Our History
Over 20 years ago we started growing our own herbs and a few years later we began our endeavors into “kitchen sink medicine making.” We started making our own tinctures, followed by making spagyrics, salves, balms, etc. We eventually expanded our craft to include steam distillation of hydrosols and essential oils using our small copper still. In 2016, following years of practice, trial and error, and lots of learning, Feather Catcher Apothecary was born and our small seasonal batch products became available to the community.
Our Practice & Philosophy
At Feather Catcher Apothecary, our efforts are guided by the principles of bioregional or place-based herbalism—working with the plants that naturally thrive in our environment and have supported our ancestors for generations. By cultivating and crafting remedios/herbal remedies, we strengthen the connection between people, plants, and the land we call home.
As part of our integrity, for the exception our ceremonial/spiritual items, all our products contain plant medicines that we grow in our herb gardens or respectfully wild harvest in small amounts from the deserts and mountains of Quita’s ancestral lands.
Who We Are
Quita Ortiz
Quita is rooted in place-based knowledge and experience having grown up surrounded by the rural drylands and irrigated valleys of Nambé. She’s been on the path of plant and energy medicine for much of her life and is committed to being a lifelong student of plants. Her parents used traditional folk medicine and “food as medicine” to address illness and ailments, exposing her to herbal medicine at an early age and contributing to her early foundational reverence for plants and gardening. She attended Native Roots Ancestral, Folk, & Herbalism School and is a member of American Herbalists Guild. She takes great interest in quantum healing and how herbal healing relates – in effect – to energy healing. Quita is also a geographer by way of her NMSU degrees – so she’s the navigator, photographer, documentarian, and plant identifier when out foraging for remedios.
Cory Brown
Cory was born and raised in eastern New Mexico. He attended NMSU in Las Cruces where he received his bachelor’s degree in Education. While there, he worked at a local nursery which sparked his love for plants. He quickly became a sponge for plant knowledge. Cory is an amateur mycologist with over 20 years of experience cultivating mushrooms. He’s also an alchemist and distiller of spirits – some of our tinctures are extracted using Cory’s spirits. He’s passionate about working with fungi, magick plants, baneful herbs, and entheogens. Being an initiate of the “poison path” Cory underscores the alchemical signature of our work. Cory also creates our non-herbal offerings, drawing on his love of woodworking, metalworking, glassblowing, and multimedia art. His custom ritual pieces include wands, athames (ritual knives), talismans, amulets, and more. If you’re interested in a custom piece, please reach out to him with your vision.
