Hello all, it's been a while since I have sent out any updates! After a stint of farming vegetables and medicinal herbs in central Washington, and some back-and-forths to Montana, I am currently settling in (or shall I say, back in) to my hometown in sunny South Florida. After 15 years away, I found myself with an opportunity to return to the one place I never thought I would find myself, if I'm honest. Hometowns are Hometowns, and most people don't return to them once they have the opportunity to leave.

With that being said, I was offered a chance to get knuckle deep in the dirt (technically, it's mostly sand), and renew my relationship with one of the nations most ecologically unique biospheres. Growing up in Florida, I spent much of my childhood playing with bugs, making mud pies, and scuttling about catching tadpoles in the canals. As an adolescent, however, outdoor recreation was not particularly cool, and so began my lifestyle of casual partying. When I left Florida in 2018 (at the time, I was in Jacksonville), I endured some ego altering experiences that changed the direction of my life for good.

During my years in Montana, I learned to live among the happy-go-lucky outdoor enthusiasts of the West, people who went outside just for their love of nature. Camping and hiking without imbibing in recreational substances was not a particularly common experience most people have when they grow up in a place like South Florida, as most activities in the densely populated party-centric area tend to revolve around substance use.

It was through Montana that I renewed my love with the outdoors, and began to heal my relationship with my self through the lens of the natural world. For 7 years, I faced challenges I never could have conceived, and I became a better human for them. 

I learned to live with scarcity, many times unsure of my housing, the future of my business, and mostly unsure of my self. I survived volatile relationships. I lived without heat in the height of a Montana winter, no A/C in the heat of a New Mexican summer, no running water, and even no toilet for a few months. I learned how to survive on the road, how to conserve water, power, and fuel. I lived in a perpetual state of not knowing what the next day held, if I would have access to electricity, cellular data, or get my feet on the ground long enough to produce income. I survived 3 years of isolation with my two animals and my former partner, (whom I miraculously did not unalive despite the stress of our circumstances) in the confinement of a 250sqft motorhome.

I broke open and fell apart more times than I thought any human ever should.

Throughout this time, I lugged my little business along with me. I fulfilled orders when I could, manufactured product when the facilities were available, and grew more discontent with it all as my housing remained unstable for at least 5 years. I traded labor for housing accommodations, plugging in my array of skills wherever I could. I was subjected to unimaginable abuse and retaliatory behaviors by the majority of individuals who facilitated such arrangements. 

In spite of all of the hardship, I can confidently say that I am grateful for the lessons I learned and the experiences this lifestyle has provided me with. In pursuit of survival, I decided in 2023 that something needed to change within my business model. I no longer felt secure in lugging product, packaging, and manufacturing equipment across the country. I decided that I needed to go fully remote, but I wasn’t quite sure how to go about doing so. All of my prior experience was in working with my hands, and selling physical products. 

Today, I am ecstatic to announce that I have finally felt called to an outlet that feels authentic, exciting, and is in alignment with my intentions to be of service to my community. It is through the playful spirit of some kindred souls I have had the pleasure of coming into contact with over the past year that I have learned to take life a bit less seriously. I realized my purpose in life, and it’s a lot simpler than you may think.

My purpose? To enjoy it. To find joy in the mundane. To find gratitude in the work. To learn as many skills as I possibly can, and never stop. To become a student of life. To play. To alleviate myself of comparison or competitiveness, and exchange it for genuine compassion and admiration. It is an honor to be a steward of the Earth, and to be of service to my community. So I ask you, fellow human, allow me to share my skills as I continue to learn.

Whether you are a seasoned clinician, or a budding herbalist, I am here to support you on your path to self sufficiency, so that you, too, can share the abundance of the Earth as she bares her fruit for us.

Below, you will find the first of many digital tools that I intend to publish for your herbal medicine making journey. With so much uncertainty in the world, it’s time we share our skills and knowledge and once again become students of the Earth. 

I hope you enjoy this informational manual, as it carries both invaluable manufacturing information in addition to a whole lotta love for this craft that I have the honor of calling ‘work’.

Thanks for being here, I hope you’ll stay a while longer to see what I’ve got in store.

With so much gratitude,

Tessa Rose

The Hemp Witch

In this detailed 29-page guide, we will discuss more than 10 different ways that moisture makes its way into herbal salves or oils, resulting in mold. I will walk you through and break down in detail the most common causes and errors that can occur during different phases of the manufacturing process. Together, we will troubleshoot each factor with step by step tips, and implement procedures in an effort to prevent mold from becoming a recurring problem in your herbal salves and oils.

Get ready to learn from my mistakes and experience, and perfect every aspect of your own personal product formulation journey - starting with salves.

You will learn:

For more information or to purchase this guide, you may do so directly from my website Here, in addition to my Etsy and my Gumroad