DEL NORTE—Laura Metz has spent her adult life studying Chinese medicine and traveling around the world. Now, her efforts have finally paid off and she has opened a business in Del Norte, with hopes of bringing a lifetime of healing to the area.

Metz grew up in the Monte Vista area before heading off to college to study alternative medicine first at the Colorado Christian University in Denver where she earned her first degree. After several years and an internship with a Chinese doctor, Metz focused her attention on acupuncture and attended the Colorado School of Chinese Medicine.

With her background and a fresh start to life, Metz found herself in a unique situation where she was able to practice her craft on a cruise ship and travel the world. On her first stint as an acupuncturist on the cruise line, she traveled around the Mediterranean experiencing life outside of the Valley. As luck would have it, Metz was able to do a second internship on the cruise line immediately following the first and that adventure took her literally around the world. “It was pretty amazing for a small-town girl who grew up in the Valley. I was very fortunate to be able to experience something that special,” said Metz.

Once her adventure was over, Metz tried her hand at opening a business of her own in Summit County in Colorado. “I was one of about seven other acupuncturists in the area and honestly, with the lack of experience owning a business, I fell flat on my face,” said Metz. Her failure only drove her to try again when she moved to Buena Vista, closer to her home town. “I was able to walk into a business and a client base and was very successful. The person who owned it before me moved to Alaska and I took it over,” said Metz.

Now that she has her hands wet in a business of her own, she began to travel to the Monte Vista area to offer her services before deciding to make Del Norte her home. “We came across this building and though it needed a lot of work, we wanted to get started. We tentatively opened in November and now we want to go full scale,” said Metz. She began small by offering her services by appointment only while she worked on the building that would become her office.

“The building hadn’t been used for years and it needed a lot of work. So, I worked by appointment until the building was complete. Now, I am ready to open my doors and offer my services to the area,” said Metz. She offers a wide range of services that can help people with many different types of ailments. “I am like a general practitioner; I can treat several different things like general pain, addiction, infertility and many others. A lot of the time there are underlying causes for the symptoms my clients have and we treat the person as a whole,” said Metz.

Metz specializes in acupuncture, massage and herbal medicine. While attending school, she got her undergraduate degree in chemistry and creates personalized tinctures and remedies for her clients.

Those interested in learning more can visit her website at www.earth-apothecary.com or call 719-221-2548.