 About us
Garden Spirit Natural Bath and Skincare
All of our bath products are produced in small, closely
controlled batches with herbs harvested from our hillside
gardens located just outside of New Glarus, Wisconsin;
America's "Little Switzerland."
The benefit of Garden Spirit hand-crafted bath soaps with skin moisturizers & revitalizers
Garden Spirit uses the cold-process soapmaking method in which glycerol is released by the oils and remains in the soap in the form of glycerin—a marvelous skin moisturizer. Commercial manufacturers either remove this glycerin and sell it as a higher profit by-product, or make soap with ingredients that do not contain glycerol and therefore do not impart this wonderful moisturizer into the skin care bars.
Garden Spirit artisan-crafted skin care bars use all natural ingredients that provide skin moisturizers and conditioners to help prevent dryness and itching. An additional benefit of this type of soap is that it leaves much less soap "scum" in the shower and tub and virtually no build-up of "gunk" in the drains.
Our focus is on natural, quality products that are a delight to the senses and that provide true benefit to the user. 
-- Kathryn R. Schiedermayer Kathryn is a Master Gardener and Herbalist and has taught classes and seminars throughout Wisconsin and Ohio. She has presented seminars for the University of Wisconsin Memorial Union, Madison Area Technical College, Janesville Rotary Gardens, Rock County Master Gardeners and numerous gardening groups.
Kathryn is an active member of the Madison Herb Society and the International Herb Association. The Madison Herb Society is dedicated as a non-profit organization to the education of its members and the general public with regard to the culture and use of herbs. The International Herb Associaton provides information on the benefits and uses of herbs and is a resource for those involved in herb-related endeavors
 Our story
My interest in herbs began approximately twenty years ago- prompted by two relatively separate events. My husband and I always enjoyed cooking but it wasn't until we watched the Frugal Gourmet cooking show on Sunday afternoons that we really got serious. This show sparked our interest in creating more adventurous dishes- made tasty and tantalizing by the liberal use of herbs and spices. We wanted to have control over the herbal ingredients so we established our first herb garden. It was somewhat basic but it did provide us with basil, parsley, oregano and several other fairly common herbs.
At approximately the same time, I read the novel "Clan of the Cave Bear" by Jean Auel. This is a story of families, or clans of ancient people on the European continent. A good portion of the book depicted how the well being of the clan was related to the use of herbs for cooking and medicinal purposes. What was particularly interesting was the fact that the knowledge these people possessed regarding the selection and use of herbs had been passed down to them from all previous generations. This knowledge constituted core wisdom and was fundamental to the very survival of the clan. While reading this book, I thought how little we know of these ancient methods of staying healthy. This set me on a quest to learn as much as possible about the benefits of herbs and how they can be used to enhance physical, mental and spiritual well-being. As my knowledge of herbs steadily increased I began teaching adult education classes at local schools. I also wrote informative herb-related articles for an Internet business that specialized in supplying a comprehensive offering of flower and herb seeds.
In 2001, after relocating four times since our first herb garden, we moved to a hilltop site several miles outside of New Glarus, Wisconsin- America's "Little Switzerland". Our land borders a wooded valley and also a working farm field. In addition to establishing a multitude of gardens, our goal is to restore this plot of land to what it might have been 200 years ago. We have already established areas of tall-grass prairie and a savannah with shrubs attractive to wildlife. We presently have two herb gardens from which we derive our herbs; and we have more herb gardens in the planning stage. The objective of our restoration efforts is to have the resulting areas be both beautiful and beneficial to all creatures that live here. For ourselves, we also want our gardens to be places of physical, mental and spiritual renewal.
 Garden restoration work, along with the cold, dry winter weather of the upper Midwest had left both my husband and I with dry, sore hands. Washing with commercial soaps only made the situation worse. At that time we knew a little about natural soaps and their skin healing and softening properties. The thought then occurred to me to create our own natural soap but with the additional benefits of herbs and herbal essential oils. All who tried our initial soap creations noticed how much more skin-friendly it was than anything previously used. Hence began our herbal skin-care bars and our herbal bath product venture.
Handcrafted soap can be made with base oils derived either from plants or animals- or both. We have decided to use only vegetable-based oils in our soaps. We believe this results in a purer product that is overall better for your skin. We also believe that vegetable-based soaps leave much less residue in showers and tubs and virtually no accumulation of "gunk" in drains. Using only vegetable oils is also much more in line with our land use and restoration philosophy.
We are focused on creating a high quality, beneficial and aesthetically pleasing product. Our products are made in small, closely controlled batches. We use no chemicals or pesticides on the herbs that go into our soaps and we use only traditional handcrafting methods in their production.
Our mission is to restore our plot of land to natural habitats and garden retreats. It is also our mission to share the joy and benefits of herbs with others. We hope you enjoy our natural, herbal-based bath products and are pleased with their results. Please feel free to contact us with any comments or suggestions. We welcome questions and look forward to sharing our knowledge and love of herbs and gardening with you.
Kathryn Schiedermayer
Master Gardener and Herbalist
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