A Boketto Moment with Freedom Apothecary
We sat down *virtually* with Bon and Morrisa of Freedom Apothecary to talk about community care, celebrating Black women, being a catalyst for change, serendipity, and beautiful spaces.
Tell us a little bit about yourself! What do you love to do?
BON: co-founder + creative director of freedom apothecary. i’m a congolese-iowan living in philadelphia…for now. raising 3 little people to be radically kind, loving, compassionate, badass humans. i’m a nomad at heart and am most connected to myself exploring new places and seeing the world. i’m really into learning a everyone's life story in 5 minutes or less (there are no strangers.)
MORRISA: Mom of two girls, currently living in New Orleans. (Missing the space @ Freedom Apothecary daily) I love learning, working out, loving renovating real estate at the moment and gardening. Looking forward traveling again.
How did you come to create Freedom Apothecary?
MORRISA: Freedom Apothecary came from a dream I had in late 2017 of a space for community, freedom and authenticity where women could be educated on holistic living and clean product options. Where we could be cared for and practice radical self-care…
BON: what started as vision that came to morrisa while she was sleeping has become a true manifestation of why we’re both on this planet — cultivating a community dedicated to uncovering the most real, raw and truest expressions of ourselves to make the world a better, more equitable, more just and safer place for all.
On your site you talk about self-care being radical! I love that Audre Lorde quote, "caring for myself is not self-indulgence it's self-preservation and that is an act of political warfare." Can you say a bit more about what that means to you and Freedom Apothecary?
MORRISA: As women especially black women both historically and now are often carrying a lot on our shoulders, we’re revered as always being strong, being the corner stones in our homes and communities. We’re often celebrated for healing and caring for others and rarely for healing, doing the work and caring for ourselves. So this quote represents what Freedom Apothecary was created to embody.
BON: this is something i could talk about for hours, so instead of that, i’ll just co-sign on what morrisa said because it’s really simple. the "strong black woman” trope comes from everything that morrisa just referenced and for us, it’s about ways in which we can cultivate spaces, build relationships, and support one another to invest in ourselves so that we can invest and pour into others. so often, black women aren’t given that opportunity and we want to be a catalyst for change in that way.
You speak on your site about Freedom Apothecary being born out of serendipity. Can you say a little bit more about that?
BON: you know those people you keep seeing on the street? the ones who are friends with a mutual friend but you’ve only heard about them and never met them? when you see someone on the street or in passing that you ‘just have to know?’ That was the start of our relationship and introduction to one another that flourished into what you see today — a partnership borne out of the Universe working to put us together. i always say that our story is from the craigslist ‘missed connections’ section until the universe finally conspired to get us connected through the thing we were intended to be doing together.
MORRISA: In 2014 when I first moved to Philly I had driven by Bonkosi standing on a sidewalk and remembered thinking WHO? is the beautiful women with lavender hair, with her head thrown back engaging in a mouth-wide open laugh (couldn’t hear it then as I was in my car but I’m all too familiar with that infectious laugh now ) Fast forward to 2018 after getting the vision for Freedom, I reached out to another entrepreneur in the city just to get some insight on opening a brick + mortar in Philly, being that I wasn't a Philly native. I told him about my idea, and also shared that I didn’t want to go at this alone. His response was “ah this is dope, I think you should talk to Bon about it.” From there, what we like to call, our serendipitous friendship was sparked, turned partnership. Co-creating Freedom Apothecary represents a combination of both of our lives work.
If you could have a tea or take a Boketto moment (a moment of daydreaming and of rest) with any person dead or alive who would it be? What kind of tea would you have?
BON: it would have to be two people for me — my grandmothers on both sides, Bonkosi and Claribel. They come from worlds so vastly different but at the same point in time in history and learning from them and hearing contrasting their stories would just be so beautiful while drinking rose tea from my favorite little tea house, the Leaf Kitchen, in my hometown, Iowa City.
MORRISA: I’d have a cup of African Rooibos tea with All of my grandmothers (all deceased).
What does a moment of rest, recharging, or nourishment look like for you?
BON: these moments have to be sought out as a mother of three and i’ve learned to find the little things right now to take time to reset; someday, my moments to recharge will include discovering a new city in a different country — travel is my must-have; but until then, i’ll take coffee in the morning before the house wakes up and moments in natures marveling at its beauty.
MORRISA: A moment of rest looks like taking a bath, reading a book, catching up on a tv show, having a glass of wine or tea
What's something you want people to know about you that I wouldn't think to ask?
BON: i’m a sucker for beautiful spaces (coffee shops, hotels and restaurants are my favorite), so you’ll probably never meet someone whose instagram following list is mostly places and not people.
MORRISA: I went to school to study prosthetic limbs and learned to make them in the process.
Sun/Rising/Moon sign?
BON: Aries Sun/Gemini Rising/Aries Moon — no surprises here. I’m ALL in your face.
MORRISA: Cancer Sun️/Gemini Rising/Virgo Moon
BON side note: I am a firm believer in community being at the heart of everything we do, that the smaller the world becomes, the stronger our connections become and the more humanity shows itself, which, to be honest, is such a huge part of collective and community care when we look at the bigger picture of holistic wellness. and, even more important, something that has the capacity to repair and heal deep wounds in the world.