They say that hugging trees increases oxytocin, the hormone responsible for calmness and emotional bonding. Oxytocin can also trigger feelings of love and protection. Shopping at Tree Huggers Trading Co. Ltd. will evoke similar feelings.
With a background in nursing and clinical research, owner Jennifer Bell has wanted to do something creative in Allenspark for quite some time. Partner in crime Rick Sullivan spent a while serving in the military. Today, when he’s not volunteering with the Allenspark Fire Protection District, he’s lending a hand at Tree Huggers Trading Co.
Bell shares that promoting local and supporting their community is the inspiration behind their shop. “We believe the future is local. Putting a colorful “C” on something doesn’t make it Colorado. Its people do. We cannot begin to address problems like climate or poverty until and unless we get back to local models, get away from the disposable economy, and truly consider the impacts of the products we all buy and sell.”
At Tree Huggers, they do everything they can to support local makers and artisans. They invite local artists to inquire about retail space. “When we can’t do that, we try to buy and source ethically whenever we can.”
Bell also confesses, “We know we have big shoes to fill. We hope we can meet everyone’s expectations. We’re listening and learning and hope to one day become every bit a fixture of Allenspark that our predecessors were.”
For the time being, Tree Huggers is primarily a gift shop selling 70% new and 30% vintage items and brewed coffee. In the future, Bell hopes for a full espresso bar, the possibility of adding a mountain beer garden, and food on the weekends.
Bell and Sullivan were under contract to buy a lodge B&B but lost the financing when the Covid pandemic hit. They spent a year hoping things would change, to no avail. As fate would have it, the opportunity to start a business in Allenspark presented itself.
Much of the hurdles Bell is experiencing are not due to the pandemic. They pertain more to meeting the requirements to serve espresso drinks. “The building is a hundred-year-old log cabin that’s on the historic registry as Sinns Western Trail. Meeting the myriad of modern codes across multiple departments without greatly altering the building is a real challenge,” says Sullivan.
Accommodating all the necessary codes and working on improvements are challenges that come with infrastructures not designed to meet 21st century codes. Luckily, meeting people in the community and giving them a place to have a cup of coffee and just be together makes it all worth it for Bell.
Tree Huggers isn’t looking to expand beyond their mountain community, defining the quintessential meaning of staying local. They proudly began serving the residents between Lyons and Estes Park on Friday, November 25, 2022. “We love the process of building something that’s our own and the creativity that goes along with that.” Bell and Sullivan are passionate about their community and it’s easy to pick up on that from the moment one enters the building.
Tree Huggers is located at 79 Highway 7 Business, Allenspark. They can be reached by phone at 303-747-2071. To learn more, follow them on social media at https://www.facebook.com/ TreeHuggersTradingCo.
