Today we’d like to introduce you to Corey Tallman.
Hi Corey, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My journey into holistic health started in a pretty unexpected way, a fascination with skin care and the human body. I wasn’t someone who naturally thrived in traditional school settings, but once I found subjects that genuinely interested me, I realized I actually loved learning. At one point I thought about going into nursing, but that path never felt quite right for me. Esthetician school, however, completely changed things.
What really drew me in wasn’t the beauty industry side of esthetics. Honestly, I loved facials and hated waxing. I became especially interested in things like lymphatic drainage, essential oils, and the ingredients inside the products themselves. I would constantly read product labels, trying to understand what was actually nourishing and healing the skin versus what was there for texture or preservation. Looking back, that was the beginning of my interest in herbal product making.
A few years later, I moved from Washington State to Portland, Oregon to attend the Wellspring School for Healing Arts, where I completed a two-year AMMA Therapy program rooted in both Western sciences and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The program included over a thousand hours of training in Western sciences, clinical work, and the foundations of TCM, including meridians, diagnostics, and acupressure-based bodywork. In many ways, it felt similar to acupuncture school, except we worked through acupressure and bodywork instead of needles. That experience completely changed the way I understood the body and healing.
During that training, I was introduced to herbal medicine through a small section of the program, and something immediately clicked for me. I remember one class where our teacher brought out all of these raw herbs and and we learned about them and traditional TCM herbal formulas, and I was instantly fascinated. I kept thinking, “This is so cool. I need to learn more about this.”
That curiosity eventually led me to the Columbines School of Botanical Studies in Oregon, where I studied field botany and herbal medicine through a small apprenticeship-style program. Every Tuesday for several months, our small group would drive one to two hours out into the forests and wild spaces of Oregon for full field days focused on plant identification, medicine making, botany, and building relationships with the plants in their natural environments. That experience deeply shaped the way I relate to plants and herbal medicine.
Around that same time, I started making herbal salves, body butters, oils, and other preparations in my kitchen as a way to get to know the plants better. I had been thinking about creating something of my own for years, but I was shy about sharing my work and had absolutely no business background. I just knew I cared deeply about the plants and the ways they could support people.
Things really started taking shape after my husband and I moved to Missouri in 2021. I began vending at local markets and community events while working as a massage therapist at MassageLuXe. Over time, I realized I wanted to offer people a more holistic and individualized experience than I could in that environment, which eventually led me to open my own massage studio, which I ran for two years. After the loss of my late husband, I realized I needed to shift directions a bit and build something that felt more sustainable for where I was in life.
Today, I offer massage therapy and craniosacral work one day a week while also running Vibrant Spruce Herbals through farmers markets, Etsy, local events, and word of mouth. A lot of what inspires me now is helping people reconnect with themselves, their nervous systems, and the natural world in ways that feel approachable, grounded, and meaningful.
In addition to bodywork and herbal products, I’ve also grown into teaching and community education over the years. I’ve taught workshops on herbal medicine, salve making, and herbs for nervous system support, and I’ve spoken for groups such as the Webster Groves Herb Society and Wild Ones about how to recognize and work with the medicinal plants growing around us. One of my favorite parts of this work is helping people feel more connected to the plants, their bodies, and the idea that herbal medicine can be approachable and part of everyday life.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest obstacle I’ve faced has definitely been the loss of my late husband in December of 2024. He was one of the first people who really believed in me before I fully believed in myself. He encouraged me to make this dream real and helped me build Vibrant Spruce Herbals from the beginning. Anytime things felt too hard or overwhelming, he was the person reminding me to keep going.
At the same time, building a business from scratch without any business background has been a challenge in itself. In the beginning, I was just experimenting and figuring things out as I went. I made plenty of mistakes, ruined batches, and learned lessons the hard way. I laugh now about early mistakes like trying to put honey into salves before understanding they don’t mix, but that trial-and-error process taught me a lot.
Another challenge has been learning how to share herbalism with people in a way that feels approachable. Sometimes people would rather buy cookies than herbs simply because they don’t understand what herbs can do yet. A huge part of this work has become education, which is also one of the most rewarding parts for me.
After my husband passed away, returning to markets without him was incredibly difficult. He used to sit with me at events, help customers, cover breaks, and support me in so many small everyday ways. I had taught him enough about herbs that he could genuinely help people find products. Doing markets without him for the first time felt very vulnerable and heartbreaking. But continuing this work has also been part of finding my footing again and carrying forward something we built together.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
A lot of my work is about helping people approach herbalism in a way that feels approachable and realistic instead of overwhelming. I think people sometimes expect herbalism to work like conventional medicine, where it’s just, “I have a headache, what herb do I take for headaches?” But herbalism is really a whole ecosystem of supporting the body. The herbs are not just fixing symptoms, herbs support things like stress, sleep, nourishment, nervous system health, and the foundations of well-being as a whole.
That’s also why I don’t connect much with wellness trend culture. I’d rather get to know the individual person and help them figure out what actually fits into their life instead of pushing whatever herb or supplement is currently popular online. A lot of what I do is helping people understand what’s actually going on in their bodies and helping them reconnect with themselves in a way that feels supportive.
The herbs are really the bread and butter underneath everything I do. I love how versatile they are and how you can turn them into usable everyday things like teas, syrups, salves, oils, sprays, tinctures, body care products, and customizable herbal face masks. Some of my favorite products are the ones that came from experimentation and creativity rather than strict recipes. I especially love making herbal salves, natural soaps and products with real herbs and no synthetic fragrances, and many of the herbs I use are either grown by me or sourced with a strong focus on quality.
Bodywork and herbalism also naturally influence each other in my practice. Through massage therapy and craniosacral work, I’ve seen how much people need safety, rest, touch, and nervous system support in order to heal. Sometimes people need herbs, sometimes they need touch, and most of the time they need both.
Whether I’m teaching workshops, helping someone at a farmers market, or working one-on-one with a client, my goal is usually the same, helping people feel more connected to their bodies, the plants around them, and their own ability to care for themselves.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I grew up in Arizona and was a pretty quiet, observant, and sensitive kid. I’ve always been a little introverted, so even when I wasn’t talking much, I was usually paying close attention to everything around me. I loved stickers, key chains, collecting random little things, and making collages out of magazine clippings for hours at a time. I would spend forever organizing sticker books and stamp collections.
I didn’t necessarily grow up around a ton of greenplants since Arizona is so dry and desert like lots of cactus, but my dad had a three-acre property with grapefruit trees, pomegranates, kumquats, tangelos, and all kinds of citrus. One of my chores was filling wheelbarrows full of grapefruits for him to juice. Back then it just felt normal, but looking back now, those fruit trees felt really special and connected me to the land around me in a way I probably didn’t fully understand at the time.
I loved music, hiking, and being outside, even though Arizona was usually way too hot. I played soccer for a while and was surprisingly good at PE because I was tall and fast.
Looking back, I think I’ve always been somebody who notices details, likes making things with my hands, and feels most connected when I’m creating something, even if it’s just a sticker book covered in Lisa Frank stickers.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.vibrantspruceherbals.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vibrant_spruce/
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/VibrantSpruceHerbals
