Featured Post: Heart & Home
Happy Friday friends! I hope your Friday and weekend bring lots of joy, happiness, and good health your way. On today’s post we are interviewing a family business; Heart & Home. Amy the owner and face behind this business is such a beautiful soul! Amy definitely reaches for her dreams and goals and her love to share good health and wellness is addicting.
My father is a landscaper of 40 years and both parents are lavender farmers with our business “Friends of the Earth Lavender” growing and growing since we started 25 years ago, you could say I am HUGE into wellness. I believe each individual should make their own products from scratch, or at least support family-owned businesses who do that. Well read on about Heart & Home and see why Amy and family started this business.
Please welcome Heart & Home
1. How did you start your elderberry business?
I’ve actually been making elderberry for years. To provide natural health alternatives to my family I started researching about 10 years ago after my first daughter was born, I call her my catalyst, I knew that I wanted to do the very best for my children and I believed that food played a big part in being actually nourished and well. Along the way there have been many women I have learned from, who have taken the time to teach me about fermented foods and the beneficial gut flora they provide, it all started with diet, I then came across a quote by Hippocrates that read “let food be thy medicine” that intrigued me more than anything and fast forward a few years I was researching mad woman I loved learning about herbs, spices, foods, homeopathic, and Ayurveda medicines. About 5 years ago maybe longer I tried my hand at making our own elderberry because there was no way I could afford 20$ for 8 oz at the grocery store. I offered it to friends and family with a wonderful review. When we moved to Idaho I decided to make a batch again because we needed to keep our immune systems up. After all, the sunshine goes amiss in the winter, again I offered to friends and oh my gosh Krystina it was nuts! I sold one jar, then another, then another, and I’ll never forget one more I woke up to 62 notifications recommending our families elderberry I was literally floored.
Justin and I saw this as an amazing opportunity to teach our children (they had expressed interest in running their own business) about financial stewardship something we both feel is not taught enough to the next generations. We want to foster that entrepreneurial spirit in them and this provided an amazing avenue. So we took this idea and ran with it!
2. Can you please tell my audience for those who don’t know why elderberry is a super ingredient?
Yeah, of course, we love elderberry around here! It’s a powerful antioxidant that encourages the immune system to fight! I can tell you all about elderberries but I have to disclose I’m not a doctor and I encourage EVERYONE to research what’s right for you! Elderberries are known to contain anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-influenza properties. You do not need much of this powerful little berry to kick your immune system into action. It’s amazing for blood sugar regulation, gut health, and has antihistamine components! It’s kind of a powerful little miracle berry.
3. Where do you currently sell your products? How can one purchase?
We currently use a google order form that can be found on our Instagram @heartandhome.co or our shop now button on Facebook.com/heartandhomeid we also have friends who sell in Nevada, Nebraska, Hawaii, and parts of Ca.
4. Can you include one fall recipe that includes elderberry for my blog?
Absolutely! I love mixing things up! One of our favorites right now is a yummy drink that includes sparkling water, 2 tbs of our Elderberry, and a splash ginger water or ginger beer it’s so refreshing and so good for you!
5. You are a mom of 5 so can you tell us how you manage your super mom powers?
I really don’t lol! If I’m being honest some days it’s really hard to juggle it all. I had to make some hard decisions earlier this year. I’m passionate about homeschooling but with the launch and success of our small business and the birth of our fifth I had to come to terms with letting our kiddos attend school two days a week. I also love the idea of simplicity of being organic and homesteading I cloth diapered 2 of my five littles and intended for Evie to be the third but with everything else and the mountains of laundry that already pile up I couldn’t add the time for more laundry into our already crazy schedule, this has been a season of learning what to say YES to and when to say no (which is really really hard for me). My prayer is that at the end of the day my kids know beyond a shadow of a doubt that everything I do is for them. Every yes and no is with them at the forefront of my mind.
6. What is your long term goal for your business?
I’m a dreamer and I dream big but sometimes I feel daunted! But let’s see I’m hoping to patent our blend, I’d love to be found in stores at a reasonable price for consumers, I would love to provide other moms with my business model and bring financial freedom to them, because honestly life today you need two incomes to support a family and I want to make that happen for families all over the world- without asking them to work outside of their homes. It’s such a joy to be able to do this alongside my kiddos and my hubby and there isn’t a day that goes by I’m not grateful to God that He has provided this opportunity.
7. What is your favorite quote?
“Let everything you do be done in love”
1 Corinthians 16:14
I know that’s not a quote but as soon as you asked that came to my heart. And it’s true. Everything that I do I want it to come from a place of love. Whenever I make a choice or create anything it truly does come from my heart and I think about the homes it’s going into. That’s humbling and I pray people to know just how much love truly does go into all of this.
Contact Heart & Home
Email: heartandhomecs@gmail.com
All photos credited to Heart & Home
