January 21st, 2017

Wanderlust Weekly: Congrats on the growth of Container Collective! What inspired it's creation?
Container Collective:  My husband, Russ, and I were teaching at a boarding school in Utah in 2012. As we sat on the couch in the straw bale house that we built (with our very own hands) we talked about how coworkers would show up after work to practice yoga with me or to have Russ tune-up their bicycle. And so often, our house was the gathering place for casual hanging out or theme parties. We began to dream about one day owning a yoga studio/bike shop. That idea evolved over the next two years as we learned about shipping container homes and businesses when we were living in Beijing, China. Since we built our straw bale house and drove a car that ran on waste vegetable oil, it seemed fitting to have our dream business in some type of alternative structure. That's where the name, Container Collective came from. While we are still in the process of incorporating a shipping container into our current building structure, we still very much embody the name:

​- At Container Collective Yoga we provide the container for transformation. Without mirrors, our classes leave you feeling open, invigorated, strong, and like you belong. Inspired by Baron Baptiste’s style of Power Vinyasa Yoga we empower you to shine your light from the inside out in our local Lakewood Yoga Studio. We love sharing yoga with students of all ages and ability levels! 

- At Container Collective Bikes, we want your bike to be safe and comfortable, but we are not in the business of selling you parts you don't need. We empower you at your riding level to make your bike work for you. Come on in whether you need a tune-up or are ready to build a bamboo frame with us. We are the only space in the state of Colorado where you can build your very own, one of a kind bamboo bicycle. The creativity can't be contained at our Lakewood, CO bike shop!

Wanderlust Weekly: You've built a strong community following in Denver, what are some of your proudest moments?
Container Collective:  One of my proudest moments was the first time we gathered as a community for 40 Days with CCYOGA (and each January since then). As each member went around the circle to introduce themselves I realized it was no longer a relationship between me and each student, but now each student was forming a connection with the others and that was when I realized I had created a community where people are authentically connecting. There have been so many proud moments in between, but another highlight was at our 2 year anniversary celebration. Since I had started out as a Yoga in the Park Meetup group we offered a free yoga class in the park for our anniversary, but this time it was not just taught by me, but it was co-taught by 6 of the 8 CCYOGA instructors! I'm also always so proud and happy on the weekends that Russ is teaching bamboo bike building workshops at the same time that yoga classes/workshops are happening!

Wanderlust Weekly: Entrepreneurs are constantly evolving, what upcoming news or developments can we look forward to?
Container Collective:  We are currently in the process of adding a shipping container to the building with a mural on it!
We have our first 200 hour yoga teacher training coming up, a yoga retreat to Nepal and always tons of yoga related workshops.
The bike shop portion is growing fast in the area of bike repair and service. Russ is now selling completed bamboo bikes for purchase and traveling around the country to lead bamboo bike building workshops, in addition to the ones in our workshop in Lakewood, CO!