We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rosie Crocker a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Rosie, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

After successfully running my small business out of my home for 5 years, Sonoran Rosie, where I create skincare, self care & haircare out of hand foraged plants of the Sonoran Desert, my partner and I were going to be moving to a smaller house so I needed to find a separate work space. I had been selling my desert creations out of a side room where people could come and browse or pick up orders and I would get a decent amount of people coming by so I knew I wanted a space that could allow people to shop. I had always heard that opening a retail shop was not a good financial move so I was weary to try this but I wanted a way to finance my work space that I needed regardless. In my mind, as long as the shop space pays the bills then that’s all that matters. Although we were on a very tight budget this was still going to be a big risk financially and even though I trust my intuition and the universe, I was still worried. Once I found a large space in downtown Tucson (with a retail storefront), all the pieces started to line up and I knew this was going to be worth pouring my heart into. The ideas and the vision came to me fast and easily. Synchronicities started happening every day; we scored on inexpensive vintage furniture finds, there were the right people willing to help and it all clicked into place in under 2 months. Because I had been active in Tucson’s creative community for so many years I knew so many makers and artists so it was simple bringing in local, handmade creations that fit the shop vibe. I named my shop Arizona Poppy for a few reasons: as a play off of Sonoran Rosie, it is my favorite desert wildflower that blooms during late summer after the monsoons and because I wanted to focus on Arizona local, vibrant, fashionable creations. Since opening Arizona Poppy, we have been blessed and supported by the community through and through. Myself and my amazing team create all of the Sonoran Rosie products out of the back of shop. Sonoran Rosie creations are our top seller and I’m so incredibly grateful that so many folks appreciate my creations enough to keep coming back. This space we have has truly blossomed over the last 1 year and 9 mos. We host creative workshops regularly, we host maker events, gift drives and even have a community board! We support over 70 local makers through our shop and 150 small businesses in general. They say “no risk no reward” and that couldn’t be truer. I am so glad I listened to my heart and didn’t let my doubts stop me. I worked so hard to create such a unique, successful, community driven shop and it has all been so worth it. Excited for what the future has in store for Arizona Poppy and Sonoran Rosie.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am so passionate about living within our means and with nature. I grew up in the Sonoran Desert, never knowing all that the desert has to offer us. I had always been into gardening since I was a young adult and around 2014 I started foraging food and once I started learning more about desert plants I just couldn’t get enough! Nearly everything in the Sonoran Desert is edible or medicinal. After spending a few years really fostering my relationship with the desert and learning more and more, I started looking for natural body care or self care that incorporated desert plants, specifically creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) and could only find salves. I wanted to wear that desert rain scent! So I turned to a local herbalist of 20 years named Becki Garza and I started working for her in exchange for basic herbal knowledge, that combined with my own need-to-know researchers brain, I started experimenting with powerful creosote and other amazing herbs like rosemary. The ideas came quickly and my creations came to fruition with very little error. I wasn’t planning on starting a small business but after giving and selling my desert creations to friends and more & more people asking me for them, I started focusing on creating a real desert herbal line, to name a few: Desert Rain botanical spray was one of the firsts and is still one of our top sellers, it is for body, room or linens and it truly captures that nostalgic scent of the desert after it rains., Creosote & Rosemary Cream is an antibacterial anti fungal, powerhouse ultra moisturizer that can heal almost any skin issue. and the Prickly Pear Cactus Fruit Lip Balm is made from the juice of prickly pear cactus fruits along with other moisturizing herbs and oils. I have always cared about sustainability and am always foraging sustainably as well as trying to find the most eco friendly option for packaging or shipping my creation All of Sonoran Rosie creations are also gender neutral because what makes something for a man or a woman? I believe gender is a recent human construct that needs to be dissolved. After years of running my business from my home, by myself, I now have the help of 3 amazing part time employees and a workspace with plenty of room to create and a store front to sell our desert creations – Arizona Poppy in downtown Tucson. August will be 7 years for Sonoran Rosie and I couldn’t be happier doing what I’m doing. The ability to commune and work with nature is truly a blessing. Small business life is in no way easy but if you are doing something unique, you have your whole heart in it and are able to adapt easily then you become unstoppable. I have to triple blink sometimes when I look at where I am and what I do now and continue to remain so grateful for my community and the beauty I am always surrounded by in the Sonoran Desert.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to share with people the power of plants, especially desert plants, both spiritually and physically. We as Americans have been removed from nature for so long, the more we connect to nature the more we connect to ourselves. I searched for happiness through every avenue, drugs, pharmaceuticals, relationships but none satiated that empty feeling except feeling connected to nature which in turn connects us to the higher energy that connects us all. Plants offer us so much and I believe we were put here to care for the earth.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Community. I have found a real community of creative, like minded people through markets, events etc. I am grateful for the creative small business owners I met early on because they have become some of my closest friends and it’s so important to have people who you can celebrate and commiserate with.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.sonoranrosie.store
• Instagram: @sonoranrosieherbal
• Facebook: @sonoranrosie
• Yelp: Sonoran Rosie
• Other: Arizona Poppy – IG @arizonapoppyshop

Image Credits
Image with 4 people & a pink background was taken and edited by Velvet and Shadow. The rest of photos are mine.