Handcrafting body care products in Vermont since 2003
Our mission is to help people, pollinators and the planet. We do this by choosing organic ingredients and sustainable methods for our entire body care line.
In 2012, we started white labeling for a large Vermont company and our business happily took over our whole house.
We quickly realized we needed a larger workspace. In 2017, we built a barn to house our growing business with a dedicated kitchen where all of our products are made today.
This is Matthew in 2017 building the barn for our growing business
Our backyard is an ecological haven of native plants where milkweed is sacred and pollinators are like pets.
The diversity and complexity of a meadowscape attracts an incredible variety of insect species. You can create a native meadowscape on any size plot and create a healthy ecosystem of your own!
Our meadowscape
Didn’t the barn turn out awesome?
Founder story
I'm Wendy, founder of Meadow Bee along with my husband and business partner, Matthew.
My love for plants began in 1998 when I was teaching high school health. I would invite guest lecturers to speak on forming healthy habits and one guest happened to be herbalist Isabelle Hadley. Isabelle came to class with vials of essential oils and large jars filled with brightly colored dried herbs. In that moment, I fell in love with the idea of using plans for health and began taking classes with Isabelle to learn more.
Shortly after, Matthew and I bought a fixer-upper farmhouse in Northern Vermont that came with a catalogue of perennials that were planted in the front garden by a woman who summered there for over 30 years.
The front garden prompted us to start learning how to garden in earnest. After studying with the amazing Rosemary Gladstar at Sage Mountain, we added jungle-style gardens to the backyard, including 100 blueberry bushes and other medicinal herbs. I was also fortunate to be an intern at Zack Woods Herb Farm and learn from Jeff and Mel Carpenter who are as healing as the medicinal herbs they grow.
In 2012 I begin white labeling for a large Vermont retail store after a friend suggested I send them samples of my products. I am still making and labeling products for them.
In 2017, Matthew built a barn in his spare time to house our growing business. In 2018 I was able to leave my teaching job and pursue my passion for handcrafting body care products full time.
In 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, a local woman who knew I made body care products approached me. She had a stroke and could no longer apply deodorant using the traditional plastic applicator. She asked me if I could make her a cream deodorant. Two years later, after multiple batches and tests, I developed both a balm style and solid bar deodorant. Plastic-free, planet-friendly packaging with 9 simple ingredients, 8 of which are plant-based. And that's how Meadow Bee was born.
Most recently, I have studied through Formula Botanica in London and am a graduate of their Organic Skincare Formulation Course. In 2023 I took Gracie & Nancy Phillip’s “Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times Course” at their Heartsong Farm in New Hampshire.
I know you'll love our body care products as much we do. If you have questions, comments, ideas or a special order, please reach out anytime.
–Wendy
This is us! Accepting our 2024 Microenterprise of the Year award