Our founders, Sara Katz and Ed Smith, are community leaders in traditional Western herbalism.
In 1979, Ed Smith and Sara Katz wanted to live a more natural lifestyle, so they moved to rural southern Oregon. There, they planted their first herb garden and founded a tiny company they called Herb Pharm. They soon developed a line of liquid herbal extracts and other proprietary herbal formulas.
“We started Herb Pharm because we were completely and utterly fascinated by medicinal plants. We wanted to know these plants intimately and to experience their healing magic as often and in as many ways as possible.”
- Sara Katz
To procure a broad array of the best botanicals, Ed often traveled the world in search of medicinal herbs and knowledge of their traditional uses. Back at home, Sara and Ed tended their herb garden and learned to identify and harvest wild herbs in the surrounding Siskiyou Mountains. At night, Ed studied his collection of old pharmacy texts and started making herbal extracts in their kitchen, while Sara studied herbs, computers and bookkeeping to help grow their new company into a successful business.