Indigo Elixirs finds inspiration in power plants
“Mānoa to me is the aroma of jasmine and puakenikeni and champaka that drifts and lingers in the air after sunset,” Deanna Rose said. “It’s the scent of musky, damp earth that rises up from the ground after a heavy rain. It’s a blissful mix of the sun shining through a downpour and thick, low clouds rolling over the mountain peaks.”
In the nine years she’s lived in the valley, I’ve followed Deanna, who is the owner of Indigo Elixirs, through three different versions of her apothecary—each one ever growing and evolving, and always in Mānoa, into the Indigo Elixirs that it is now. Through the evolution of her homes where she crafted her products, what remained constant is the intention behind the details of her space and essentially, her crafts.
Whether it was in the dark and damp shared home pushed against the valley, the bright and airy, artist’s studio nestled in a tropical garden, or the current space with the inspiring valley view she and her partner built together, Deanna’s library of botanicals and oils take centerstage and everything else flows around it.
Over a decade in the making, Indigo Elixirs started as a personal experiment with natural body care in an effort to find healthy products that worked for Deanna’s exceptionally thick Armenian hair and perpetually dry skin.
“By my senior year in 2009, I had developed a small line that I began selling locally in Massachusetts,” Deanna said. “In an effort to better understand the plants I was working with and their healing properties, I dove headfirst into learning herbalism. My herbal studies brought me to O‘ahu in 2012, and I slowly began reimagining my entire line, one product at a time, from whatever local ingredients I could find.”
Deanna said that she is inspired by the botanicals around her, “especially Hawai‘i grown ingredients that are abundant and underutilized, are a byproduct of another local industry, or are only available seasonally.” She is also excited by the challenge of “incorporating a unique ingredient into a product that people can enjoy, especially when it connects them to flora they might otherwise never interact with and provides another revenue stream for local growers.”
Deanna nurtures her fragile relationship with plants which she said are natural extensions of the earth. She doesn’t wildcraft or forage but rather chooses to source ingredients from local farmers across the island and from her own garden.
“A large part of my work is ensuring that I’m doing all I can to protect the delicate flora around us and selecting with the utmost care where I get my botanicals from,” she said.
Indigo Elixirs’ concept to product journey takes on many paths. It could be birthed from a dream, started with an introduction to a new or unfamiliar local ingredient, or begin from the end—with a finished product in mind.
“If I see a new ingredient that I really want to work with, I’ll let my mind explore all the possibilities of what I can make out of it,” Deanna said. “If I have a specific product I want to create, I’ll brainstorm what local ingredients I have access to that can bring it into being. Then I’ll start making micro test batches, to achieve the ideal texture and aroma. I try out all of my experimental batches to determine the best formulation and do a lot of math to transform the micro batch into a macro one.”
Over the decade, Deanna has developed a special process to infuse fresh plants into oil, which in her experience, makes the finished product exceptionally vibrant and potent. Her salves are made by combining the oil infusion with melted local beeswax, and then pouring into tins.
Indigo Elixirs’ simple, but beautiful packaging is intentional from the very beginning. “I’ve always chosen to work with minimalist packaging, including recyclable tins, glass, and compostable tubes, to create the least possible waste,” she said. “All of our labels and branding materials are printed on recycled paper.”
Deanna’s attention to detail is dwarfed by plants’ command of her attention. “I have always been in awe of plants,” she said. She imagines them as creatures that move in a different timescale and have their own unique form of consciousness.
“I believe that our earlier ancestors were naturally much more in tune with their senses and were able to use these abilities to gravitate towards the plants they needed. As an herbalist, my lifelong goal is to develop that intuitive and physiological skill…Humans evolved with plants, and they can have a profound effect on us: understanding and having reverence for their power is crucial in the practice of herbalism.”
Shop Indigo Elixirs salves and oils on our marketplace now. Deanna’s favorite, the Solve All Salve (comes in Sandalwood and Lemongrass) works wonders for any little spots of dry, itchy, or irritated skin, helps heal cuts and scrapes. The salve is made with oil infused with O’ahu grown herbs, local macadamia nut oil, and island beeswax.
Don’t rub your Valentine the wrong way. Better yet, gift them one of these salve tins and let them rub themselves the right way at their own leisure. Order by Saturday at noon, for Sunday (V-Day) delivery.
Find these thoughtfully made wellness products along with our freshest inventory of other locally grown produce, meat, dairy, and snacks for Sunday and Monday deliveries.
