist, midwife, herbalist, or other practitioner as well as those who use massage tables).

It is also next to an urban homesteading store- so our two constituencies overlap nicely. Together, we plan on co-hosting events such as food and seed swaps, weekly salons on sustainability, and much more. Together, the two stores hope to form a hub for those interested in permaculture, eco-friendly living, and sustainability.

And this is just the beginning. As I hear from people in the community about their needs and desires, those will be incorporated, too. I hope that the store does well enough to hire on employees who get paid a living wage. In short, I want to be an ethical local business with a community focus.

If you like this vision, please help me make it a reality. I am an ordinary working person without a trust fund. I put myself through herb school and holistic training. And as you can well imagine, healing (like education and caregiving) is not a profession that makes one independently wealthy.

As for my credentials, I am a trained herbalist who has also studied other kinds of healing, including traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda. I am a Reiki master who has ties to many holistic communities. I have established some great connections in my two years in Columbus already through the farmer's markets and local art organizations. I ran a successful profitable business in California that employed seven people in addition to myself, so do not have doubts that this project can succeed, if I get the seed money to launch.

To the right, you will see a gofundme campaign. If you like what you have read, click the link and donate.

Apothecary News!

Fall has been busy here at Boline-the Wheel of the Year keeps turning, and with it comes its own work and challenges. Now that it is December, I can no longer harvest my local crops. But I arranged to have my container plants overwintered at Four Seasons City Farm in one of the hoop houses, which is one of the gardens that will be growing my botanicals next year. I have talked to four urban community gardens about growing medicinals for me- Helping Hands and Midgarden (which are run by Growing Together), Four Seasons, and Franklinton Gardens. Growing Together and Franklinton supplied me with calendula, red clover, hops, thyme, California poppy, tulsi, mint, lobelia, catnip, lemon balm, and more this past year- and there are plans to grow so much more locally!

I also have been gearing up for cold and flu season and the season of dry skin. Over the summer, I made batch after batch of sunscreen and bug spray that flew off my market tables. Now I am making batches of elixir, tea, salves and lotions. I tend to sell out market after market, and the retail stores that I supply are asking for more as well.

In November, I started the new (indoor!) farmer's market routine of four saturdays a month, and started offering workshops at City Folks Farm Shop. I also have done some special appearances: An Etsy Team Columbus Show, Festivus at 400 West Rich, and a sampling at Bexley Natural Market. I added another retail outlet: Clintonville Community Market. So I keep busy!

December offers even more opportunities to see Boline (and me, Lily) in person:

December 10th, 6:30-8:30: Workshop on Body Care Gifts for the Holidays. Come make and take home bath soak, bath scrub, a face mask, and some lip balms. $30 fee includes all materials and packaging, as well as recipes to take home and instruction. Pre-register by emailing City Folks Farm Shop: shawn@cityfolksfarmshop.com.

December 14th, 11 AM til 2 PM in Strongwater, and then in the gallery til 8 PM for Festivus! Long Day! The market happens the 2nd and 4th Saturdays, and Festivus is a special event for the season!

December 21st, 10 AM -1 PM : Columbus Winter Farmer's Market, 4300 Indianola Avenue. On that last date, I am doing a demo at the market showing people how to make a cold syrup.

We have started making gift baskets and will soon photograph them for the website. We have created:

Welcome Newborn! a basket of (talc-free) Baby Powder, Butt Balm, Milky Time Tea, and a tin of Boo Boo Balm.

A Get Well Soon Basket with Cold and Flu Tea, Breathe Well Rub, and Throat Lozenges.

Winter Wellness in a Jar with Throat Lozenges, Cold and Flu Elixir, Flying Trapeze Balm, and a Lip Balm- all in a cute mason jar!

Grad School Survival Kit with Student Helper, Insomnia and Stress Remedy, and Headache Relief.

And we offer empty baskets so you can build your own at the market, too! Come by and see!

Business Update for September 2013

Business Update!

