Today, we’d like to introduce you to Jaquelin Gertino-Raigne.
Hi Jaquelin, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in a conventional household. We ate the typical American diet of fast food, mac and cheese, and cereal (I don’t think I ate a real vegetable until I was an adult!). Growing up, I had a lot of health issues, such as depression, cystic acne, and digestive problems. When I was a teenager, I had horrible stomach pains and went to 5 different doctors to see if anyone could figure out what was wrong with me. Unfortunately, no one could give me any answers. This set me on a path of taking my health into my own hands.
A mentor in my life, Monica Dixon, helped me become aware of and start paying attention to the food I was eating, the people I was surrounding myself with, and focusing on my spiritual growth. I began to spend more time in nature and found the world of natural health and well-being. She helped me get a job working at Rawtopia, a restaurant in SLC, UT and my life and my health began to drastically change. Shortly after getting the job at Rawtopia, I met and fell in love with the handsome chef, my now husband, Adrien Raigne.
Adrien grew up eating nutritious foods, using clean and natural products, and using herbs for cooking, drinking tea, and healing. After we started dating, he taught me how to cook and use herbs. We also connected over our love for martial arts, and I began going to the same studio as him, Shaolin Arts. I have now been attending this school for the last 11 years, which has given me incredible tools to help with my mental, emotional, and physical health. Adrien has been attending for almost two decades and has gone on to become an instructor and open his own school in Summit County.
After a time, I no longer had acne, depression, or digestive issues! A few years into our relationship, I became more and more fascinated with using herbs for fun and to help with ailments I was experiencing. I ended up taking a 1,000-hour Herbal Immersion course through the Chestnut School of Herbs and got inspired to start our business, Olive & Oak Apothecary, so I could spread the joy of clean and natural living. We have now been running and growing Olive & Oak for the last six years.
In addition to Olive & Oak, I run a forest school with my friend and business partner Jess, in Summit Park, UT. At In the Pines Nature Program, we passionate about getting children outdoors and facilitating a healthy environment for children to play and learn through exploration and healthy risk taking out in nature.
We all face challenges, but would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We have definitely had some ups and downs. Adrien and I have worked other jobs and started new businesses while running Olive & Oak Apothecary. We have had years where we spent little time growing the business and other years where we have grown a lot!
We’ve had to navigate personal fears, inflation, shipping delays, and commuting and have dealt with supply issues many times. We outsource most of our organically grown herbs and sometimes deal with products being sold out for various months and have had to adjust accordingly. We had our first baby boy named Jupiter in July 2023 and have had to adjust to being new parents while running our businesses, which has been a balancing act, to say the least!
All of the challenges have helped us grow a lot as individuals and as partners in marriage and business. The various obstacles we have faced have taught us so much and has been rewarding and worth the effort.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
At Olive & Oak Apothecary we make herbal products such as teas, balms, infused local raw honey, mouthwash, pulling oil and bath soaks. We make all of our products in small batches and we source local ingredients whenever possible.
We wild harvest a few of our ingredients such as yarrow and Douglas fir, for our Mountain Healing balm and for some of our teas. Right now we’re still a two man operation. Adrien and I both make and package the products. Adrien does all of the artwork for our design and mostly does shipping and handling. I do customer service, write our emails and social media.
Our most popular item is our all natural, alcohol-free River Mint Mouthwash, followed closely by our organic Myrrh and Chai pulling oil. We are also known for our loose leaf tea blends, the most popular being the Sleepy Bear herbal tea.
We sell predominately online through our website, OliveandOakApothecary.com, and our Etsy shop. We sell in a few local shops in SLC and Park City. We do the farmer’s market in the summer and will post which one we will be attending in 2024 on our website.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Getting involved in your community is a great way to network and find mentors. We have met a lot of people through vending at local markets in our area. Taking a class or course in something related to your business or something you are interested in is also a great way to find mentors.
Contact Info:
- Website: oliveandoakapothecary.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oliveandoak_apothecary
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556505395128
