Long-time locals will remember when Gawron spent her nights mixing concoctions at the popular bar, formerly owned by her parents, Pete and Mel.
The naturopath’s now spending her days mixing creations of a different kind in her new business, Arrowtown Apothecary.
After The Blue Door and neighbouring Saffron — now Aosta — and Agave (Little Aosta) were sold in 2017, Gawron decided to change direction.
Having already found yoga — "I knew that the hospitality lifestyle wasn’t sustainable" — she leaned into her desire to look after people and realised the skills involved in hospo and naturopathy were transferable.
"So when I found naturopathy, it was the first time I found something that held space for people without being a doctor ... but it was a little bit more scientific and evidence-based than some of the other more alternative medicines."
She completed a degree in natural medicine through the Auckland-based South Pacific College of Natural Medicine, before opening Arrowtown Apothecary on Buckingham St, opposite the Chinese Village, about three months ago.
Gawron explains naturopathy is a holistic branch of medicine, in which naturopaths are trained in modalities such as nutritional, lifestyle, traditional Chinese, Ayurvedic and energetic medicine, herbs and natural supplements.
At her new practice, there’s an option for an in-depth consultation after which she’ll create a personalised integrated wellness plan, an acute 30-minute session to focus on one specific concern, or an obligation-free 10-minute discovery call.
"It’s a really collaborative healthcare model — you are empowered to take ownership over your health and I think, especially post-Covid, a lot of people are craving that.
"I think it’s the only model that really holds people where they are and gets them to where they want to go — you might come in and say, ‘I want to sleep better’, and I’m looking at it going, ‘your thyroid doesn’t look good’.
"But your priority is sleep, so we work on that ... your priorities are my priorities."
She also has a specific focus on functional medicine, utilising "the amazing new testing" available — results reveal functional markers, such as how leaky the gut is, how much inflammation is present and all the beneficial and non-beneficial bacteria present, ensuring targeted treatment.
Gawron says naturopaths are respected by good doctors because they fill a gap in the medical system GPs "are never going to have time for".
"[A GP] is very ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, whereas a lot of what we do is preventive medicine.
"Obviously there are people that have got chronic health conditions that just get bounced between the different specialists and, often, we’re the first and only ones to look at the whole picture."
Alongside stocking a vast array of herbal tinctures — or extracts — Gawron’s putting her foraging skills to use to make personalised herbal tea blends.
Entirely certified organic, as much as possible is sourced locally, though some ingredients have to be brought in from the North Island or overseas.
"I think teas are beautiful — they’re a way to get herbs into the system, but they don’t have the con that herbal tinctures have — they’re all extracted with alcohol, so a lot of them aren’t kid-friendly, or they have to have really minute doses," she says.
As to what she loves about her new career, Gawron says it’s combining her intuition with her knowledge to make a fundamental difference to people.
"My ethos is an 80-20 rule ... it’s about eating well 80% of the time, making good choices 80% of the time, and the other 20, we’re all human ... it’s about enjoying it."
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