Rising Stars: Meet Yasemin Ozel Altan of West Hills, CA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Yasemin Ozel Altan.

Hi Yasemin, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
The story is about a deep transformation shaped by motherhood, health and well-being and awakening of inner power, a spiritual quest at its core. It began with the acknowledgment of an aching soul and an undeniable urge to create.

I knew I had to make a shift from my corporate career in finance toward a creative one. Having been interested in art and design through fashion, interiors, and architecture, I pursued my Master’s in Fashion & Luxury Brand Management in London. At the same time, I felt called to become a mother. Life is wonderful in that sense, unfolding in layers shaped by our inner state. Creativity was trying to surface in every way possible.

I graduated as I gave birth to my daughter. Little did I know how profound a transformation was waiting for me, through motherhood and a growing awareness of the systems we are embedded in and expected to live within.

I had always been drawn to fashion as a simple form of self-expression. Yet as I began engaging with the industry from a management perspective and reading more about consumerism and the psychology behind it, I felt deeply disillusioned. The realities of the industry left me devastated, and I soon realized it was just the tip of the iceberg. This pattern existed across industries, eroding our health and well-being beneath the surface. There was something profoundly wrong with the way we were living. Everything I interacted with felt manufactured and synthetic, far from the source.

I had never felt so out of place in my life. Along with that discomfort came anger and a growing sense of responsibility to stand up to systems that had been shaping our values through artificial means for years. Witnessing the race whether in financial markets, luxury lifestyles, or abstract currencies disconnected from what is truly precious, had a built-up effect on me that backfired in the most beautiful way possible. It pushed me toward a deep reevaluation of what truly matters.

That depressive state, which I still find difficult to fully comprehend, became the ground for a liberation. With time, it has become clearer how I’ve been surrounded by a powerful womb energy, growing a life inside of me. Preparing to become a mother brought coded fears to the surface, and a desire to protect the future of my creative expression. This urge led me to disrupt what no longer felt aligned. Confronting what I stood against, boldly, marked a major turning point and then everything started to fall into place.

We moved to Los Angeles, where I reconnected with nature and fell in love with life all over again. I’ve let all that I had been exposed to, to fuel my desire to create nature-based, artisan and botanical offerings that are meant to reconnect people to nature, their sense of wholeness, even if only in subtle ways. It is also intended to counter some of the damage caused by the convenience economy and the broader capitalist system.

The journey felt like climbing through earthquake debris caused by dysfunctional systems, within and without, to build a more sustainable life for myself and others, with the understanding that we are all part of one interconnected whole. It was truly a birthing process that took years to unfold.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The driving force was the will to change, with no clear destination in sight. Much like life itself, I cannot say it has been easy.

All I knew was that I had to do something worthwhile and be able to conceptualize it. Doing “good” as a business can appear simple, yet the real challenge lies in doing so without creating new harm. Consequences, above all, should guide the work. My intention was to create a system in which everyone could win, consciously. And that pushed me to question existing models and to try to get it right this time.

I had to learn how to nourish myself consistently, by investing in my personal growth, honoring my creativity, staying connected to nature, and being intentional about what I consume, while navigating an old-world system to meet financial needs. Building a business rooted in ethics, environmental responsibility, and community well-being required a deeper level of care and commitment. I knew I would dedicate my life to creation, but the work had to be intentional to truly fulfill me.

This is likely why it took years to arrive here. I needed time to gather insight from consumers, the environment, the causes I care about, and from lived experience, before focusing all that energy into a single pursuit. To do this well, one must dream big, think strategically, and act relentlessly. This is not about drifting with the current, but about challenging the status quo, taking responsibility for change, and pushing forward what feels ethical and right for all. In short, it is a refusal to become just another brick in the wall.

Along the way, I realized that not everyone around me could see the vision I was nurturing, and there were times my path felt solitary. Innovation, by nature, challenges what people are accustomed to. I had to recognize their presence on my path and acknowledge the role they played in activating certain forces within me.

