Freedom Apothecary
What is it: A holistic wellness boutique in the Northern Liberties neighborhood of Philadelphia that’s all about empowering women.
What you need to know: Co-founded and led by women, the inspirational Morissa Jenkins and Bonkosi Horn, Freedom Apothecary stocks female-owned brands that they trust and that share their same values around clean living, many of which are by women of color.
Why you’ll love it: Opened in the summer of 2019, Freedom Apothecary reflects Jenkins and Horn’s shared aim of a place that goes beyond just products, to one that also holds women in community, fostering connections, and sustaining relationships, with themselves and others. The light-filled corner store space with its calming arrangement of products on natural wooden shelves, dried moss wall behind the register over which the words FREEDOM are set, and the abstract mural by local artist Dora Cuenca, set a tone of welcome and openness, a space for self-care and in which to pause.
How to bring this into your life: We all need some self-care right now. During closed times when their in-person treatments and their blend bar for personalized products are on hold, you can still shop Freedom Apothecary’s selection of skincare, cosmetics, and wellness products. Favorites include the Green Tea Body Butter, Gleaux Body Balm, and Rose Face Oil – all made by Morissa – as well as brands Botnia and Noto. Or book an at-home botanical customizable facial. During open times, Freedom Apothecary offers a range of workshops in its event space that make wellness an attainable priority in our everyday lives.
Why we think it matters: Morissa and Bonkosi take the idea of “radical self-care” – in short (there’s a long history here – see below) caring for yourself first before you care for others — and gives it foundational support in holistic wellness and a physical space. Freedom Apothecary is targeted at “anyone who has skin”, with the belief that anyone can practice self-care, including black women and women of color for whom the concept of their own healing has historically (and still) been pushed aside for their healing and support of others in their family and community. Wellness here is a political act, one of resistance and empowerment.
Morissa and Bonkosi set out to consciously create a place of support and safety, to extend inclusivity in concepts of wellness and the industry that supports it (often itself whitewashed), and to provide access to clean, non-toxic products (shifting who has access to them and who gets to make them). Freedom Apothecary is ultimately about helping all women find themselves, to give space for whoever they can be, and allowing for whatever it is they need.
Freedom Apothecary contains in its name the ethos they hope to promote, both freedom from toxic products that actually harm our bodies, our selves and our planet, and freedom as it pertains to choice, to live our lives in our own way, one that allows ourselves to be nurtured and to support ourselves in ways that we need.
In their own words: “ We create space for women to empower women. We are women-founded, women-led; we provide a platform for female-founded brands; and ultimately, we foster dynamic, inclusive and brave healing spaces for all women.”
Inspired by Freedom Apothecary to: Read activist and feminist writer Audre Lorde’s A Burst of Light: “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” Wellness means something very different from wherever it is we are standing, it's affected by race, gender, and class. Even the idea of self-care has become shaped by privilege and inflected with insta quotes and spa days. Reconnect with its activist history: How people (and particularly people of color) are able to look after ourselves is navigated within how the world allows us to do so and the importance it puts (or doesn’t put) on our own health and wellbeing.
