10 years of Herbae Thylacini and 10 moments I am most proud of

Amidst teaching Herbal Skin Craft and preparing a couple of hands-on herbal workshops, I did not find the time to share about an important milestone that I reached with Herbae Thylacini in September: we marked 10 years since its start! With a little bit of delay, I wanted to reflect with you on 10 things that I feel most proud of or that brought particularly steep and rewarding learning curves in the last decade.

1. Brave tagline

I still remember sitting down at Mark’s Point on Bruny Island (Tasmania) with a large notepad, overlooking the calm waters, and dreaming up what Herbae Thylacini could be. Right from the beginning I held in my mind a vivid imagery of a place where traditional craft, modern research and education intersect. My first business cards sported the tag line: Herbal Products – Research – Education. It took eight years to truly encompass all three areas. And while there is still a lot of personal growth and networking ahead, I feel very proud of making this a reality, no matter how silly it sounded to many people at the beginning.

2. Receiving my first ever research funding

You might not know this, but Herbae Thylacini started as a research project, which I got funded in 2016, after writing my first grant application. My project was exploring the chemistry of native Tasmanian plants and comparing them with their medicinally known European relatives. Thanks to this project I learnt a lot about botany. I took an advanced identification course in Sydney and consequently spent many field days searching for native plants. Those were the days of bush exploration coupled with chemistry lab work. My ultimate pleasure.

3. Marrying native with local

When I started formulating my first herbal skin care products, I knew I wanted to lean into the landscape and the plants that I got to know during my research. Using native plants made a lot of sense as they were growing all around me. But I still did not know enough to base my craft just on them. So, I decided to creatively marry them with medicinal herbs I grew up using and that I got to know intimately while studying pharmacy. In my products wattle seeds, leatherwood, lemon myrtle, kunzea and rosalina shine next to herbalist’s pantry staples such as calendula, lemon balm, comfrey or lavender.

4. A decade of collaborations with Australian herbal growers 

One of the herbalists that influenced me the most and who set the standard of my own herbal practice was Ann Armbrecht. Ann is an American herbalist, anthropologist and founder of the Sustainable Herbs Initiative. She wrote a book and created a lot of visual content to document the supply chains of herbal medicine.

While following her work, nothing else made sense than to base my products on locally grown herbs. Not “wherever possible” but exclusively.

I essentially limited myself to working with herbs that were grown in Australia. (And while I was at it, I put the same qualifier on the rest of my ingredients. To date, I only use a hand-full of non-Australian ingredients in the Herbae Thylacini range, because they are simply irreplaceable by anything local.)

I did make the efforts of growing my own herbs but soon discovered that I can either be the grower or the maker. While always growing a small amount, I connected with local herb growers. From some of them I have been sourcing herbs for a decade, with others I became friends, others still invited me to visit their beautiful farms. 

5. Witnessing the shift in the herbal industry

Basing my herbal skin care range on “local” ingredients was a noble idea, but frankly, it did not resonate with customers very much. People simply did not care where the skin care ingredients came from. More important was whether a product contained “trendy” ingredients, such as rosehip oil, argan oil, or bakuchiol which were all very popular at some point during the past decade (sadly, none of them are made in Australia). But I was firmly set on doing my thing.

Slowly, over time I created a solid foundation of customers, who were not only looking for herbal skin care that performed well, but were also concerned with its ingredients’ origin.

“I have been researching Australian skincare brands for years trying to find something that uses natural herbal ingredients, comes in glass packaging, isn't loaded with essential oils and is actually transparent about where their ingredients are sourced. I was beginning to think it was impossible until I stumbled upon your brand! I'm thrilled to support a small business that shares my values. Thank you so much for what you do.”

Receiving feedback like this was a confirmation to me that I am on the right path.

Fast forward to 2026 and you will notice that the value of local herbalism is becoming more alive every day. Australian herbalists are leaning into bioregional herbalism (the philosophy of working with herbs that grow and are grown literally around you). I feel relieved that I don’t have to do this educative work alone anymore, although there is still a fair distance to walk within the natural skin care industry.

6. Winning a golden medal in a prestigious competition

In 2021 I took a punt and sent my (by the time popular flagship product) to a competition. I was delighted when, a few months later, I was notified that my beloved Wattle Seeds & Marshmallow Skin Treat made it amongst the five finalists. But I was outright ecstatic, when the Skin Treat won a golden medal in its category, coming ahead of celebrity-founded skin care brands.

This was not just a personal win, this was a testament that a small-scale makers can make products that are as good (or even better) than products coming from skin care lines with a lot of financial backing. 

7. Stocking with Biome & selling at the Salamanca Market

I have never been very good at wholesale. Probably because my products always needed that extra little education, so that their full story could come through. But in 2020 my colleague and I started a year-long effort to get Herbae Thylacini on the shelves of Biome, an Australian chain of sustainable stores. I won’t lie - it was a lot of work! Then in 2021 we got an email saying they are interested.

I flew to Brisbane to present my range and hold a short education session for Biome’s employees and the deal was sealed! I was even invited to make a product for their subscription box, which saw me making 700 Calendula & Lemon Balm Face Oils, while having 2 kids hanging of my skirt (proverbially, of course).

It was a satisfying experience, having my products on Biome’s shelves. Sadly, only a year later, I was informed that they won’t stock us anymore, as their management is focusing on "larger and established brands". Still, it was a great experience, which introduced my herbal skin care concept and philosophy to a lot of new customers.

Contrary to my slow wholesale, I always loved and did well at markets: connecting with customers face-to-face has been a regular highlight of my week for years. Perhaps the most cherished experience will remain the famous Tasmanian Salamanca Market, which I attended for several years.

8. Maintaining business while having children (and during Covid)

I feel I don’t have to add much to this milestone since it says it all. Here is to all mothers (and primary carers of young children), who started, run or grow a small business while bearing, birthing and raising children!

9. Inspiring 200 students to make herbal skin care

In 2024 (and after couple of years of consistent inquiries), I put together my first online class on herbal skin care. To my surprise / delight, 25 students registered for it… and the rest is history. Two years onwards, I have created two 3-part series on advanced herbal manufacturing, that combine traditional herbalism, pharmaceutical compounding and cosmetic science and shared them with 200+ students.

I remember all their names (helped by the fact that many of them joined me more than once.)

And I remain in regular touch with some of them through emails or even in person. With some of them I became outright friends and we now nerd out on skin, herbs and chemistry together, or “just” share life stories.

10. Sticking with the name

Honestly, there are SO MANY other moments and personal learnings I am proud of that I could write about. But I will round the list by noting that I am really happy that I stuck with my business name: Herbae Thylacini. Yes, it is complicated (spelling my email address has proved challenging on many occasions – not helped by the fact that my own surname is already a mouthful!) My partner has been gently convincing me to change the name for years. But for me it is more than a name.

It is not only directly tied to the place of its birth (Herbae Thylacini is Latin for Herbs of the Tasmanian tiger), but it takes a conservation and sustainability meaning. Because it is in honor of Thylacine, that I share about herbs. Thylacine’s story should remind us all that only when we know our environment and ecosystems, we can meaningfully protect them.

Where there is knowledge, there is relationship, and there is care.

Thank you so much for reading all the way to here!