Inspiring Conversations with Bonnie Montney of Wild Medicine Apothecary

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bonnie Montney.

Hi Bonnie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I came to this work through a long-standing pull toward plants, traditional medicine, and the practical side of healing work. I have always been drawn to the place where old knowledge and hands-on making meet. Herbs, oils, minerals, clays, resins, and the quiet discipline of understanding materials rather than just using them because they are trendy.
Wild Medicine Apothecary began as a product-based apothecary, with botanical body care and handmade preparations at the center. But the more I worked at the bench, the more I saw that the real need was bigger than products. Small cosmetic and body-care businesses are often encouraged to create, market, and sell, but they are not always taught how to build the structure underneath: claims discipline, label accuracy, batch records, ingredient documentation, sourcing notes, and the systems that make a business safer and more sustainable.
That realization shaped the next stage of Wild Medicine Apothecary. Today, my work blends plant education, cosmetic compliance education, and practical documentation tools for independent skincare, soap, and body-care sellers. I still come from the apothecary world, and that foundation is still very much alive in the business, but the focus has expanded into helping small brands build with more clarity and responsibility.
In many ways, Wild Medicine Apothecary grew from the workbench into a larger educational resource. It started with making products, but it became about helping other people understand what should stand behind the products they make.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I am a mother of five, so there has never really been a fantasy version of entrepreneurship where I had unlimited quiet, time, or emotional bandwidth.
It has definitely not been a smooth road. One of the biggest challenges has been building Wild Medicine Apothecary through seasons where life itself was not especially steady.
Over the last few years, I have had to keep rebuilding, rethinking, and showing up while also carrying real family responsibilities, personal loss, and major life transitions. Most recently, the unexpected death of my mother changed a lot for me. Grief has a way of making you look at everything more honestly: your work, your time, your capacity, and what you are really trying to build.
At the same time, I was also shifting Wild Medicine Apothecary from a product-based business into something more education- and systems-focused. That kind of pivot takes a lot of clarity. It is not just changing a website or a product page. It means asking hard questions about what work is sustainable, what actually serves people, and what kind of business can grow without costing you yourself.
There were definitely moments where I had to slow down, rebuild the structure, and accept that progress does not always look dramatic. Sometimes it looks like writing one page, fixing one system, publishing one resource, or making one better decision at a time.
What I have learned is that I do not need perfect conditions to build something meaningful. I need discipline, honesty, and enough structure to keep going when life is complicated. In many ways, that has shaped the business itself. Wild Medicine Apothecary is not built around perfection. It is built around clarity, responsibility, and the belief that good work can still be created in imperfect seasons.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Wild Medicine Apothecary is an education and documentation-centered apothecary brand for independent skincare, soap, and body-care businesses. My work sits at the intersection of traditional plant knowledge, cosmetic compliance education, and practical business systems.
I started in the hands-on apothecary space, so the brand’s foundation remains deeply rooted in herbs, oils, clays, resins, minerals, and formulation work. But today, Wild Medicine Apothecary has grown into a resource for small cosmetic brands that need more than inspiration. They need structure.
I specialize in helping independent sellers understand the parts of the business that often get overlooked: claims, labels, ingredient documentation, batch records, sourcing notes, product descriptions, and the difference between beautiful marketing and responsible selling. A lot of small brands are taught how to make and promote products, but not how to build the systems underneath those products. That is where my work lives.
Wild Medicine Apothecary offers educational resources, a growing botanical monograph library, digital tools, and compliance-centered guides, including the Small Maker Cosmetic Compliance System™. I also write and teach about herbal materials in a way that respects both traditional knowledge and modern evidence. I am not interested in exaggerating plants or turning them into internet trends. I care about clarity, restraint, and accuracy.
What sets the brand apart is that it does not separate the magic of the apothecary from the responsibility of the business. I believe beauty, herbalism, and handmade products can still be rooted in documentation, discipline, and ethical language. The goal is not to scare small brands. The goal is to give them the structure they need to grow without constantly rebuilding behind themselves.
Brand-wise, I am most proud that Wild Medicine Apothecary has become more honest and more focused over time. It is not built around hype. It is built around helping independent cosmetic sellers, skincare founders, soapmakers, and body-care brand owners create with more confidence and responsibility.
What I want readers to know is that Wild Medicine Apothecary is for people who care about the work behind the product. It is for the small brand owner who wants to make beautiful things, but also wants to understand the labels, claims, records, and systems that help make a business sustainable.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
What I like best is that I have been here for almost 20 years, and I have had the chance to watch this area grow and change in real time. When I first came here, it still had much more of a small-town feeling. Over the years, it has grown into a larger, more vibrant community with more people, more culture, more opportunity, and more diversity.
As a mother, one of the things I value most is that I have felt safe raising my children here. My children feel at home here also, and that means a lot to me. There is something beautiful about watching a place grow while your own family is growing too.
What I like least is probably connected to the same thing: the growth. With growth comes traffic, development, busier roads, and the feeling that some of the quieter small-town ease has changed. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is an adjustment. I think a lot of communities go through that tension. Wanting opportunity and progress, while also wanting to preserve the sense of familiarity and connection that made people love the place to begin with.
So honestly, the thing I love most and the thing I struggle with most are two sides of the same coin. I am grateful for the growth, but I also hope the city continues to grow in a way that keeps community, safety, and character at the center.

Pricing:

• Free botanical and education resources are available through the Wild Medicine Apothecary libary
• Before You Sell Your First Jar is available for $9.99
• Digital tools and mini compliance resources are available at accessible small-business pricing
• The Small Maker Cosmetic Compliance System™ is the flagship paid resource; current pricing is available through the Wild Medicine Apothecary

Contact Info:

• Website: https://WildMedicineGuide.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wmaguide
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wmashoppe
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@wmaguide
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/WMAguide/