{"id":479809,"date":"2026-02-17T04:06:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T04:06:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/479809\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T04:06:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T04:06:14","slug":"business-monday-find-your-herbal-remedies-at-new-moonlit-merchant-wagon-in-kona-big-island-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/479809\/","title":{"rendered":"Business Monday: Find your herbal remedies at new Moonlit Merchant wagon in Kona : Big Island Now"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\"\"<\/a>Sheena Rasler hand-painted the sign for her new Moonlit Merchant cart that sells herbal remedies. (Photo courtesy: Sheena Rasler)<\/p>\n

Since 2021, Sheena Rasler has been bottling up her homemade herbal remedies and treats and selling them at Kona farmers\u2019 markets and pop-up artisan events.<\/p>\n

Rasler said she was having success selling a variety of products, including fire cider, elderberry syrup, teas, cordials and medicinal salves for aches and pains. But she also was getting burnt out with the constant setup and breakdown after each event. <\/p>\n

One day it dawned on her she needed a mobile storefront. <\/p>\n

In October, the 38-year-old came up with the concept of a Victorian-style merchant general store after perusing a collection of photos she had gathered on Pinterest. Then she constructed it on a 5-foot-by-8-foot trailer she purchased for $1,200 from the Kona Lowes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no pattern or anything,\u201d Rasler said. \u201cI just built it from the ground up with my imagination.\u201d<\/p>\n

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This past week, Rasler has been hitching her antique-burgundy-colored wagon to her jeep and taking the \u201cMoonlight Merchant\u201d out for test drives around Ali\u2018i Drive and Kuakini Highway. She was making sure it was ready for her debut event on Valentine\u2019s Day at the Kona Commons Shopping Center for the Second Saturday artisan market.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Sheena Rasler at her Moonlit Merchant wagon in Kona. (Photo courtesy: Sheena Rasler)<\/p>\n

She hopes to participate in Food Truck Friday at Old Kona Airport Park, as well as find different places around Kona that will allow her to park and set up.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I feel like I can share all the goods that I like to make without all that crazy setup,\u201d Rasler said.<\/p>\n

To add to the vibe, she will dress in period costume when selling goods from the wagon. They include her herbal remedies and farmstead products, including sourdough, canned foods and even a batch of papaya pickles recently made by her mom.<\/p>\n

What she makes will fluctuate with the seasons, depending on what is available and what the community needs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Sheena Rasler begins construction of the Moonlit Merchant cart. (Photo courtesy: Sheena Rasler)<\/p>\n

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Rasler has been a stay-at-home mom since moving back to the island, homeschooling her three kids, who are now aged 3 to 19. <\/p>\n

Rasler\u2019s husband Kyle said when his wife presented him with the idea to build a mobile storefront, he was supportive.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne day we were just lounging out by the pool, and the next day, it was buying a trailer, buying the wood, putting it up,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was a whirlwind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kyle Rasler said when his family moved back to the Big Island in 2021, his wife didn\u2019t know how to use power tools. But over the past few years, she has learned, making shelves and some tables for their home.<\/p>\n

The wagon was her first big project. <\/p>\n

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Kyle Rasler, who has worked as an accountant for the past four tax seasons, said it was important to Sheena that she build the cart herself: \u201cShe wanted it to be hers.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he guided her with a few tips and tricks of how to make it easier, \u201cbut she did all of it,\u201d with the exception of his needed help with the roof. She designed, framed and hand-painted the wagon. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Sheena Rasler did the framing of the Moonlit Merchant cart, needing help only for the roof. (Photo courtesy: Sheena Rasler)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a big feat for her,\u201d Kyle Rassler said of his wife. \u201cI\u2019m beyond impressed and proud of everything that she\u2019s done with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheena Rasler estimates spending about $5,000 for the lumber and other supplies to get the wagon built, as well as for creating new products to stock it.<\/p>\n

She said she loves her sign and awning, adding that when people come up to the front window, it\u2019s like they\u2019re stepping into another time in history.<\/p>\n

Sheena Rasler grew up in a household where natural remedies were always the first option to treat an ailment. As an adult, she became a certified herbalist, saying she prefers to make things from scratch rather than buy at a big-box store.<\/p>\n

She built an apothecary in her house, with \u201cwalls and halls of different herbs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Sheena Rasler created a home apothecary. Construction of the Moonlit Merchant cart. (Photo courtesy: Sheena Rasler)<\/p>\n

Kyle Rasler grew up in a family of doctors and nurses, saying Western medicine was always the way he was taught to address any ailments. Herbalism wasn\u2019t looked at the same way, but his wife taught him about natural remedies.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s done countless hours of like training and has several books, some as thick as my fist, on remedies,\u201d he said. \u201cI always call it her witchcraft. She\u2019s always got some tea or something that works; it actually works.\u201d<\/p>\n

For cuts, Kyle Rasler said his wife treats them with cayenne pepper to stop the bleeding. For burns, she uses mustard, and when he\u2019s sick, he has tea for breakfast, lunch and dinner.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s always got something,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why he thinks his wife\u2019s wagon, stocked with herbal remedies and wares, is perfect for the Kona community.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the islands, our health care system \u2026 falls short,\u201d Kyle Rasler said. \u201cI think having other ways to ease pain, ease the mind, ease the heart, ease the soul \u2014 whatever it is \u2014 I think it\u2019s always good to have that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sheena Rasler hand-painted the sign for her new Moonlit Merchant cart that sells herbal remedies. (Photo courtesy: Sheena…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":479810,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[194220,49,48,84,194221,194222,14994,194223,377,194224,194225,194226],"class_list":{"0":"post-479809","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-business-monday","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-kona-commons","13":"tag-kyle-rasler","14":"tag-local-business","15":"tag-local-vendor","16":"tag-medication","17":"tag-moonlit-merchant","18":"tag-old-kona-airport-park","19":"tag-sheena-rasler"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=479809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/479810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=479809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=479809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=479809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}