FAQ

✨ Questions from the Curious & the Plant-Obsessed ✨

We love a good question. Here are the ones we hear most often — answered with as much honesty and enthusiasm as we can muster.

🌿 Why are your products always selling out?

Because we harvest when the plants are ready — not when a production schedule says so. Every product is small batch, made in direct response to what the season gives us. When the plants are done, we're done. There's no warehouse of backup stock, no cutting corners to keep shelves full. What you get is the real thing, made the right way, in the quantities nature allows.

That said, we're not ones to leave you without options. If something you love has sold out, reach out. We're often willing to do an extra-small batch run, a bespoke personal batch, or even adjust a formula to suit your needs if it's possible. We'd rather find a way than say no.

🌿 What does "folk herbalist" mean?

Folk herbalism is one of the oldest traditions in the world — knowledge passed down through families, communities, and generations of people who learned to work with plants not in a lab, but in a kitchen, a garden, a forest. It's intuitive, experiential, and deeply rooted in trust. We don't always measure to the millilitre. We taste. We test. We drink a lot of tea. We adjust. We do it again.

For Sara Kate, it started with her grandmother — a woman who knew plants the way most people know their closest friends. That respect for herbs, for their power and their subtlety, was passed down with love. Now Sara Kate is passing that same legacy on to her own children and grandchildren, because this isn't just a business — it's a family tradition. The whole family uses these products. Every single one.

We are not a pharmacy, and we don't pretend to be. These are plants, prepared in traditional ways, with all the beautiful imprecision and accumulated wisdom that entails. Sara Kate and Lanowar are both on the long and humbling journey of training to become clinical herbalists — but that's years in the making. For now, we bring you the best blends we know how to make, through everything we've learned, everything we're still learning, and an awful lot of enthusiastic tasting along the way.

🌿 Why does your body care philosophy say "if you wouldn't eat it, don't put it on your skin"?

Here's a fun fact that will change the way you look at your moisturizer forever: your skin is the largest organ in your body, and it is not a bouncer — it's an open door. It doesn't stand at the entrance deciding what gets in. It absorbs. Enthusiastically. Everything you put on it is essentially a conversation your body is having with that ingredient.

So we treat body care the same way we treat food — with intention, with care, and with the firm belief that if we wouldn't eat it, it has no business being on your skin. No synthetic fillers, no hidden nasties, nothing we wouldn't trust on our own bodies. And we know we trust it, because we human-test everything on ourselves and use every single product we sell. That's not a marketing line. That's just how we live.

🌿 Are your products natural and safe for sensitive skin?

Yes — gentle and fiercely effective are not opposites here. We formulate with care for all bodies, using plant-based ingredients free from harsh synthetics. That said, everyone's body is beautifully unique, so we always recommend checking the ingredient list if you have known sensitivities.

🌿 Can I use your fire ciders in mocktails?

Absolutely, and we highly encourage it. Our fire ciders come in two flavours — because we're a team of people with strong opinions and even stronger taste buds. The original was born out of necessity when Sara Kate discovered she was allergic to peppers (a true tragedy for a fire cider maker). Then she met another fellow flavour freak, and together they created a mild version with violent amounts of onion and extra garlic. Bold and fiery or mellow and deeply savoury — there's a fire cider for every kind of enthusiast. Both shine as a wellness shot or dressed up in a creative mocktail. Play with them. Have fun. Your body and your taste buds will thank you.

🌿 What are shrubs, and why are they limited?

Shrubs are drinking vinegars — fruit steeped in vinegar to create something tangy, complex, and wonderfully versatile. But ours are a little more special than that. Every year we make a pilgrimage to British Columbia to harvest the right fruit at its peak, alongside local herbs that capture the terroir of each orchard. The fruit and herbs begin macerating on the drive home, soaking up every kilometre of that journey into something truly magical.

Like everything we make, shrubs are small batch and deeply seasonal — when the harvest is done, they're gone. But if your favourite has sold out and you just can't let it go, reach out. There's always a chance we can craft a bespoke personal batch, even when a full run isn't possible.

🌿 How do I know when seasonal products are back?

The best way is to stay connected with us! Sign up for updates or reach out through our Contact page and we'll make sure you're in the loop when your favourites return.

🌿 What are your sustainability practices?

We do our best — genuinely and without pretense. Wherever possible, we reduce shipping and packaging, and we choose recyclable or reclaimed materials in our process. We're a small operation working within real-world constraints, and we're honest about that. Someday, we dream of having a refillery. Today, we're doing the best we can with the processes we have, and we're always looking for ways to do better. If you have ideas or questions, we'd love to hear them — reach out.

🌿 Still have questions?

We'd love to hear from you. Head over to our Contact page and a real, actual human — probably surrounded by an obsessive amount of houseplants — will get back to you as soon as possible. 🌟