The role of a supportive family has been significant. I don’t believe there would even be a story without their support. At the same time, this has been its own challenge, learning to depend on others while in the process of building. Even when that dependence rests within family, it still brings up another level of vulnerability for someone who is fiercely independent like me. I think it is a lesson I am still learning.

When I say we are all one, I mean it in every sense: within families, communities, humanity, and the forests and ecosystems that hold us. Plants, mushrooms, and trees know how to coexist in harmony, sharing resources and forming mutualistic relationships within the forest. Even a fallen log becomes nourishment for countless lives. Each of us has a role to offer, and the idea of radical independence is something we must break free from, as it creates only the illusion of separation. We are, and have always been, deeply connected.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
After moving to Los Angeles, I started working in my studio. I got creative by tapping into my inner child, making things with my hands, using natural materials, sculpting primitive pieces that mimicked nature. I craved a deeper connection with nature in more intimate ways: barefoot walking, playing with sand and mud. I had reached a childlike curiosity and a state of joy that began to attract attention, which led to my recognition as an artist through galleries in Europe. I was able to showcase my sculptures as works of art that truly honored my inner child. However, before pursuing this fully as a profession, I felt the need to address some foundational issues related to our collective health in a more practical way, which I felt would be through plants.

We are curious beings, attracted to intelligence. It seemed as if plants were offering exactly what l was seeking and I felt called to learn from professionals. This led me into the field of ecological restoration. I worked at TreePeople and Santa Monica Mountains Fund. It was a life-changing experience to find joy every day while working and learning about native plants and restoration practices. We climbed mountains, planted thousands of plants and trees, and restored acres of land. You get to move your body in nature while healing the land that nurtures your body and soul, essentially feeling fully alive, something that is not the norm in modern society.

My fascination with nature only deepened while working with like-minded, inspiring people: restoring habitats, nurturing biodiversity, and witnessing the resilience of the land firsthand. I wouldn’t be exaggerating when I say nothing felt more like home than being surrounded by the people who are willing to stand up for what they believe in. Especially when that belief is nothing but a conscious choice of protecting the environment. I will always have a deep admiration for those who dedicate all their energy to this kind of work. I learned a lot from them while working in the restoration field and how much more there is to learn.

I took all the experience and inspiration and invested in my business. Goosebumps Garden is a boutique native plant nursery offering California native plants, along with nature-based artisan and botanical goods rooted in sustainable practices and ecological harmony. The fact that it is getting increasingly difficult to find pure, natural products is a major concern for me as it is directly connected to our health and wellbeing. This work is born out of a rebellion, a desire to be more selective about what we consume daily.

What began as a personal journey, a need to slow down, heal, and reconnect, gradually became a calling to help others do the same. This project is both personal and communal, meant to address the root of our disconnection while encouraging a more sustainable way of living, considering the health of all, without leaving any part out.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is where and how to place my energy. The radical change comes through tapping into your true power and not letting that energy be spent on a game with little to gain. Our energy is sacred, and it is nothing to be wasted.

Patience and persistence are essential, especially for women here in Los Angeles. I’ve lived in several cities across different countries, yet nowhere has gender imbalance felt more visible to me than LA. We often end up dulling our femininity to succeed within systems that weren’t designed for all. And part of that imbalance comes from the acceptance of these systems in the first place.

We all carry vulnerabilities and insecurities, and that is part of being human, but having those coded into femininity is, personally, something I can’t stand to see. We can win within existing structures, yet success there feels secondary to what the feminine is truly meant to offer, at least it did for me.

The perception of the feminine is still far from understood, which is exactly why pursuing creativity in our work becomes such a powerful path forward. We are naturally drawn to create, which makes it important that we shift our old ways of thinking and place our energy into regeneration: to shape new realities, new systems, and new ways of living. The feminine’s offering is profound and without it, there is no fertility, not in land, not in ideas, nor futures.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.GoosebumpsGarden.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goosebumpsgarden/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goosebumpsgarden

Image Credits
Brent Yontz Lorna Xu