Harvesting:
Things are chugging along in the apothecary! We continue to harvest jewelweed, plantain, dandelion, red clover, calendula, chamomile, feverfew, tulsi, lemon balm, mints, and more. We are drying and making infused oils and new products all the time. It's a race against the clock to harvest as much as possible before the first frost! Anything we don't get will have to be purchased instead of raised ourselves, but luckily, we have local sources for almost everything we may need established! Just this past week, I made friends with folks from Franklinton Gardens and hope to get some of their bumper crop of hops flowers!

Retail Sales:
We have been making inroads into selling in retail outlets. We have been at City Folk's Farm Shop for a month or two now. We will be at Bexley Natural Market starting this week. We met with Near East Side Coop last week and are meeting with Clintonville Community Market today! We will soon be in Celebrate Local, too.

Farmer's Markets:
We ended our Easton Farmer's Market season. We really enjoyed meeting lots of new folks and establishing regulars there. We are continuing at 400 West Rich Market through the winter, and hope to add one or two more winter markets: Columbus Winter Market (in Clintonville) and possibly the Pearl Street Winter Market.

Next year, we are looking at the Moonlight Market on Gay Street for the summer as well!

Products:
We have several new products: Blood Sugar Stabilization Tea, Toothpaste, a Pregnancy Gift Pack, and a Medicine Cabinet Starter Kit (4 remedies everyone needs- one price!). We are in production of a spray deodorant. We have our first glycerite tincture in process- lemon balm (an anti-viral that is safe for kids)!

Changing Seasons, Changing Inventory:
We are stopping production of summer items (like sunscreen and bug spray) and upping production of cold and flu items like Cold and Flu Elixir, Cold and Flu Tea, Slippery Elm Lozenges, Cinnamon Honey, Decongestant Shower Disks, Breathe Well Tea, Earache Oil, and the like.

Workshops:
We will be hosting workshops in October and November at City Folk's Farm Shop:

Oct 22 (6:30-8:30): Herbs for the Cold and Flu Season
Nov 5 (6:30-8:30): Make n' Take: Herbal Gifts for the Holidays
Nov 12 (6:30-8:30): Herbs for Women's Reproductive Health

You can register for the classes using the links!

News Flash! Boline Apothecary being carried at City Folks' Farm Shop!

Boline is now in our first retail location, where our products will be available year-round!

City Folk's Farm Shop, and urban homesteading and gardening store, is now carrying four of our tea formulas (Allergy, Menopause, Sick Kid, and Dream Well), our Bug Off! Spray, and is also interested in me (Lily!) hosting a workshop or two in the fall! (What subjects or projects would you like to see me cover?)

As the products sell, we may be getting more and more variety into the shop. Stop by and pick up your gardening, chicken keeping, and beekeeping supplies and get some herbal goodness from Boline while you are there!

Welcome!

Welcome to the Boline Apothecary blog! Here, we will post the latest news about what is happening in the apothecary: where we will be next, what we are making, newest stores that carry our goods. We will also post educational articles about herbs, medicines we make and the like.

We hope you enjoy!

We are currently working on a new e-commerce website
that will be available at bolineapothecary.com 

It should be up by the end of June. It will allow you to get replacements for Boline products directly. You can either have them shipped or pick them up at the farmer's market!

We will be at three different farmer's markets this summer:

We continue at 400 Market (400 West Rich, 2nd and 4th Saturdays), we start at select North Market Artisan Sundays (we will post when we will be there), and we will be doing Thursdays at Easton Farmer's Market.

By the end of the summer, we hope to be in 12 new stores in the Columbus Area:

American Crow * Bexley Natural Market * Blessed Be* Celebrate Local! * Clintonville Community Market * EcoFlora * Gahanna Herb Center * Magical Druid * Near East Side Cooperative Market * Pearls of Wisdom * Wholly Craft!

We are working on several new products: 

More toiletries, such as body scrubs, bath bombs, deodorant,  lip balms, and lotions/body butters. These tend to be the things that folks at farmer's markets love. We also will be making diaper rash cream (the newest addition to our expanding kid and baby line) and sunscreen (a seasonal offering).

More remedies and tonics such as Cold and Flu Tea, Breathe Well Tea (for asthma and respiratory infections), Fibromyalgia Tonic, a Sore Muscle Rub, and more!