Corrie Bradley is an entrepreneur. A fifth generation Coloradan, her great-grandmother was also an entrepreneur - a bootlegger in Golden.

Corrie grew up in Lakewood, and as a child her family came up to Eldora to ski. Later, while studying at Colorado State University, she began to spend time in Nederland. “I remember driving up the Canyon, seeing the lake, the tiny town, the majesty of the mountains behind it, and the weirdness of the people.” That first view of the reservoir, when you top the Canyon and see the beautiful, blue expanse of water and the town in the distance, is what brought a lot of us here.

After college, she left Colorado for Northern California. For six years anyway. Then, suddenly, everything happened at once.

Corrie heard about a Medical Herbalist program – in Boulder. She called to ask if the classes were filled. The school told her there was room for one more, but the program started in four days. Corrie moved to Ned on New Years Eve 2010. Within a few days of her arrival, she already had a job at the Co-op. Well, she thought it was a job. Corrie worked two full shifts before realizing it was a volunteer position.

While the program and the quick move to Ned were big life changes, they weren’t the biggest or best. This was: days after she arrived, on a crazy, snowy night, Corrie took her dog for a walk. “This handsome man came up to me and asked if I had seen his dog. I had, it was harassing my dog. We spent 45 minutes together, under a lamp post, on a blizzardy night. He invited me to his home to warm up, and I felt so totally safe with him I went.” She’s been with Sean ever since; they’ve been married for nine years, they have two mountain boys, Alder and Hatcher, and a tuxedoed dog, Django. If Norman Rockwell painted mountain families, it would be this one.

Corrie eventually took a paying job at the Jamestown Mercantile, becoming close friends with its owner, Rainbow Shultz. That’s where they first talked about developing a lubricant that worked like a fancy face serum, but for vaginal tissue. This wasn’t idle workplace chatter, they did the research and the work. The idea became reality, and in 2019 they launched Lark: “an impulse, a fun thing to do, the whole company was kind of a lark.”

The business is doing well – so well that Corrie quit her job at the Merc to devote her full attention to it. That success is due in large part to local women: “We have learned so much from our community of mountain ladies that have tried our products, given us their feedback, and opened up to us about their experiences as women.

Some Nedbits about Corrie:

Family: “I’m very close to my family, I have four incredible sisters who all live in the area. They are the freakin’ funniest people in the world.”

Recreation: “hiking, biking, skiing, boarding, yoga, and friends.”

Music: “Tedeschi Trucks Band, all things funky.”

Favorite Mountain Places: “I love the Mexican restaurant, it has the best margaritas ever. The waterfall up by Lost Lake is epic.”

Favorite Mountain People: “Geno Kennedy, he’s a character, and his daughter Nikki, everyone in our neighborhood, and all the people on Lazy Z. Rainbow, Louie in Jamestown, and Hamburger at the Co-op. Mike the Librarian, he is an incredible musician.

What is it About Ned: “The summers, June up here is unreal. I love the vistas, the wildlife, and the elements. When the wind comes whipping through and everyone looks haggard the next day, or a huge snowstorm knocks everyone’s power out. We’re subjected to different rules, the elements are the overriding fact of our existence here. And the spaciousness of the mountains - you’re always alone, if you want people you have to seek them out.”

Hopes and Dreams For Ned: “I hope that as it expands, the real grit and true essence of the town remains.”

That’s the issue here, isn’t it? Will Ned trade its true essence, its grit, for a little convenience, an extra bar or two of cell service, and more money for some? Will we become yet another high-end tourist town with traffic lights, street lights, still more dispensaries, and fast food? Time will tell. But whatever happens – or is happening – I take comfort in knowing we are surrounded by kind-hearted, loving neighbors like Corrie, her man, her kids, and Django.

[Bella Lorena, Non passerà molto tempo ora, amore mio, ci stringeremo per mano nella neve.]