Our Story

Tamed Wild was started by Shelby and Jason, a wife-and-husband team. Dreamt up in 2016, it began as a small product line of organic herbs, teas, and other natural remedies. At the time, Shelby was eight years into owning a salon and a small retail store. With a strong interest in botanicals and the old ways, a product line felt like a natural fit — and a unique offering for the store counter. The products were crafted in the kitchen, and Tamed Wild was born.

After a few months of selling locally, we launched a website and began selling on social media. Subscription boxes were becoming popular, and they seemed like an interesting way to reach more people — a way to supply those who couldn't find these items locally, at an affordable price. We put five to seven items in each box: Tamed Wild teas, herbal blends, crystals, and other tools for the earth-spirited. It was a new idea, and our first box was in November 2016. We got 11 subscribers. We opened the brick-and-mortar apothecary in the village of Arroyo Grande, California, and packed our orders out of the small back room. We grew faster than we could keep up.

By May of 2017, we were in our first warehouse with four employees. Our days were spent packing orders, reading tarot, drinking tea, and hand-choosing crystals for the website. It was the best of times, and the beginning of what would become our learning years. We learned how to manage inventory, use Adobe design programs, source reputable and ethical vendors, and avoid packing glass in a box. We learned what our customers loved about us and what they didn't. We learned that the internet can be a vicious place, and that a single email or social media comment can keep you up at night — or make you cry. We learned that we're only as good as the people we employ, and that if we take care of them, they'll take care of us. We learned that our team is truly the best out there and that we're lucky to have them.

Fast-forward to 2026, and those lessons keep coming. We currently employ three full-time people and work with several independent makers and creatives who together make up the Tamed Wild brand. These days, we pack and ship every order from our warehouse in Hendersonville, North Carolina. We've branched beyond the apothecary, too — our antique collection lives at truestorycollection.com. We're just as hands-on as we were the day we started: our teas are hand-blended, our crystals are hand-picked, and our subscription boxes are curated by Shelby and her right-hand, Danielle. We are women-owned and operated, earth-spirited to the core, and believers in all things magick.

After ten years, we're endlessly grateful for the support that's brought us here — and we hope to keep earning your business for many more.