A Behind-the-Scenes Introduction to the Rather Unusual Team at V Botanicals
Every proper apothecary needs assistants.
Mine just happen to have scales, fur, whiskers—and, in several cases, absolutely no respect for normal working hours.
Behind the bottles of botanical essences, jars of resins, tinctures slowly extracting, perfumes maturing and herbs waiting to be ground is a rather unusual cast of characters who share my creative space.
I affectionately call them the Apothecary Staff.
Some observe quietly from the branches above me. Some supervise every move I make. Some offer unsolicited commentary. One is convinced he is an interdimensional being.
And one mostly wants snacks.
Welcome behind the scenes of the V Botanicals apothecary.
The Serpent Staff
The quietest members of the apothecary are also perhaps the most fitting.
Nine snakes live among the shelves, bottles and botanical experiments of my creative space: eight Green Tree Pythons and one Ball Python.
There is something wonderfully appropriate about practicing botanical alchemy in the company of serpents. Across cultures and mystery traditions, the serpent has long carried associations with wisdom, transformation, regeneration and hidden knowledge.
Mine also carry strong opinions about being disturbed.
The Executioner — Director of Security
The senior member of the serpent staff and a wild-caught Green Tree Python, The Executioner takes his position very seriously.
He is beautiful, formidable and perpetually prepared to remind everyone that this is his apothecary and the rest of us are merely permitted to work here. Unauthorized entry is strongly discouraged.
Lasher — Assistant Director of Security
Lasher shares The Executioner’s enthusiasm for boundary enforcement.
Feisty, alert and always watching, he serves as the apothecary’s second line of defense.
Between the two of them, our security department has an impeccable record.
Seven — Keeper of Divine Quality Control
Her name comes from “Snake from Heaven,” which tells you quite a bit about how I feel about her.
Seven is extraordinary—beautiful, composed and possessing that almost otherworldly presence Green Tree Pythons sometimes have.
She oversees matters requiring a slightly higher standard.
If Seven approves, we proceed.
Hook — Keeper of Stillness
Gentle, quiet and unbothered by the general chaos occurring beneath her branch, Hook specializes in the ancient art of doing absolutely nothing unnecessarily.
Frankly, it is a skill the rest of us could stand to practice more often.
Roczen — Director of Experimental Operations
Roczen is frisky, curious and distinguished by his wonderful black speckling.
His department handles experimentation, unexpected developments and anything beginning with the words:
“I wonder what would happen if…”
Ireland — Keeper of the Waters
Calm and beautiful, with an extraordinary blue stripe tracing her spine, Ireland brings a decidedly serene presence to the staff.
She presides over the quieter currents of the apothecary—hydrosols, waters, gentle preparations and anything requiring patience.
Kratos — Master of Ornamentation
Kratos may have the most striking pattern of the entire serpent staff. He knows it.
He knows it.
His responsibility is therefore obvious: beauty, presentation and ensuring that nothing leaving the apothecary is unnecessarily boring.
Phoenix — Director of Renewal
Friendly, beautiful—and somehow perpetually dealing with a piece of stuck shed—Phoenix was destined for this position.
Her department oversees renewal, transformation and the occasional reminder that becoming something new can be a messy process.
Ghost — Keeper of the Hidden Things
Our sole Ball Python, Ghost is also one of the sweetest members of the staff.
Quiet and gentle, he oversees the hidden places: roots, resins, earth, shadow and the mysterious things that prefer not to announce themselves immediately.
Every apothecary needs a keeper of secrets.
The Feline Department
Unlike the serpent staff, the cats do not believe in quietly observing operations.
They believe in management.
Pandora — Keeper of Delicate Things
Sweet, shy and gentle, Pandora is our tuxedo-clad conservator of fragile matters.
She prefers to observe the apothecary from a respectable distance and becomes involved only when circumstances truly require her expertise.
An excellent quality in an employee.
Sly — Director of Communications & Complaints
Pandora’s son inherited her tuxedo but apparently none of her commitment to silence.
Sly is talkative and exceptionally good at communicating his needs.
Repeatedly.
Until management responds.
He therefore handles all official announcements, grievances and demands for improved working conditions.
Kyra — Director of Hospitality
Kyra has never met a stranger.
Our resident Ragdoll believes every visitor has come specifically to see her and that all activities are improved by placing herself directly in the middle of them.
Affectionately known as Big Bertha—because she is exceptionally fluffy—Kyra oversees hospitality, guest relations and morale.
Saturn — Director of Interdimensional Affairs
Saturn has ice-blue eyes and an unsettling ability to occasionally make me wonder whether he is actually a cat.
I remain unconvinced.
There is something supernatural about this creature.
Until further investigation can establish his planet of origin, Saturn has been placed in charge of interdimensional affairs, energetic anomalies and anything occurring in the apothecary for which conventional explanations prove inadequate.
And Finally, Bailey
Bailey — Director of Emotional Support & Staff Wellness
Every organization needs someone who keeps everyone grounded.
Bailey is our blonde Labradoodle: slightly doofy, incredibly sweet, surprisingly smart and completely devoted to her people.
She serves as the apothecary’s official emotional-support department and is also Saturn’s preferred snuggle companion—which may or may not make her our primary liaison to the galactic realm.
She takes both responsibilities very seriously.
Mostly while lying down.
Life Behind the Apothecary
All joking aside, these animals really are part of the rhythm of my creative life.
When I am weighing essences, grinding resin in a mortar and pestle, evaluating a perfume modification for the fifteenth time, bottling an oil or waiting for something to reveal what it wants to become, they are there.
And perhaps that is particularly fitting for an apothecary devoted to the natural world.
V Botanicals isn’t created in a sterile laboratory removed from life. It is created in the middle of it.
Plants. Resins. Flowers. Woods. Animals. People.
Living things interacting with other living things.
There are feathers on my workbench, cats underfoot, a dog nearby and serpents resting in the branches above me while botanical materials gathered from around the world slowly become something new.
It isn’t always quiet.
It certainly isn’t always tidy.
But it is alive.
And I wouldn’t have my apothecary any other way.
Welcome to the Stillroom.
The staff has been expecting you. 🖤