Welcome, my name is Bonnie Kerr and I am the owner of Esprit de la Nature. 

Welcome, my name is Bonnie Kerr and I am the owner of Esprit de la Nature.  I am also its artisan, herbalist, alchemist and nose.  Esprit de la Nature is rooted in the arts of healing and nature.  I create ecological incense, ecological perfume and other plant-based products.  I specialize in using whole plant ingredients and plant extracts that I make myself using plants from my many gardens, or the botanicals I mindfully wildcraft in the forest where I live.  I spend as much time growing plants and foraging as I do making incense, perfume and plant medicines. 

My inspiration often comes from the plants themselves as we sing together.  A healthy, natural environment is a glorious scent-song which I try to recreate in incense and perfume. For materials not from my area, I compose with only the highest-quality and responsibly sourced ingredients.  These exquisite ingredients offer scented experiences that can transcend time and place.  They can have the effect of rejuvenating a weary spirit and inspiring a deeper connection with ourselves and the Earth. 

Trained as an herbalist, but self taught in the fragrant arts, I am not bound by any particular tradition.  This has given me a lot of freedom to compose and experiment. I use both ancient formulas and processes as well as my own innovations.  The plants and processes I use for making plant medicines are very closely aligned with those I use for making incense and perfume; maceration, tincturing, distillation, fermentation, percolation, salt preservation and sugar preservation.   

I love to correspond with fragrance and plant lovers.  If you are a client or creator, please feel free to write or call me.

My partner in life, and in business, is Sylvain Pilon.  We have been co-creating together for 30 years.  Sylvain and I live, for much of the year, off-grid in the forest, where we built a cabin using hand tools, recycled windows and insulated it with lambs’ wool.  Without his contribution Esprit de la Nature could not exist.  Besides designing and building, a thousand and one, little gadgets and displays that makes life easier for me, he also is in charge of customer service, packing and going to the post office.  Sylvain maintains the “Incense Caravan” and mans the incense tent at our kiosk during festivals and events.  He will be delighted to have you stop by the incense tent “for a puff” and stay for some philosophical conversation. 

 

ecological packaging
Origami boxes, Metal Tins, Glass Containers

98% recyclable with plant based wadding, flat-back tape, shipped with repurposed cartons

Consciously Wildcrafted
CO-creation

We respect the plants with which we work. Asking and honoring them before we harvest.  Never taking too much.

Sustainably sourced
Fair trade, organic, Direct

We support other harvesters and trades people who share our values.

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ecological processes
never any synthetic chemicals

We never use synthetic chemicals in our products.  We always buy organic oils, fats and alcohol into which we extract.