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deannamccaslandcallswildnettlehergatewayherb, so it’s only fitting she named her business after it. Wild Nettle Apothecary dispenses health and beauty products like Botanical Face Food, Hemp Lotion, Herbal Shampoo Bars, and Hippie Koolaid—a loose leaf tea made of wild nettle leaf, lemongrass, orange and lemon peel, and red hibiscus—online and in brick and mortar stores around the country. In 2014, McCasland and her family crossed the West Virginia state line in pursuit of a self-sufficient lifestyle inspired by her childhood on her great-grandparents’ farm. The McCaslands swapped city life in Fredericksburg, Virginia, for the mountains of Wardensville. With self-sufficiency in mind, McCasland planted a vegetable and herb garden and, from her harvests, she hand-crafted soaps and lotions to meet her growing family’s personal care needs. “As an artist, I always want to make things,” McCasland says. “The more I learned, I realized soapmaking was an art form in itself.” She kept creating and, in 2015, began selling her surplus at farmers markets and on Etsy. Three years later, Wild Nettle Apothecary expanded into a full-time business, imparting earth- conscious, botanical-based, small-batch goodness to the apothe- curious. If an ingredient isn’t grown or wildcrafted by McCasland herself, she sources sustainably from other herbalists. “I hope I bring MADE IN WV W WARDENSV I LLE Back to the Earth Wild Nettle Apothecary creates earth-conscious, small-batch botanicals.
more awareness of how we can connect to the earth, of what’s here, and how we can use it.” wildnettleapothecary.org, @wildnettleapothecary
on Facebook and Instagram. written by jordan carter
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