Bramble is a shop located on Press Bay Alley in downtown Ithaca that offers locally grown herbs and herbal health consultations to area residents. Bramble is co-owned by four herbalists: Darcy Black, Amanda David, Sheele Gladstein, and Jennifer Whitmore. In addition to being an herbalist, Black is also a birth doula.
“The most unique thing about this store is that everything here is made by local herbalists, so once you start learning about plant medicines and how plants work in the body, you can make your own medicines right in your own backyard or community.”
Black said herbalism is rooted in ancient history and has been passed down through generations.
“Plant medicines are available to everyone. They are people's medicine. They have been used since the beginning of mankind and have been passed down through tradition and efficacy.”
Franziska Dellinger, who works part-time at Bramble, said she learned about herbalism at a young age from community elders in her home country of Germany and sees it as a way to promote healthy living.
“I see [herbalism] “I wanted to open an herb shop as a way to stay healthy. It has evolved into a sustainable medical model. It's alternative medicine, but we don't do medical treatments here,” Dellinger said.
Customer Tukey Wallaroo said he came to Bramble to support local businesses and get some herbs to make medicine.
“When I moved here I wanted to find a place… I heard about Bramble and wanted to come and support the store,” Ms Wallaroo said. “It's really important to always have access to someone who's trained and knows what to do.”
Bramble offers classes and workshops to teach the community about the benefits of herbal medicines. People have been using natural resources to treat minor ailments for thousands of years, and some of the ingredients in modern medicines are extracted from plants. These workshops have a sliding scale payment system to make participation more affordable, allowing participants to pay only what they can afford.
