Our Story
Hi, we're Jim and Casey
Owners of Cloudscape Hill Farmstead in Dowling, Michigan — and it was our love of nature that brought us together, even before we were married.
We both dreamed of a healthier, more self-sufficient life in the country. Shortly after our wedding in late 2019, we were fortunate enough to acquire the property that has become Cloudscape Hill. We live and work here with our three border collies, and we wouldn't have it any other way.
How It All Began
The property needed a lot of love. In spring 2020, we brought in a small flock of sheep to help the fields and soil come back to life. We planted our first 10 fruit trees in 2021, and by 2022 we had expanded to what is now a 53-tree orchard — apple, pear, peach, plum, and cherry. Our first gardens were planted that same year and enlarged in 2023.
Before coming to Michigan, Jim had lived several years in Europe and fallen in love with the French countryside — particularly the seemingly endless lavender fields of Provence. That love took root here too. In 2023 we planted 1,200 lavender plants at Cloudscape Hill, followed by another 325 in 2024, and another 1260 in 2025.
The sandy, well-drained soil of Michigan is ideal for lavender — and we're making the most of it.
The Farm
Nestled next to a wooded hill among rolling hay fields, Cloudscape Hill feels like a hidden haven where time slows down and nature takes center stage. The farm's rustic charm is evident in its faded red barn and weathered, hand-built structures dating to 1872 — structures that lend an authentic, lived-in feel to the landscape.
Rows of vibrant purple lavender now stretch across the fields, their fragrance drifting on the breeze. While the property is well tended, there's also a beautiful and essential wildness to it that we've come to love — volunteer medicinal plants on the hillside, overgrown grasses swaying at the field edges, native plants threading through the orchard rows. Cloudscape Hill exudes peaceful imperfection, where the land's partially untamed beauty and the weathered structures enhance the warmth and authenticity of this tranquil place.
The Art and Science of Living Well
The Art and Science of Living Well
We began producing our artisanal lavender products in 2023. While we continue to tend the orchard and gardens, our focus is on crafting premium lavender formulations and developing our natural wellness programs. Together, our work at Cloudscape Hill draws on both the scientific and the soulful in service of a simple belief: living well means living in relationship with the natural world.
Casey Folkertsma, B.S., RYT200 | Artisanal Lavender Practitioner Casey bridges the gap between botanical biology and physical wellness. Holding a B.S. in Biomedical Science and Nutrition, she is the visionary behind our product development, ensuring every formulation is both botanically rich and scientifically sound. She understands deeply that nutrition and movement are foundational to wellness. As a certified yoga instructor, Casey leads our 1:1 yoga and somatic sessions, helping clients release physical tension, regulate their nervous systems, and reconnect with their environments. Her practical experience on the farm brings that philosophy to life every day.
Dr. James Liter, Ph.D. | Artisanal Lavender Practitioner Jim grounds our deepest wellness practices in scholarly precision. He completed his Ph.D. in Depth Psychology in 2021, with a dissertation focused on ecopsychology. As a practicing ecotherapist, he facilitates our "Hilltending" sessions—including Archetypal and Ecotherapy Discovery—guiding clients in exploring the connection between their internal psychological landscapes and the natural world. Jim is literally grounded in his work; as the farm's operational director, he finds profound meaning out in the lavender fields. For Jim, cultivating the land and crafting wellness products is an act of reciprocal ecological healing.
Together, our work at Cloudscape Hill draws on both of these fields — the scientific and the soulful — in service of a simple belief: that living well means living in relationship with the natural world.
Real Michigan Lavender. Hand Grown, Hand Made, All Natural.