Rising Stars: Meet Abby Trout and Ashley McGuinness

Today we’d like to introduce you to Abby Trout and Ashley McGuinness.

Hi Abby and Ashley, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
We (Abby & Ashley) met through our work together as mental health therapists, quickly becoming friends through our shared interests and passions. We found we both have a passion for helping others and a special love for Reiki, which is an energy healing technique loosely translated to “life force energy guided by Source”. Reiki helps to improve the flow of energy, stimulate the body’s natural healing abilities, remove blockages, as well as promote physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being.

Rooted Intentions was born as an LGBTQ+ women-owned business, with the goal of offering handmade and curated Reiki-infused products to assist with the overall health, well-being, and empowerment of others. We set special intentions for each item that includes growth, vitality, grounding, and more. We offer free chakra testing at many of our pop-up events, with specially chosen crystal recommendations to help support an individual’s needs while helping them learn more about themselves on a holistic level. We also offer handmade macrame, jewelry, plants, and more! Our mission is to empower our community with the tools we use to help empower ourselves.

RI started as a pop-up shop and we would attend local farmer’s markets, craft shows, and flea markets. We will soon have our products displayed at Sense By The Falls with Lele’s Leaf & Vine on Front Street in Cuyahoga Falls. We are also in the process of creating an online store. You can follow along with us on Instagram at @rooted_intentions_.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been a surprisingly smooth road! There have been some learning curves, but overall we’ve really enjoyed connecting with the community and sharing our love for Reiki.

We have been really lucky to have so much support from our community from the start- It has inspired us to seek out new opportunities where we can share our products and passions with others!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
By offering Reiki-infused products, we are able to share positive, lifeforce energy with our community through each item. We both have a passion for educating others and helping people learn more about their own healing, especially through chakra testing and crystal descriptions. We both love to craft through functional and decorative macrame pieces- The actual art of creating these has brought us a lot of peace and has become part of our self-care. Since our origin, we are so proud to have made some really beautiful connections with our community and local businesses.

In our careers, we are both mental health therapists that have a trauma-informed and holistic approach. In addition to working with the LGBTQ+ community, Ashley loves working with adolescents and adults, while Abby has a niche for college-aged young adults! What sets us apart from others is that we are able to incorporate Reiki into our counseling treatment, in addition to being EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapists.

EMDR aims to heal symptoms experienced from traumatic events. Abby is most proud of the therapeutic connection she makes with her clients from being her authentic self. Ashley is really proud to be able to offer gender-affirming care through assessment and/or referral to local medical providers for gender-expansive individuals.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Since Rooted Intentions is not our full-time job, we generally play it safe when it comes to risk-taking within the business. Being in the helping field does not pay heavily, although it is extremely rewarding, so our risk-taking abilities are limited.

We love bringing in new handmade and curated items to see what people gravitate more towards. In the future, when we have a bigger following and more consistent revenue, we may find ourselves in a space where we’d be more comfortable taking additional risks.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: instagram.com/rooted_intentions_