Folk Methodology – Details, episodes & analysis

In our very first episode of Herbalists After Hours, we hang out in a forest with jim mcdonald for a wide-ranging conversation about the virtues of herbalists, how a near-death experience affected his life, and why herbalism falls flat when we force it into tidy binaries.

jim mcdonald is a Michigan-based herbalist known for his creative energetics approach to plant medicine. He teaches widely respected classes online and in person, with a nuanced style that blends sharp witty insight, lived experience, and always a respect for complexity.

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LINKS & RESOURCES

Connect with jim
HerbCraft.org
HerbCraft.Podia.com

Great Lakes Herb Faire
GreatLakesHerbFaire.org

Herbal Kindness
HerbalKindness.com

Follow Along with Folk Methodology
Website | FolkMethodology.com
Instagram | @folkmethodology
TikTok | @folkmethodology

Folk Methodology is a creative herbal studio exploring the wisdom, culture, and lived experience of herbalists. Through conversations, classes, and media, Mason and Rosalee are here to share and uplift the grassroots herbal community.  

The small print
This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health regimen.

Welcome to Episode 0 of Herbalists After Hours — our origin story. In this kickoff conversation, we share how a small spark of an idea grew into a full-blown project dedicated to celebrating the herbal community.

What began as a possible book concept quickly evolved into something more alive: traveling together, visiting herb shops and conferences, and recording raw, unfiltered conversations with the eclectic, brilliant humans who make up the herbal world.

In this episode, we unpack the spirit of the show, the meaning behind the name, the logo's hidden symbolism, and the deep sense of purpose motivating this project. It's all about community, curiosity, and spotlighting the multifaceted lives of herbalists beyond their "day job" with the plants.

You'll also hear the behind-the-scenes story — the canoe trips between interviews, the conference hopping, the tech challenges, the decision to record only in person, and the joy of co-creating something that felt right from the start.

We also share how this project grew into the creation of our joint creative studio, Folk Methodology, a home for the many herbal media projects we're building together.

And of course, we introduce our original theme music from Seattle musicians Torin Frost & Lauren Santi, whose artistry helped set the tone for the entire series. This episode is both a love letter to the herbal community and an invitation to join the adventure ahead.

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LINKS & RESOURCES

Torin Frost Website | TorinFrost.com
Torin Frost Instagram | @torinfrost
Lauren Santi Instagram | @thelaurensanti
Imaginal Disc Pt. I | WATCH ON YOUTUBE
Imaginal Disc Pt. II | WATCH ON YOUTUBE
Herbs with Rosalee | HerbsWithRosalee.com
HerbRally | HerbRally.com

Follow Along with Folk Methodology
Website | FolkMethodology.com
Instagram | @folkmethodology
TikTok | @folkmethodology

Folk Methodology is a creative herbal studio exploring the wisdom, culture, and lived experience of herbalists. Through conversations, classes, and media, Mason and Rosalee are here to share and uplift the grassroots herbal community.  

The small print
This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health regimen.

🌿 Welcome to Folk Methodology!

We're Rosalee de la Forêt and Mason Hutchison, and we're officially introducing our new creative studio and production company: Folk Methodology. This is the home for all of our collaborative herbal projects — present and future.

We didn't even plan on starting a full production company at first.

It began as a simple idea for an interview show… and that show became Herbalists After Hours — our raw, unfiltered, long-form conversations with herbalists across the country. 

Sometimes we're in their living rooms, sometimes in the forest, always sharing in the heart of herbal life.

This channel is where you'll find:
✨ Herbalists After Hours
✨ behind-the-scenes stories
✨ future shows and creative projects
✨ and our ongoing love letter to the herbal community

If you want to follow everything we're building, visit FolkMethodology.com and join our newsletter. 

We'll keep you updated on new episodes, releases, and the bigger-picture projects happening behind the scenes.

We're doing this for the herbal community — and because creating together brings us joy.

Thanks for being here with us 💛

~Rosalee & Mason

PS — Our episodes are beautifully filmed in person, and the full visual experience really comes alive on YouTube. Subscribe to the Folk Methodology channel to watch along.

PPS — Want to see this one? Watch the video version here.

