We had the good fortune of connecting with Heather Roma Wicks and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Heather Roma, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?

My whole life I have been a serial entrepreneur (it started in 4th grade when I started designing my own jeans and selling to my first shop in Palm Beach FL when I was 18). But as soon as I had my first son in 2015 my entrepreneurship switched from side gigs to my full time income when I launched my mobile boutique The Westside Collective. Years after that it turned into The Westside Collective Agency which was a creative agency focusing on branding, websites and social media content and management.

In 2020 I had my 2nd child and this pulled me away from the agency and to where I am now with my new(er) businesses that are so in alignment with where I am in life today. Besides focusing on promoting ethical and sustainable brands on my Instagram, our ranch animals, our children and homeschooling them, these are the businesses that I have now:

Beer Burros & Brands
We are a family run business and were inspired to start Beer Burros & Brands after we found a shortage of beverage burros in our area for our own wedding in Joshua Tree in 2021. So we rescued some burros, gave them lots of love and designed custom saddle bags and florals for them. Beer burros have become increasingly popular so now in addition to servicing Southern California we also service Hill Country Texas, Colorado & The Four Corners and Central & South Florida.
We also create brand logos for your wedding or special event including event tattoos and “for life” stuff like brands for your garage or house, glassware, coasters, etc.
AND this spring we are launching Brunch Burros! Where you and up to 5 friends come to our ranch for a private brunch picnic with the burros on our 5 acre ranch. Morongo Valley Ranch, with hundreds of acres of BLM right behind us.

Lupsasamama
Mushroom Ceremonies, Integration Mentorships & Microdosing Community Support
The transformational mushroom journey work begins the moment I meet with my clients. We work together to cultivate safety, trust and openness; the foundations of vulnerability. I assist with setting intentions for the journey ahead, such as connecting with Source, discovering purpose, fostering self-acceptance and joy, and creating more ease in your life. I host the journeys at your choice of our ranch in the desert, Morongo Valley Ranch or our Airbnb in Topanga Canyon, The Topanga Hideout.
If a full journey is not in the cards for you, micodosing may be your speed. Microdosing can be both exciting and overwhelming, which is why I have created a safe and supportive space for women to come together and share their experiences. These small groups provide a nurturing environment where participants can openly discuss their microdosing journeys, ask questions and receive guidance.

The Kria
The only luxury brand offering ethically handmade EMF blocking products
The Kria products are a unique union of health, science, and fashion created in LA by Albina – a Building Biologist & EMR Specialist and Heather – a Fashion Designer and wellness influencer.
Each The Kria product is full of human warmth and care as it’s hand produced out of consciously made hand-woven fabrics.
At least 10 pairs of human hands have touched each product, infusing their warmth and care into it before it gets into your hands.

The Almanaq
The Almanaq is a boutique design, travel and management company on a mission to curate unique, home away from home experiences. Out of deep love and respect for Mother Earth, and each other, we intentionally partner with environmentally aware companies and individuals, permeating everything we do.
Within the homes we’ve designed and manage, our home is The Topanga Hideout. The Topanga Hideout is a cozy Creeksdie cabin, and is a six minute drive to the beach and walking distance to the hippie chic town of Topanga Canyon. Relax and enjoy the glass wall views and sounds of the creek from the cozy king bed fitted with organic linen sheets or sitting on the patio or rope climb down and experience it firsthand. We also manage our desert ranch, Morongo Valley Ranch, which is available for photo shoots and retreats. I myself host yearly retreats here with Sacred Woman Collective and am excited to partner with a couple more retreat hosts this coming year.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

All of my business ventures are complete passion projects. Life led me to all of them at different times but they all flowed similarly into fruition. In the past other businesses I had really felt like a struggle and I was trying to make things happen more than I should have. As a Projector (my Human Design Type), things work better for me when it flows to me without too much pushing. They have all flowed to me with ease this time around. I believe we can totally reinvent ourselves multiple times throughout our lives so this is where I’m at with it all now.

Beer Burros came to us after we couldn’t find beverage burros for our own wedding. We found them but they drove 16 hours! So I knew there was a need here in Southern California. We just launch at the beginning of 2023 and were booked almost every month and multiple times a month sometimes!

Lupasamama means earth to mama in Filipino (I’m a 1/4). As a started college I originally wanted to be a psychologist but quickly learned that path wasn’t for me. I saw the show How To Change Your Mind and immediately knew that helping women change their lives through mushroom plant medicine was how I could do that.

The Kria also fell into my lap. In 2019 I sold hundreds of shungite “pop sockets” because I heard that shungite could block EMFs. But an old colleague who is a Building Biologist Scientist reached out to me and told me shungite can not be measured for those qualities. She said we should start an EMF blocking pouch brand the uses fabric that is proven to block up to 99.9% of EMFs. And so we did! We are so passionate about educating people on the harmful side effects of EMFs and creating beautiful products to help live an EMF free-er life.

The Almanaq was created originally for the love of ethically made American brands; the same premise of my mobile boutique The Westside Collective. Since then we have stopped selling products in our clients and our own Airbnbs and now focus on the design of homes, event management within them and top notch short term rental management.

I didn’t realize how much I do until I did this interview but none of it feels like actually work for the most part and that’s when you know you’re doing life right! At least for me.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

Currently I am back and forth from Topanga Canyon and the hi-desert (30 minutes closer to LA than Joshua Tree).

Favorite day in Topanga: Wake up at The Topanga Hideout (our Airbnb on the creek). Do a cold plunge in the creek (it’s private so no one’s watching). Coffee at Cafe Mimosa. Hike at Tuna Canyon for an ocean view or Red Rock for some cave energy. Brunch at Topanga Living Cafe. Shopping at The Well, Canyon Gourmet, Alkemie Road and Moonastar then dinner at Endless Color or if we’re feeling fancy, The Inn of the Seventh Rey.

Favorite day in the hi-dez: Coffee and hanging with our horses and burros on our ranch. Pastries at Luna Bakery then shopping at Mojave Flea, Sun of the Desert and El Duende. Mid day lunch and cocktails at Red Dog Saloon and a stroll down Mane Street in Pioneertown for some more shopping. Dinner and drinks at The Copper Room or a show at Pappy + Harriett’s.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I wouldn’t be able to do all of this if it wasn’t for my husband. He always supports my crazy ideas! 

Website: https://www.heatherromawicks.com/, https://www.lupasamama.com/, https://beerburrosandbrands.com/, https://www.thealmanaq.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heatherromawicks/, https://www.instagram.com/lupasamama/, https://www.instagram.com/beerburrosandbrands/, https://www.instagram.com/thealmanaq/

Image Credits
Topanga pics: @raulesparza + @reclamationboudoir Desert pics: @arielraee

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