Meet the Maker

Savannah Clayton is the one-woman force behind Black Creek Botanicals, working as herbalist, gardener, forager, seamstress, designer, potions-maker, and visionary.

In her personal life and her business, Savannah strives to make her environmental impact minimal-to-positive, which includes formulating with truly all-natural and sustainable, ethically sourced ingredients, choosing durable, re-usable, plastic-free bottles and jars for her skincare line, sourcing ingredients locally, composting, shipping orders with 100% reused boxes and packing materials, and committing to keeping an open mind and a willingness to evolve sustainable practices.

 

Woven from many threads...

As a Gemini (Taurus Moon & Scorpio Rising), I find myself to be an eager and avid lifelong learner and maker. I am endlessly curious about how things are made, where things come from, and the old ways of doing things. I grew up in the wild woods of Northern Michigan (more specifically the U.P.—if you know, you know). Though I didn’t realize it at the time, I developed a deep, rich connection with the natural world… my imagination running rampant as I trail-blazed, explored, and observed. Alongside the woods and water, the arts were also central. I studied ballet and music for many years, eventually earning a degree in Flute Performance. I’ve always been drawn to beauty, detail, and craft—and the need to create has never left me.

After university, I was deeply drawn to holistic health and herbalism—seeking to heal my own imbalances and health challenges. I remember sitting in my first herbalism workshop - the wonderful annual Herbstalk conference in Somerville MA). I felt such a deep resonance, belonging, and homecoming that it brought tears to my eyes. I was thrilled to discover that many of the medicinal plants I was learning about were in fact very old friends that I knew and remembered from my childhood. I don’t think this is a unique experience. Humans were living in close relationship with the natural world up until very recently: for food, medicine, dyeing cloth, weaving and spinning and building… it’s no surprise that returning to these old ways of knowing and being evokes a sense of homecoming, a remembering.

This business has moved through several incarnations over the years, and it will likely continue to evolve. It’s a quiet joy to fold all of my passions—herbalism, handcraft, slow fashion, ritual, and a love of the seasons—into one living, growing offering: Black Creek Botanicals.

The name Black Creek has a special meaning, drawn from the land I grew up on. Read the full story here. 

At present, I live and work in Rosans, a small medieval hilltop village in the South of France, with the love of my life, Scott, our son, two cats, and a small flock of chickens.