The seasonal apothecary boxes have been the main focus of my herbal practice for the last six years and are the staple offering in the apothecary. The apothecary boxes contain a full spectrum of whole plant medicine handmade from herbs in my medicine garden. They are the herbalist version of the CSA’s farms offer—but instead of taking one lump sum payment for shares distributed for the summer and fall seasons of the year, I offer one box for each of the four seasons. Each box becomes available for pre-order at the beginning of the first month of each seasons equinox or solstice, and ship to you at the end of that month, right after the season begins. The preorder model allows me to put the time and energy into the medicines that is needed and to make only what is accounted for so there is no excess. Spending the first month of each season on the medicine for that season gives me the opportunity to work with the plants as they come to life, in their freshest state, and the time necessary to extract and preserve their medicine. It is herbalism as it has always been—utilizing plants from the land I tend at the time they come to be—as each season has its own unique expression and challenges and the Earth presents the gifts necessary to meet them.

The apothecary boxes are a natural extension of how I live and take care of myself and loved ones and are rooted in my cultures spiritual practices and animistic ways in recognizing the life in everything around us, ourselves as nature, and living in tandem with the rhythms of the Earth. My approach as an herbalist is quality over quantity oriented, rooted in the truth that less truly is more. My work is in the vein of the timeless sacred caretaking practices as a necessity of living well and being a contributing member of an ecosystem, not the modern hyper individualized and inaccessible wellness world that disregards the social determinants of health and promotes rampant consumption.

Within each box are the necessities for each season—a bar of herbal soap to clean with, a hydrosol as a versatile water based medicine to support everything from skin care to emotional health to wound care, an herbal oil to moisturize and protect your skin, an elixir to support overall health and vitality, and a rotating item to be used in the kitchen or bathroom tailored to the needs of the moment. Each season’s box includes medicines from plants of and for the season. They take into consideration the ancient cyclical nature and needs of each time of year, as well as the current climate and collective themes at play. Each of the four elements are represented across the provisions, as well as the sacred substances of my peoples healing practices—olive oil, salt, spring water, spirits.

My focus on topical preparations comes from my upbringing and training. My family of Southern Italian immigrants were my first teachers and our traditions prominently feature topical medicine—as they require time and touch—promoting moving slow and tending to ourselves and others with attention, care, and intimacy. There is also a big emphasis on that which we use daily, which is often overlooked—like soap for example. Soap is something we use regularly and therefore a great opportunity to infuse with the medicinal support of plants. While there is a lot of great internal herbalist formulated plant medicine out there, I see a gap in what is often billed as natural skincare but so often is nothing more than essential oils diluted in carrier oils. Essential oils extracted from plants do not carry the full medicine the plants contain and are no longer in synergy with the real medicinal actions of the plant. My skin care and topical medicines are made from whole plant material carrying the full spectrum of medicine the plants offer and are made with impeccable quality plants, extracted using the correct techniques for each plant resulting in fresh, potent, and gentle but effective topicals.

The herbs come from my medicine garden, my motherlands, or other lands I love and tend—this is a core part of my ethos as an herbalist & medicine maker—caring for land and growing the plants I work with is the foundation of my work. I treat the land and plants I tend with care and respect, utilizing ancient no-till techniques that protect and build top soil and result in happy, healthy, generous plants, insects, and local wildlife. I source my menstruums from other small scale makers, often very small family operations. The only large business I spend money with in this process is a bottle company, and even they are smaller in the grand scheme of bottle companies. I make each medicine by hand from sowing the seeds to harvesting, processing, transforming, preserving, and bottling. I never intend to make more than I can with my own two hands because being small is also a core component of my values. Small is the way forward—it’s not a matter of should we stay small, we MUST stay small. Small scale is imperative if we are to build a society worth living in and is absolutely necessary for the other life on Earth currently paying the price of human beings unlimited and unchecked growth. Small operations foster thoughtfulness and give us the opportunity to take each and every aspect into consideration, overlooking nothing, cutting no corners. Staying small allows us the time and space to pay attention to detail and move at the pace of the Earth. Staying small means remaining true to our values and not succumbing to the exploitation inherent in large scale production. Small means there’s room for everyone. How good does it feel to give your support to real people you know the names of, who pour their love and skills into the product they make or service they provide for you? We don’t need more department stores or national conglomerates—we need communities full of many small scale businesses. Viva la piccola!

My apothecary work is a place where I am able to really bring together my art and herbal practices—each box has a central theme that springs forth from the past with messages for the season its for and has stories and art connected to the theme woven through each product. These seasonal medicine bundles are made to support us physically, emotionally, and spiritually—to foster a slower pace and imbue the little moments of our days with beauty and meaning—bringing us closer to ourselves and strengthening the thread connecting us with our shared home and each other.