Conversations with Carissa Hoop

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carissa Hoop.

Hi Carissa, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am a single mompreneur of two. Originally from a family of 5 siblings and raised as a Mormon in Sonoma County, California. My life growing up was ideal. We were a true “von-trapp” Family. Our parents were songsters and our home brimmed with music from the time I could remember. Each child had their own gifts and excelled in art and music in one fashion or another. Our mother was also a purist. We grew our own food on a 3/4 acre plot. We had every fruit tree one could imagine and harvest season was such a sight to see in our home. We would process and create fruit leathers and canned peaches, apple sauces, syrups and so much more. It was truly a paradise. And it was a paradise that we as children were forced to build—we worked day in day out building ponds, gazebos, trellises, bridges, waterfalls, Tending to the gardens and maintaining the weeds. Our mother had a holistic approach to living. She was a true medicine woman who taught us the value in herbs and essential oils. On the new moon, our mother was known to venture out to harvest her herbs so as to preserve their potency. She was Truly Magical. Our mother was so beautiful and truly gifted in so many ways. At a young age, our parents built a conservatory theatre in our basement and for a time, our home was filled with flamboyant tap dancers and singers as we were often rehearsing for a Cole Porter or Rodgers and Hammerstein review. The Magick of our home was often on full display and we were well known for this in our communities.

But like all fairy tales, none would be complete without an antagonist or free of twists and turns in the plots of life. This fairytale ended in divorce and the Magick of our home dissipated and was replaced with anger and sorrow and a family, who only one more time in life, would be together as a whole. Our mother left and we stayed behind with a father who had no business raising children, let alone daughters on his own.

From 14 on, I lived mostly on my own. I learned at a young age the need for a strong work ethic and how to creatively finance my life as I navigated my way through the world with little support or help from above. In high school, I was a highly awarded actress and chamber singer and had my sights on a career in theatre and film. I was offered a college scholarship, but was missing too many credits and was unable to attend a university despite testing in the top 1% of the class.

Unsure of where to go, I stayed in Sonoma County until I was 21 and with a deep desire for more and desperate to see the world, I moved to my mother’s ranch near Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Living with my mother again reinforced my love for herbs, tinctures and essential oils. From here forward, my relationship with my mother blossomed and we became like best friends and true soul mates… Our relationship was and still is the most special and the important relationship of my adult life.

From there, all I could do was think about my desires for Hollywood and Theatre. Soon, I found myself living in the hills of Hollywood. Not knowing anyone, a friend of my sisters asked me to come and hang out with him and his band-mate at the Santa Monica Pier. This man (the band-mate) would become my future husband and my reason for leaving a blossoming career and California behind.

Soon we would move to Texas, he was from Austin. And Texas life was indeed rock-in-roll. In 2005 with the help of my mother, I started my first business. Flora & Fauna~flowers, chocolates, coffee, tea, beer & wine. It was a boutique for lovers. My business was always in some sort of spotlight, And for the first time, I felt as though my success were imminent. We opened our doors on Nov. 25, 2005.

My mother was there to kiss my face and show me how much she supported me and that she would never abandon me again. Nov. 28th…I would come to discover that I was pregnant and we are elated! On Aug. 6, 2006, we welcomed Justis Emanuel into our family….My mother, who had been in Wyoming —3 hours from any airport—when receiving the call, made her way to Texas just in time to see her grandson born the following morning. For six weeks, she stayed and helped me heal from an emergency c-section and we bonded even deeper with this newfound love in our lives.

Jan. 28th, 2007, not even a year later, on my mother’s birthday, my stepfather calls. Our mother had been diagnosed with stage 4 aggressive stomach cancer and had been given six weeks to live. In shock and with a devastated heart I dropped everything and flew to Wyoming to be with my family. It was in the dead of winter. We surrounded her with our love and support and of course our song. As we said our goodbyes, we didn’t know that it would be the last time we saw her alive. We returned to our homes and our lives just to return as a family a few short weeks later. By the time we returned, she was too sick and had slipped into a coma just hours before we arrived. Her spirit left this world on March 21, 2007… just as the spring equinox was ushering in. As her spirit left her body a small smile came upon her face and we knew she was truly in peace.

