At our core is an ambitious goal for our small women-run company out of Spokane, Washington: to offer deep and lasting healing of the psyche, and to help men, women, and children achieve confidence, inner calm, self-acceptance of their physical selves, and a stronger connection to their inner wisdom.
All the essences are made carefully and mindfully by our founder, Ava Zhan, based on her years of study of herbalism, herbal medicine preparation, flower essence healing, and homeopathy. She prepares each flower, gem, environmental, moss, and lichen essence by hand following the Bach tradition. Ava has studied intensively with a number of top experts in herbal medicine, including one-on-one mentorships with classical homeopath Samuel Flagler, with whom she has studied since 2011, as well as Chinese acupuncturists Dr. Li and Saskia Peck, and one-on-one video mentorship with Ian White of Australian Bush Essences. Her approach is also inspired by the late Steve Johnson of Alaskan Essences--Ava participated in several live webinars during his lifetime, and continued her study of the Alaskan Essences approach through one-on-one mentoring with his wife, Judith Poelarends, since his passing. Ava has also studied with essence practitioner David Dalton of Delta Gardens, and has been influenced by the writings of registered herbalist Matthew Woods, as well as many other Western and Chinese herbal healers. Her work with mushrooms and lichen is largely informed by the books of Robert Rogers. For stone wisdom, she looks up to Robert Simmons. She makes essences when the flowers are calling and when the gems are calling, and infuses them in a natural environment, usually in our ponderosa pine forest.
Ava's work is supported by a tremendous level of dedication from a few employees. While she focuses on making the essences, studying their properties, and holding private consultations, energy healer Shena Staples works as a co-researcher of our gem essences and is also in charge of most flower and gem photography. Joslin Koren oversees our sales, finances, web site maintenance, e-mail newsletters, and purchasing, while also here and there coming to the rescue as a general organizer. We are supported by additional staff who package and ship wholesale and individual orders.