IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: This article was originally published on Jan. 4.
Since November, Thorold residents looking to enrich their mind, body and soul have had a new place to go: ritual apothecary Pretty Potions on Front Street.
The store is the brainchild of best friends Elise Price and Stephanie Mernagh.
“We really wanted to capture the vibe of an old school apothecary,” says Price, in an interview with ThoroldToday. “That’s the cornerstone of what we do and then we take the herbalism aspect and incorporate it into everything else that we do: candles, bath soaks, crystal infused body oil. As long as we have it available in our gardens, we’ll have it available here as well.”
Pretty Potions started as an e-commerce business back in 2015.
“Originally the focus was more on natural bath and body,” Price says. “During lockdown we both really got into gardening. It was something that forced both of us to get more in touch with our roots in herbalism.”
The store boasts an extensive selection of herbs that can be used for homemade remedies or spiritual rituals. To gather knowledge about local plants and what they can be used for, the pair reads a lot of old books.
“We incorporate a little bit of different beliefs,” says Mernagh. “Chinese medicine uses a lot of herbs, First Nations use a lot of the medicine as well. So it’s a lot of different reading across different kind of paths.”
Besides herbs, Pretty Potions also offers candles, incense, crystals, and other ritual supplies.
“We do try to cover as much as possible, both on the metaphysical side and the traditional herbalism side, so you get a good balance,” Price says. “Someone can come in and say: ‘I need an herb for a love spell,’ versus ‘My stomach hurts.’ It’s a very broad spectrum in that sense.”
The positive response from local residents has been really overwhelming, but there are also some who have a lot of questions.
“It’s definitely a different vibe than what people are used to,” says Mernagh. “We’re trying to curate a very open and welcoming atmosphere for everybody whether or not they know what we do.”
With Pretty Potions, the pair hopes to educate others and share age-old knowledge about nature.
“Back in the day, the witch who was living in the woods was a not a bad scary woman — she was your healer,” Price says. “Negative connotations about herbalism were very much founded on women who had a relationship with nature and the plants they grew around them. It’s taking a lot of that knowledge and bringing it into an era where we are a lot more comfortable and a lot more safe in being ourselves.”
While the pair stresses that they’re not looking to replace traditional medicine, they hope to supplement it and provide a healthy balance.
“Not long ago there was a massive shortage of Tylenol,” says Price. “We had so many people coming in for alternatives. Because when you don’t have the option at the very least you know you can come to something like this and get something that is not only natural and grown in your own backyard but that is also going to be very similar in terms of effectiveness. To figure out how things work together to maintain health is really important.”
To keep that educational process going, the pair hopes to organize monthly events from foraging workshops to candle and tea blending classes.
“Being able to learn something and pass that knowledge on to someone else is truly a gift,” says Mernagh. “Everyone is free to come in and ask us questions regardless of their own spiritual path. People are so open with us and that’s the kind of environment we want to curate as well.”