Celebrating American herbalists&
Kathleen Gips, Ohio

Kathleen Gips life is filled with magic, an abundant magic of herbs and flowers that she loves to share with other people. And while she may not have a magic wand, she certainly has a green thumb - "and dirty fingernails too," she laughs.

Kathleens herb business is located in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, a town of about 4000 people at half-hours drive from Cleveland. A self-taught Herbalist who began her studies in the early 1970s, she grows nearly all the herbs and flowers used in her delightful products in the narrow yard that surrounds the Gips century-old house. There, youll find mounds of fragrant thyme and mint, pots overflowing with kitchen herbs, basil for Kathleens tangy vinegars - and her charming tussie mussie garden; rich in color and scent and fascinating floral significance.

An Extraordinary Passion
It was the tussie mussie - a small, hand-held bouquet of herbs and flowers, each of which has a special meaning-that first captured Kathleen's herbal imagination. "Sparks were ignited," she says, when she first learned about the secret language of flowers. I started to wear flowers in a pin-on posy holder and make tussie mussies for everyone," she adds, I had the feeling that most people thought I was a bit out of the ordinary with this passion.

Kathleen's extraordinary passion led her to begin an extensive collection of antique floral dictionaries and posy holders. She began teaching classes and workshops and in 1987 compiled a little handbook on florigraphy, the Victorian language of flowers. It was so well received, she says, I decided to publish an expanded floral dictionary. She type-set the entire book on her computer and self-published it. The latest edition of this unique reference book, Floras Dictionary, is a delightful profusion of Victorian poetry, prose, and art that conveys the rich complexities of 19th-century floral language.
For thousands of years, Kathleen says in her introduction to Flora's Dictionary people have used plants for food, shelter, medicine, fragrance, beauty. But plants also took on symbolic significance. "People began to imbue them with deeper, hidden meanings, symbolism and messages developed from endless usage and years of close observation." The tussie mussie can be used to send private messages, warm greetings, and love - and whether t is fresh or dried, is a beautiful object in its own right.

Growing Interests
While the tussie mussie remained close to Kathleen's heart, her herbal interests continued to grow. For many years she had been developing her own recipes for herbal vinegars, jellies, potpourris, and culinary blends. After a visit to Bertha Reppert's Rosemary House, she came home determined to open her own shop. But she was faced with local zoning laws that kept her from opening a home business and high rents that made a walk-in business infeasible - challenges that might have defeated a woman of less imagination and determination.

But not Kathleen. In 1990, she launched her mail- order business, Kathleen Gips Village Herb Shop Catalog. This creative venture is built around a 42-page mail- order catalog that features exquisite dried and fresh tussie mussies and hard-to-find posy holders-and much, much, more. Its an herb shop in your mailbox." Kathleen says "I want my catalog to offer the personal service of at-home shopping in an herb shop filled with hand-made items. All of my products are very high quality. Most are made in our own workshop. I dont wholesale because my products are too labor-intensive to be mass-produced for profit."

Like the shelves of a village herb shop, Kathleens catalog overflows with hand-crafted herbal delights. Her dried tussie mussie collection is the most extensive in the country and yes, these do ship beautifully. If you prefer to make your own, she offers the supplies you need, plus hard-to-find posy holders in many styles and books about the meanings of flowers. And every year, she and her helpers harvest herbs to make over 1000 jars of herbal jellies and bottles of vinegars and gallons of potpourri. Youll find these items in her catalog, as well.

Kathleen cares deeply about her home-based work, which she calls a personal business." She has a teen-aged apprentice who works summers and after-school hours, and plenty of willing helpers during herb harvest. A friend does the sewing, and she uses a landscape service for occasional garden clean-up, although she does the rest of the gardening herself. From the start to finish, Kathleens herbal products come from her own hared-working hands, her creative imagination, and (most important of all) from her heart.

In 1994, Kathleen began to reach out to the public in a new and interest way. She opened a retail location in a cooperative retail enterprise just off the main street in Chagrin Falls. The space made it possible for me to offer herb products as well as teach classes and workshops and celebrate special occasions, she says. Her promotions include a celebration of National Herb Week each May, a Faerie Festival in June, a Victorian Herbal Tea in February, and Merry Herbal Christmas Open House in December. In addition to these activities, she began giving garden tours and teas in her home¾popular activities for garden groups and bus tours. (I talked to her the day after she had hosted a tea for 50. It was like having a big party, she told me. I loved it!)

In the mid-90s, The Village Herb Shop entered the technological age. In Kathleens basement workshop (not far from the washer and dryer, she laughs), she began working with a computer and desktop publishing software to design her own books, create labels, and put together her catalog. A fax machine and a new 800 number made customer ordering easier. The growing public interest in herbs also encouraged her to expand her lecture program. She developed several costumed characters, such as Lady Catherine, a medieval herb lady, and Grandmother, a colonial herbalist. She makes about four presentations each month.

A Growing Business
In the last few months, the time has grown ripe for another kind of growth, and Kathleen is ready to take advantage of it. She had been keeping her eye on a large, mid-19th century house only a few blocks from her home, and when she decided her business had outgrown its space, she began to investigate the possibilities. In a few days, her dream came true, and the house was hers. Its a wonderful place, she enthuses, with a porch, large rooms upstairs and down¾even space for herb gardens! I cant wait to move in!

When we talked recently, Kathleen was full of exciting plans for the new shop. But with the strong management sense that makes her a well-organized successful businesswoman, she was also taking the steps that will ensure a smooth transition¾a new phone, advertising, a grand opening on Valentines Day. Its scary, she admits, reflecting on her new challenges. But its the kind of opportunity I cant say not to. Its taking me in the direction I wan to go, and I know Id be sorry if I didnt take the risk.

Ingredients for Success
Looking back, Kathleen has plenty of progress to survey, and some helpful advice for those who are thinking of making a business of herbs. There are three important ingredients in establishing an herb business, she says. You need an intense interest in herbs, the desire to continually increase and update your knowledge about herbs, and the willingness to work hard, and¾most important¾and enthusiasm and love for your work with herbs that spreads to everyone around you. When I sell my herbal products, I am also selling a part of myself. Its wonderfully satisfying to share my herbal knowledge with others and to watch a part of my enthusiasm for using herbs walk out the door firmly embraced in another persons arms.

Kathleens winning business philosophy is deeply heartfelt. I believe that whatever you give always comes back ten-fold, she says. If someone asks me for rosemary oil or vanilla beans, I try to make sure they get what the want. And I love to help other herbalists whenever I can. Her new shop will be a home to local herb crafters, like the friend who makes exquisite dried arrangements and another friend who does beautiful topiaries. People have helped me, Kathleen says. I want to help them. For all of us, this work is our joy.

Kathleen would love to share her enthusiasm with you. If youre in her neighborhood, drop in and see her new retail shop at 17 East Orange Street, in Chagrin Falls, OH 44022. She is planning to open by January 15, 1997 and expects to celebrate her grand opening with Valentines Day Victorian High Tea.

This article was written by Susan Wittig Albert, author of China Bayles Herbal mysteries. It is reprinted with permission from the Winter 1997-97 issue of Chinas Garden, a quarterly newsletter celebrating the mysteries of herbs and edited by China Bayles, the fictional heroin of the China Bayles Herbal Mysteries. To learn more about Susan, go to .