— Can you tell us about your childhood, did your parents always run DOC's Family Farms?

I grew up in Chicago, the midwest. Doc’s farm was bought and built 6 years ago after my brothers and I all got involved. We all wanted a farm and projects we could work on as a family. When the seed was planted that we all wanted the same thing, Doc’s farm was bought, and we’re still in the process of really building it up.

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— What sort of values do you think being around a family farm instilled in you as an adult?

I really enjoy working with my family and seeing the process of building something together! We are all super close, so it is fun to see the land and projects come together that we have created. It has definitely matured me a lot to really start understanding how a business works and how farming can be a struggle when you are constantly up against big powerhouses.

It’s special to see that our hard work is something that will continue to be passed down in our family.

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— Was there a pivotal moment for you when you realised you needed to take care of your body, and you had the tools to do so?

I shifted everything in my life when I started finding out about closed-loop farming, and when I started to actually get into, and have the space to, grow my own vegetables and plants. When you start farming and really getting into growing plants and vegetables, there are so many different ways you can do it. When I started to grow my own plants, I began to realize how the big corporations around us are doing it in a way that I wouldn’t want to be eating my veggies or distilling my plants for medicine. So, focusing on my health and what I want to be eating, I became more picky when sourcing my food. Everything I eat or buy is sourced from local farmers that share a similar interest in farming that I am into.

— Potions ‘n’ Motions feels like a merge of your farming education, with a focus on plants and their benefits. Can you tell us a bit about the motivations for your offering, and perhaps talk about a few of the potions?

I really started experiencing more with making plant medicine when I got my copper distiller. I was living on a farm in Northern California full-time, and was able to really dive into using the plants and land around me. When the pandemic hit, it gave me the time to dive into plant medicine and utilize what I was growing in my backyard to create all the potions.

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— Any new potions you are experimenting with at the moment?

I have been shifting a lot of my energy towards Doc’s farm recently, and have a lot of amazing collaborations coming up with farmers and homesteaders!

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— There are lessons to be learnt from nature and biodynamic culture, what lessons do you feel you have learnt and now utilised in your everyday life?

How important soil is - that’s the biggest lesson you can learn within nature and biodynamic farming! SOIL IS THE SOURCE OF IT ALL. I mean, the biggest lessons I have learnt in my life, which have shifted me into the person I am, has come from me growing my own food, making my own medicine. It gives me the confidence to keep pushing myself to learn and do more.

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— Are there any parallels you can draw between nature’s cycles & rhythms and the state of the world at this moment in time?

What goes around, comes around- I feel I am the type of person that really just takes each day as it comes. I think about the future but I don’t stress too much about it. So, being in the moment and handling everything as it comes, is the best I can do. That relates a lot to what is going on in the world, some things we don’t know are going to happen and you have to deal with it- it is the same in a garden!

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— We love how vibrant your wardrobe is. How did you feel on the Anaak shoot - did any garments spur any new ways of moving or feeling that day?

I love mixing and matching, it has always been something I love to do with my style. All the stuff that doesn’t make sense together, ends up making so much sense to me! I always feel ways of movement in Anaak - the colors and silhouettes are my favorite this season.