My name is: Scott Man.

My stomping ground is: A mountainside sanctuary in New Jersey.

I’m known for being: The house biochemist.

I’m talking about:

A varied mix of natural products (from teas and syrups to body care and fragrances to wood stains and fabric dyes) derived from plants, trees and forest botanicals, wildcrafted from our sliver of the earth.

You can find it at: coshanton.square.site and seasonal markets.

Before I launched this, I was: An urban gardener.

My interest was sparked when: Discovering the medicinal wonders of weeds.

What inspired us to start this was: Witnessing the vibrancy of the plants and trees already growing when we first arrived here and desiring to capture it to share with others.

The idea behind it is:

We insist that our main ingredients come solely from our unspoiled land. We take what is growing here and put that into products. If we desire something new, we grow it. In addition, we constantly find opportunities to evolve our methods of extraction and preservation in order to ensure that everything is of the highest quality.

What makes it different is:

Our products are the consummation of our personal connection with the plants throughout the entire process—from nurturing Earth to harvesting the material to extracting the compounds.

As an example, the photos are of the stately eastern white pine across the pond from our front porch whose recent fallen branch has provided us with a bounty of needles that will become our new line: pine needle tea and syrup (and more to come).

What our neighbors consider waste, we turn into wealth.

My favorite lesser-known detail is:

The most powerful plant compounds are those that protect plants from predators, and they work best in synergy with other compounds rather than in isolation. There is an art and science to preserving the full spectrum of the plant’s potency at the right time and place.

This connects you to the earth because: 

It transforms the process into a full sensory experience across the seasons.

A relationship with nature is so important because:

Nature has a way of emerging and revealing which clarifies and centers those willing to listen and learn.