The return home to Texas was fragmented and surreal at best. The coming years would bring about a divorce, an economic collapse and a new path that was filled with unknowns as the stress of all of it left me with no choice but to close my business. At the same time, my sister’s music career was budding and I was fortunate to see some of my dreams begin to take place as we would start to tour and I was hired by her to help on national tours.

Simultaneously a fractured relationship between myself and my father was beginning to heal. It wasn’t long until another tragedy would strike. Years of self-inflicted abuse, suicide attempts, the loss of our mother, then the death of his last wife was simply too much for our father to endure. On Nov. 28th, 2010 he too passed away. All of his children were scattered throughout the world, from Manchester to Texas, from Utah to California. We were fortunate to all be able to together on a conference call sing to him in 5 part harmony the song that we would sing as a family before every road trip….

“We are going, heaven knows how we are going…we know we will, we will get there, heaven knows how we will get there…we know we will. It may be hard I know, and the road may be muddy and rough, but we’ll get there, heaven knows how but we’ll get there, we know we will. ‘— As we sang as a family separated by time and distance, his sister, by his side, said he raised his arms and tears fell down his cheeks. He passed away 30 minutes after that call. My sister has immortalized this through several of her albums that haunt me to this day. Her album, The House that Jack Built will forever be a personal reflection of this time and the sorrow that comes from within. From this point forward, our lives as a family were never to be the same. Losing both parents at such a young age felt like skydiving without a parachute. Free falling in hopes that I would know how to land the fall. This time taught me so much. That life is precious and it’s short.

Within a few years, I would start again on a new path and soon I would meet the next little love of my life, my daughter…Vivienne Rose. From here forward, I began dedicating myself to product design. I found I had an unusual knack for formulation. A few failed ventures and bad choices in business partners later…I received a call that would change my trajectory forever.

Suzy Batiz of Poo Pourri was looking for a formulator to help her with a new company that she was building that would one day become Supernatural. Conscious cleaning concentrates…For the next few years, I dedicated my life to her and what is now her next multi-million dollar enterprise! After all of this was finished and with new lessons learned, I was left once again at a crossroads. I knew if I were ever to achieve my own success, I would need to do it on my own.

My dear friend Cathleen Day who owned a bustling store Crystal Works just a mile from my home had agreed to meet me and the kids for lunch. She had always been asking me to create products for her store. This time she said, look I am serious…come up with a plan…develop the products and I will buy wholesale from you. From there Alchemies Child was born. It quickly became a success and soon I would come to work in her store so I could teach others how to use my products and how to create meaningful shifts with intention. Through this, I was able to not just test but tweak my craft and create products that truly had meaning to all who used them. Today, through the requests of those who love these products, the lines have grown and Alchemies Child has become a force on its own.

I owe much of this success to her and my amazing family at Crystal Works.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The challenges for me were often tied in partnerships and what happens when people don’t see eye to eye. I learned how important contracts are and that your business is only as strong as its foundation. It also taught me to trust my intuition more and that I always felt I wasn’t good enough on my own. This has shown me that I am more than enough.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
Alchemy starts with intention.

I am a creator of products with a purpose. 100% Natural, Pure and Organic. Handcrafted, to be used with intention and as a daily ritual. Transformation through intention. Every product I create has been designed to achieve a transformation inside the self. I create everything from chakra oils with gemstone rollers- Intentional Herbal Meditational Oils-with gemstone rollers, Astrological perfumes and candles enhanced with crystals, Tarot alcohol-based perfumes made from tinctures, isolates, essential oils, terpenes, resins attars, accords etc…Everything I do is vegan and free from harmful chemicals and solvents that are known to cause irritation and allergic reactions. All of my Tarot Perfumes are accompanied with custom tarot cards that I created for each blend… soon, I will have the major arcana. That will be quite a feat. I also create burning bundles and herbal incense to promote love, money or protection. Everything has purpose and an intention by design.

What matters most to you?
With regards to my craft, purity and integrity of ingredients. I use as many organic ingredients as I can if it’s available. I always strive to do better. When I see things not working, I work on them until they are aligned with the purpose it serves.

Pricing:

• $16-24 Astro oils & Candles
• $22 chakra oil
• $24 tarot perfumes
• $55 moldavite oil
• $11-44 Blessing Bundles/salts & CBD-massage oils

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.alchemieschild.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alchemieschild/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alchemieschild/