Telling the story of the forest

Apothecandy is the creation of Leiah Bauer, an herbalist and first-generation farmer located deep in the forests of Southeastern Manitoba. 

I take inspiration from the magic of the woods around me to create small batch artisanal goat milk soap and botanical self care products that tell the story of the changing seasons throughout the year. Growing up I spend nearly every weekend in the boreal forests of Northern Saskatchewan which forever etched the love of the woods. The smell of sun warmed pine needles, the look and feel of moss and lichens, the forest coming to life again after a long, dark winter.

  I use natural materials to capture a moment in the seasons and invoke a memory or emotion in the people who use my soap. From the smell of the early spring when the sun warms the buds on the balsam poplar and the golden resin begins to flow to the fading sunlight of the fall when the goldenrod and fireweed blooms.  I follow the seasons and ethically wildcraft the botanicals that capture the story of the forest in my soap from tapped birch trees in the spring to capturing the fresh fat snowflakes of a midwinter storm and distilling them, extracting pigments,  infusing oils or drying them to craft the colours of the designs.

The base of all of my soap begins with beautiful raw goat milk which is lovingly hand milked from the goats that I share my land with, a partnership that flows through the seasons of life from birth to natural death.  I am honoured to share my world with these creatures and to craft beautiful, useful things with the gifts they share.

Soapmaking is a combination of art and science. Many factors like temperature, humidity, milk fat content, and the botanicals and oils used play into how the medium behaves, meaning that each batch and even each piece is unique.

~You wont find any artificial colours, fragrances, phthlalates or parabens here.

~Ingredients are grown or sourced locally wherever possible.  Oils are selected from high quality responsibly harvested suppliers.

~All our products are registered with Health Canada.

A bit about me

I am Leiah, Herbalist, Soapmaker, Goat-whisperer
I take nature and science and a little magic and create beautiful useful things.

I have always been in love with the forest, I take so much inspiration from a sun dappled path through a cedar grove, or a crisp fall morning with brightly coloured leaves tumbling to the ground and a hot cup of coffee. I spent my childhood summers camping in the boreal forests of Northern Saskatchewan with my family, I always felt at home in the woods. Fast forward many lifetimes of moving around Canada, I landed in Winnipeg where I met my other half. In 2008 we took a giant leap out of city life and into a log home on 67 acres deep in the woods of Southeastern Manitoba and got some goats.

I started to seriously study plants and herbal medicine in 2012 and spent the next 6 years studying and writing exams or working in my herb garden through nap times or with a cranky baby strapped to me. As the fog of early motherhood started to lift I began to find myself again through creating artisan goat milk soap and herbal bath and body products with the help of the plants and animals around me.

My life is a goat rodeo.
I have three small humans, I run a small business and a farm and I am terrible at carving out time for myself, so in this chaos I try to find small moments of self care.

Simple, intentional magic that brings joy into my day.

I hope what I create brings moments of joy to your life as well.
I want people to feel seen, to feel good, and I want them to use the good soap because they deserve to use beautiful things.