In this episode of Herbalists After Hours, we are settled inside Bloodroot Herb Shop in Ypsilanti, Michigan for a conversation with herbalist Alex Crofoot that moves from ancestral midwives in Appalachia to mutual aid in the streets of Michigan. 

We wander through burnout and obsession, pelvic floor care and pole dancing, the intensity of herbal first at Rainbow Gatherings with 7Song, and the tender question of how to build spaces where plants, and people, belong together. 

It's thoughtful, heart-centered, and rooted in experience.

Alex Crofoot is a Michigan-based clinical herbalist, birth doula, and founder of Bloodroot Herb Shop. She formulates and crafts her own botanical medicines and specializes in reproductive health, hormone balance, and community-centered care shaped by lineage, activism, and deep relationship with the plants.

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Join our herbal community newsletter at FolkMethodology.com

LINKS & RESOURCES

Connect with Alex

BloodrootHerbShop.com

Instagram | @bloodroot.herbshop

Facebook | @bloodrootherbshop

Rooted Apothecary | Rooted-Apothecary.com

Appleton Cigar | AppletonCigar.com

Follow Along with Folk Methodology

Website | FolkMethodology.com

Instagram | @folkmethodology

TikTok | @folkmethodology

Folk Methodology is a creative herbal studio exploring the wisdom, culture, and lived experience of herbalists. Through conversations, classes, and media, Mason and Rosalee are here to share and uplift the grassroots herbal community.  

The small print
This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health regimen.

In this episode of Herbalists After Hours, we spend time with herbalist Kyle Denton for a conversation that moves fluidly between formulation, creativity, and the deeper questions of how we each find our place within herbalism.

Kyle shares his love of crafting formulas, not just as a technical skill, but as an intuitive and expressive practice. From playful "knuckle measurements" to five-part formulas, we explore how structure and instinct can live side by side in the art of making medicine.

The conversation wanders (in the best way) through music, learning, and the joy of not taking ourselves too seriously. There's a sense throughout that herbalism doesn't have to be rigid to be meaningful—it can be creative, experimental, and deeply personal.

The result is relaxed, funny, and thoughtful—a conversation about trusting your process, following what excites you, and allowing your work as an herbalist to evolve naturally over time.

Kyle Denton is an herbalist, educator, and founder of Tippecanoe Herbs in Wisconsin. His work blends clinical insight with creativity, with a focus on accessible, engaging approaches to herbalism, formulation, and community building.

Shout out - thanks to Emilie Thomas-Anderson for being our videographer!

WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE

Don't miss a thing!

Join our herbal community newsletter at FolkMethodology.com

LINKS & RESOURCES

Connect with Kyle
https://tippecanoeherbs.com/ 
https://www.instagram.com/tippecanoe_herbs/  
https://www.facebook.com/tippecanoeherbs/  
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1AXIA4n9ZxprWqqUllgM6Q  

EPISODE MENTIONS
https://www.internationalherbsymposium.com/ 
https://www.latishaguthrie.com/herbcrafters-tarot 

Thanks for the beers Sheri!  
Herbalists Without Borders: https://hwbglobal.org/about-us/hwb-leadership/ 

https://www.acornapothecary.shop/
https://scienceandartofherbalism.com/product/the-generosity-of-plants/ 

Folk Methodology is a creative herbal studio exploring the wisdom, culture, and lived experience of herbalists. Through conversations, classes, and media, Mason and Rosalee are here to share and uplift the grassroots herbal community.  

The small print
This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health regimen.

In this episode of Herbalists After Hours, we spend an evening with herbalist Erika Galentin for a conversation that moves from music and creativity to the deeper questions facing modern herbalism. Along the way we explore the tension between tradition and professionalization, what it means to build a clinical practice in today's world, and the personal journeys that shape how each herbalist shows up for the plants and their clients.

Erika speaks candidly about the realities of herbal careers: competition, comparison, entrepreneurship, and the challenge of staying rooted in integrity while working within modern systems. 

We also wander into the importance of reflective practice, collaboration within the herbal community, and why our individual stories as herbalists matter more than trying to fit a single mold.

The result is thoughtful, funny, and at times beautifully vulnerable, a conversation about what it really looks like to practice herbalism in this moment, while still honoring the traditions and relationships that brought us here.

