Andria Bond

Andria, our local Herbalist, Beekeeper and Resident BogWitch, grew up roaming and foraging the forests of Maine. In 2011 she moved to Alaska and started working on a local small farm. She also started a large self-subsistence garden to supply her family of three with food throughout the year. While farming and producing food, Andria began expanding her knowledge of local medicinal plants and holistic medicine and dreamed of the day she would grow and harvest her own plants to make natural healing medicines. Over the years this slowly shaped into a reality as she began creating vinegars, oils, salves, and tinctures for friends family.

During Andria’s years of farming she was hardly getting off the farm and into the wilds. Always needing to be back at home to water and weed, or too tired at the end of the day to go exploring, she missed tromping through the forests, finding new plants to learn about and forage, and connecting with the wild.

In the summer of 2022, one of Andria’s close friends and herbalist decided to move and sell most of her supplies and equipment—This was the perfect opportunity for Andria to get start-up business going. Even though she loved working with the soil and growing nourishing foods, she was at the time in her life where she was needing a change. Andria had been growing food for over a decade and decided that her body and soul needed a break from vegetable farming.

Andria decided to take the plunge and buy the supplies and equipment from her herbalist, Stella Lyn Norris at Village Herbals. She spent the rest of the summer and fall of 2022 gathering, extracting, and infusing what she could to replenish stores and expand stock to include some things she had growing her garden and adjacent forests. In the Fall of 2022 Arctic Apothecary was born!

Bees

Our little friends that help produce the propolis, pollen, honey, and wax that are used in some of our tinctures, oxymels, infused honeys, and salves. Arctic Apothecary maintains 2-3 hives each year and also sells some of the honey they harvest.

Balsam Poplar was the first true plant that Andria became enamored with when she moved to Alaska. The fresh scent enraptured her and gave her the comfort of feeling at home. Balsam Poplar is used in many salve blends concocted at Arctic Apothecary and has been an incredible ally over the years. The infused oil is great as a stand alone for cuts, scrapes, bruises, skin infections, sore joints and muscles, and on wasp or bee stings. It is an antibacterial, anti fungal, antibiotic, analgesic, and promotes healing. And the fragrance is amazing. The early buds are collected in spring while they are still closed tight and soaked in oil for a number of months. When tinctured/extracted in alcohol, it makes a great expectorant. The resin of the balsam poplar tree is also what the Bees collect to create their propolis, which helps seal the hive from drafts and protect the bees from illness and disease inside the hive. Truly a magical medicine and a must-have in every field first aid kit. If Andria only has room for one herbal healer in her bag, she brings a bottle of balsam poplar oil.

Artemesia often called “wild sage” or “stinkweed” by alaskans, Artemesia frigida or Artemesia tulesii can be found growing on rocky outcroppings or by the riverside. It is a relative of sagebrush and has a similar fragrance and healing properties. Despite it’s common name it has a wonderful, clean, healing scent. It is one of the plants Andria has been most drawn to and feels like an old friend. She remembers her first time hiking in the Interior, and encountering the plant on a hike, “I could smell it as a walked by and must have brushed it with my legs. Then I spent a few minutes investigating each nearby plant until I found where the scent was coming from.” The apothecary also gathers it for smoke cleaning bundles, and it has been traditionally used in saunas or sweats to help with purification, as well as a powerful healing medicine. “One of my favorite uses of Artemesia frigida oil is to place on my forehead, temples, and nape of neck when I have a tension headache. I can feel things start to relax and lighten right off. It’s the main component in my headache and pain salve.”

Yarrow is another powerful ally that will be found in many of my salves and tincture blends. It is a very versatile healer and easy to work with. The plant is very fragrant, and is common in the wild fields and in gardens. Yarrow can help soothe skin irritations, wounds, and burns; is also an antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory; it can help with excessive bleeding, high blood pressure, sore throats, fever, anxiety, stress, digestion, menstrual and muscle cramping, and many other issues. It even helps in the garden by attracting pollinators and repelling aphids. The tincture can also be used as an effective insect repellent, but may cause photosensitivity to some folks. Yarrow is another of Andria’s go-to medicines for any skin issues or systemic illnesses.