I’ve never met Emma Spivey, the founder of Her Royal Hempress in person but we are kindred spirits.  She was about to exhibit at Indie Beauty Expo Dallas 2020 before the pandemic hit.  We all know how that story is going! I invited Emma to join me on IG LIVE back in March to help put her brand on the map. Little did I know the rich history of her family and deeply rooted love for nature and horticulture.

It is not everyday I find a brand I call the “jackpot package”, but Her Royal Hempress is just that. With only four SKU’s,  Emma is a humble, expert formulator with a passion for beekeeping, permaculture and landscape design. Her grandmother was a master gardener and her obsession for living an earth-conscious lifestyle inspired her deeply. In the 40’s, Emma’s grandmother graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in nutritional science. As a little girl, Emma was convinced her garden was inhabited by fairies and even built homes for them. That childhood fantasy inspired the creation of Her Royal Hempress. 

Emma, grew up in California, but in her adult life moved with her husband from Brooklyn in 2016 to Texas, started a family and opened an event space called LaLa Park,  a bohemian event center/agri-tourism business in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, where they have a license to grow hemp.  She infuses high quality CBD into her formulas because it’s packed with a variety of therapeutic properties that help reduce inflammation, soothe the senses and revitalize the skin. CBD helps relieve stubborn aches and pains, because it is an anti-inflammatory. CBD works at the cellular level to help the body balance itself by influencing the endocannabinoid system (ECS), otherwise known as the body's "universal regulator." The result? When your system is balanced, you look and feel better.  In addition to being a powerful anti-inflammatory, CBD is also a super-charged antioxidant, even more potent than vitamins C and E, making it the ideal anti-aging ingredient. 

“The independence and time I gained from moving to the countryside, enabled me to focus on creating a skincare line that truly aligns with my principles of living in harmony with nature.”

I asked Emma some questions…

Tell me about your transition from Brooklyn to Texas.

After working as a copywriter for almost a decade in NYC, I felt burned out secretly wondered if there was more to life. Strangely enough, I found my answer in a small Wiccan store in the East Village called Enchantments. There, I discovered a book called "The Earth Path: Grounding Your Spirit in the Rhythms of Nature" by Starhawk, a renowned ecofeminist. Her words opened up a new world to me and reawakened my love for herbalism and gardening. Within this book, I discovered the concept of permaculture: a holistic form of horticulture that works with nature; and quickly began dreaming of a simpler, earth-conscious lifestyle. Not long after, my husband and I bought 10 acres in the Texas Hill Country and enrolled in a 6-month permaculture course in Austin, Texas. From 2016-2017, we transformed the property into a bohemian, hippie oasis devoted to permaculture and the calming power of nature. It's become a popular event center and is the birthplace of Her Royal Hempress. The independence and time I gained from moving to the countryside, enabled me to focus on creating a skincare line that truly aligns with my principles of living in harmony with nature.

Your grandmother was a huge influence to you. Tell us about your relationship.

I spent summers at my grandparent's house in Malibu where they lived for over 50 years. My grandmother dedicated her life to creating the most magnificent garden you've ever seen. It included jungle-like pathways cut along the steep cliffside just so she could keep planting. A stroll through her garden meant learning about the "personality" of each plant. Rather than sculpture or painting, her medium of creative expression was gardening. She was the matriarch of my family and an inspiration to us all, especially my mother who became a landscape designer. Outspoken, smart, and a proud feminist, Holly Love attended UC Berkeley in the 1940s at age 16 after surviving the Great Depression by picking pears on a farm with her mother and brother. Then, much later in life, she earned her Ph.D. in archaeology from UCLA in the 80s and subsequently taught at Pepperdine University. All in all, her love for indigenous cultures and respect for earth-conscious lifestyles steeped in plant medicine have inspired me immensely on my journey in life.

Where did you grow up?

I'm a California girl for the most part, with a slight detour in Arizona. I was born in Los Angeles and spent my formative high school years in Palo Alto, CA. Living in the Bay Area during the heydays of cannabis legalization exposed me early on to the scientific evidence of its amazing, healing benefits.

Formulating comes naturally to you. Why?

First off, that's very kind of you to think so. If I had my guess, it's because I grew up around people who love plants and my dad was a chemist. Maybe it's in the DNA? Truth be told, I'm quite nerdy when it comes to herbalism and gardening. I simply love reading non-fiction books like "Mother Nature's Herbal" and "Gaia's Garden". I think good formulating is rooted in research, and I've always loved doing research.

What is the future of HRH? New SKU's? Retail partnerships?

We are excited to open our very own CBD boutique at LaLa Park, our 10-acre event center in the texas hill country (@lalaparktexas). I'm also extremely excited about our new retail partnership with the Austinite Cannabis Co. located at the very heart of cannabis culture in Austin, Texas. We have a facial bar in the works (inspired by you), as well as an eye cream with CBD and royal jelly. Lastly, we are launching a new face oil with 250mg of full spectrum CBD in Spring 2021 that's been specially formulated to provide natural protection against the sun. I'm a big believer in being pro-active and wearing sunscreen, so this face oil is an absolute must-have if you take sun damage seriously.

Will hemp work synergistically with the other plant species on our land?

Yes! We recently acquired a license to grow hemp at LaLa Park and I'm super excited to show the world what's possible when you create a garden using the principles of permaculture, instead of relying upon man-made pesticides and fungicides. All the garden beds at LaLa Park were planned with a guild of plants that help each other grow. For instance, I plant lantanas in order to help the soil accumulate nitrogen which will in term fertilize the surrounding plants as well as mint and lavender to help ward off insects. The concept of companion planting isn't new or mysterious, it just takes more time than whipping out a spray bottle of bug poison. But, the thing that most excites me about growing hemp at LaLa Park is providing another food source for our bees during the dearth of Summer and early Fall. I'm really excited to see if the studies are true and if my honey bees get an extra boost of nourishment thanks to hemp.

How do you give back to your community?

Her Royal Hempress is a supporter of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, TX. We give back money every month and once the pandemic is over will be doing lots of events on-site. Respecting the cycle of give and take is one of the guiding principles of permaculture. I think it's important for natural brands to actually give back. Making your supply chain green and eco-friendly should really just be the starting point.  Her Royal Hempress is deeply invested in creating enriching outdoor experiences for Austinites that celebrate the beauty and power of nature.

Emma, we are excited to be along for the ride and can’t wait to see what you do for years to come!

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