Alluring Apothecaries

Find everything from artisan beauty goods to tonics, tinctures, and herbal remedies at the city’s apothecary-style boutiques.

Apothecaries from The Cunning Crow, SugarPill, Mercantile and Botanical Courtesy Matt Hanna

These on-trend shops catering to holistic wellness are thriving in many Seattle neighborhoods. Dandelion Botanical Company (5424 Ballard Ave NW; dandelionbotanical.com), a family-owned herbal apothecary in Ballard, is a popular haunt stocking more than 5,000 items (sourced organic whenever possible) that range from spices and essential oils to candles. Greenwood’s The Cunning Crow (9024 Greenwood Ave N; cunningcrowapothecary.com), an herbal boutique and center for education and healing, aims to bring the “magic” back into medicine. Shoppers here can find herbal remedies, self-care products, and ceremonial supplies.

In Ballard’s Sunset Hill neighborhood, peruse the studio and showroom at Essential Apothecary Alchemist (6406 32nd Ave NW; essentialapothecaryshop.com) to shop goods for the face, hair, and beyond. Think everything from 100% natural beard conditioner to chamomile and rose petal facial scrub.

Karyn Schwartz of Capitol Hill’s SugarPill (900 E Pine St; sugarpillseattle.com) has been practicing in this town since the early 1990s. The spot sells all sorts of rotating goodies, from chocolates to cocktail ingredients, yet Schwartz emphasizes that the most important services provided by her team of community herbalists involve tinctures, teas, flower essences, herbs, and consultations, ultimately “teaching people what they can do to stay well.”

“It’s not just about what we sell,” she says. “I feel really fierce about neighborhoods and being part of a community.  People like to talk to someone they know, someone who knows their story.”

Clockwise from top:

• Lunar Magic herbal blend ($5); The Cunning Crow
• Soy candle ($30)
• Quartz and moonstone ($4 each); The Cunning Crow
• Herbal bitters ($22); SugarPill
• Mortar and pestle $25.90); Dandelion Botanical
• Artisan chocolate ($4.50 each)
• Culinary Salt ($5.75); SugarPill

*Visit Seattle Partner