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Founder Backstory Part 1: Threads of Origin
What animals taught me about soul, art, and purpose.
Johnnie Cloudsong
April 25, 2025
Hey Friends,
Thank you SO much for being an early subscriber to EarthMed Threads — I’m Cloudsong. Many know me as Johnnie, others as Coyote. I’m an artist, clinical herbalist, educator, and founder of Earth Medicine Apparel Co.
I’ve spent the last decade immersed in Earth medicines — teaching, growing, and working with plants, fungi, and animals in ways that center healing and connection. Over time, I began to wonder: what would it look like to wear the medicine? To turn the wisdom and sacred symbols of the Earth into art that people carry with them, every day, sparking conversations and driving impact? Earth Medicine Apparel Co. was born from these questions — from a deep desire to make healing wearable and accessible, to foster community through shared values, while supporting Earth’s most precious caretakers.
The clothes we choose reflect our inner worlds — what we care about, what we’re healing, what we’re proud of. When we wear art rooted in reverence for nature and cultural healing traditions, we invite others into conversation, inviting curiosity and connection.
This brand is my way to build a bridge between art and activism, healing and fashion, personal style and planetary health. Through bold, intentional imagery, Earth Medicine Apparel Co. invites people to connect through shared values like ecological stewardship, natural healing, and social good. Because I affirm that true healing happens in community, and community forms when we meet on common ground.
To kick off EarthMed Threads, I stitched together a series of stories from my creative path, plant medicine path, and the inspiration behind launching. I hope you’ll stick around for the journey!
Fifteen years ago, I sold my first screen-printed t-shirt. I’m proud to say that my mom was my first customer (love you, Mama!). I was fresh out of college, trading cleaning duties for printshop time at my alma mater in the Inland Northwest, using my own screens and inks to bring drawings to life on fabric. That era was when the first soul-threads of this project began to form.
A surviving photo of my first tshirt run | “Deer Medicine” 2011
My early designs were inspired by animals, not just as beings, but as healing metaphors. Growing up in the high desert mountains, animals were some of my earliest teachers. Deer came first: a symbol of protection, quiet strength, and the fluid dance between masculine and feminine energies. Then came Coyote: shapeshifter, trickster, and lone wanderer. Mirroring elements of my identity and life path, the symbols were recurring in my art, dreamscapes, doodles, and Earth medicine rituals.
Eventually, the Colorado Rocky Mountains called me. To fund the move, I pre-sold and printed a limited run of original designs on shirts, planting the seed for Earth Medicine Apparel Co.
Working with animal, floral, and geometric shapes to honor sacred plant and animal medicine. “Huachuma” 2011
The animals followed me. I watched for Deer on hikes, listened for Coyote at night. My ears came to know the sentry calls of the Steller’s Jay as I deepened my relationship to these mountains.
What started as a handful of animal drawings on T-shirts has grown into a mission-driven brand rooted in reverence for nature, spiritual storytelling, and creative expression. But more on that later…
In the next EarthMed Threads, I’ll share how following art and music took me into Denver’s underground dubstep scene, how live painting became my flow state, and what ultimately led me to walk away — and follow a new calling into the world of herbal medicine.
Until then, keep your eyes open for animal signs.
With gratitude,
Cloudsong
Founder, Earth Medicine Apparel Co.
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