Erika Galentin is a clinical herbalist, educator, and founder of Sovereignty Herbs. Her work focuses on combining traditional Western herbalism with rigorous clinical thinking, helping practitioners develop depth, discernment, and strong foundations in herbal practice.

LINKS & RESOURCES

Connect with Erika

https://www.sovereigntyherbs.com/

https://www.instagram.com/erikagalentin/ 

https://www.facebook.com/sovereigntyherbs/  

EPISODE MENTIONS

Camille Freeman: https://www.camillefreeman.com/  

Lindsey Feldpausch: https://plantmatters.org/

Kathy Langelier: https://www.herbalrev.com/  

Evan Sylliaasen: https://aromaticmedicineschool.com  

Cathy Skipper: https://www.cathysattars.com/  

Rylee Babst: https://www.instagram.com/ryleebapst/  

Follow Along with Folk Methodology

Website | FolkMethodology.com

Instagram | @folkmethodology

TikTok | @folkmethodology

Folk Methodology is a creative herbal studio exploring the wisdom, culture, and lived experience of herbalists. Through conversations, classes, and media, Mason and Rosalee are here to share and uplift the grassroots herbal community.  

The small print
This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health regimen.

Nettle has a reputation… 🌿 and like many beloved herbs, it's picked up a few myths along the way.

In this short episode, we gently untangle some of the most common misunderstandings about this deeply nourishing plant.

Whether you're brand new to nettle or already working with it, this is a great place to refine your understanding and deepen your relationship with this powerful ally.

Go Deeper with Nettle 🌱

If you're feeling called to take your nettle practice further, Rosalee and Mason created a full experience centered around this incredible plant.

Inside The Nettle Immersion, you'll find:

• A 100+ minute video class
• A 30-day nettle challenge
• A 30+ page nettle recipe ebook
• Downloadable audio + transcripts
• A community space and more

👉 Learn more & enroll | NettleImmersion.com

Enrollment closes on April 12, 2026.

In this episode of Herbalists After Hours, we sit down with Sajah Popham for a conversation that moves between the real-life demands of being an herbalist, the evolution of building something over time, and the quieter forces that shape the path along the way.

We talk about burnout, family, and the tension between meaningful work and the day-to-day realities of running a growing herbal business. 

There's also a thread of mentorship and community woven throughout—how support, generosity, and timing can change everything.

And then there's calamus.

What starts as a side conversation turns into something much deeper—about finding your voice, speaking what's true, and how working with a plant can shift something internal in a lasting way.

It's honest, reflective, and full of those moments that stay with you after the conversation ends.

Sajah Popham is an herbalist and educator, and the founder of the School of Evolutionary Herbalism. His work weaves together traditional Western herbalism, spagyric medicine, and a vitalist approach, with an emphasis on how herbalists think and relate to plants. He is also the creator of Natura Sophia Spagyrics and host of The Plant Path podcast.

WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE

LINKS & RESOURCES

Connect with Sajah

EvolutionaryHerbalism.com

NaturaSophiaSpagyrics.com

The Plant Path

EPISODE MENTIONS

Rosalee's Coloring Book

jim on calamus

JOIN THE NETTLE IMMERSION | NettleImmersion.com

Folk Methodology is a creative herbal studio exploring the wisdom, culture, and lived experience of herbalists. Through conversations, classes, and media, Mason and Rosalee are here to share and uplift the grassroots herbal community.  

The small print
This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health regimen.

We're so excited to share something we've been working on behind the scenes…

The Nettle Immersion

What started as a simple 20-minute class turned into something much bigger. Over 100 minutes of video, a 30-day nettle challenge, a 30+ page recipe ebook, a community space, a live call, and more.

In this video, we walk you through how it all came together and what you can expect inside the experience.

This isn't just about learning nettle… it's about working with it.

Inside the Nettle Immersion:

• A 100+ minute video class
• A 30-day nettle challenge
• A 33-page nettle recipe ebook
• Optional health survey (before & after)
• Community forum + live Zoom call
• Quiz + certificate
• 20% off Mountain Rose Herbs
• Optional micro-sponsorship for Herbalists After Hours

Enrollment is open now, but only until April 12.

👉 Learn more and join us | NettleImmersion.com

We'd love to have you in this with us.

~Rosalee & Mason