I think Summer might officially be here, in my little corner of Saskatchewan. The sun has been warm and the bugs haven’t been biting (yet). A couple weekend's ago marked the first official patio evening (where jackets weren’t needed) and also my introduction to wildcrafting.
Wildcrafting is when you pick/harvest plants from their natural, or ‘wild’ habitat, for food, medicinal and even cosmetic purposes. I never would have been familiar with this, if it wasn’t for my friend Natassia.
Natassia is the Owner of Northlore – wildcrafted goods for wild, northern souls.
“Northlore specializes in botanical body care products handmade in small batches from wildcrafted, homegrown, and organic ingredients. With an attuned sense of Place, we aim to honour and highlight what grows in this oft neglected, sweepingly vast and gorgeous portion of land that is the Canadian Prairies.”
Recently Natassia put on a Wildcrafting Workshop that I attended with my Mom, Sister and friend Amber. Despite Amber and I having to wake up early on a Saturday morning and drive past Saskatoon, it was well worth it.
We spent the first part of the afternoon learning about traditional methods for wild plan infusions and the properties of the plants we'd be using to make our own Wildcrafted Salve. Our salve contained 4 different infused oils - dandelion, horsetail, wild violets & spruce tips. We also had the opportunity to venture around the property to collect our own wild violets and spruce tips so we could make an oil infusion at home (it typically takes around 2 weeks).
The oil infusions used to make our salve
The rest of our time included sampling (and buying) Northlore products, eating Spruce Tip icecream (think Pistachio icecream but creamier) and other delicious snacks and enjoying great conversation with everyone who was attending. It was the perfect afternoon that left my heart (and stomach!) full. I was also that weird girl who spent too much time taking photos cause I knew I wanted to share Northlore and our afternoon with you!
The only 2 kinds of soap left...the soaps always sell out quick!
The display & close up shots of a few products
Plains Mud, Cleaning Grains, Tacamahac Skin Stick
I've already been using the Juniper + Bergamot Toning Mist but I added the Yarrow + Lavender Cleanings Grains and the Plains Mud (mask) to my collection. I'm now taking time every week to enjoy these products and pretend like I'm at the spa. They smell amazing and leave my skin feeling really good. I'll write another post to tell you how I use my new products!
On the drive home, Amber and I talked about how we really live in the prime location to wildcraft. We're thinking about having Natassia come to Nipawin to put on her Wildcrafting Workshop for the ladies in our area! If this is something you'd be interested in, please let us know! (Either in the comments or contact here)
Now I'm curious, have you ever wildcrafted? Let me know if you have or if it's something that interests you in the comments below.
Until next time,
To learn more about Northlore visit www.northloregoods.com
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I would love love to attend something like this.. In Nipawin or around the city! Let me know!