Leslie has lived the herbal life for over 30 years. She tends her herb garden in Riverdale Park, MD, where she is constantly awed by the magic of the natural world and thankful for its bounty which she captures for her natural toiletries and remedies. In 1994 she opened Leslie's Garden Handmade Soaps and watched her business grow as people began to appreciate the benefits of handmade toiletries. Leslie sells her soaps by mail and at craft shows and folk festivals. She conducts soap making and herbal balms and creams making workshops at nurseries, museums and recreation departments.

She co-founded Joe Pye and Friends Capital Area Herbal Network, and has served as a volunteer gardener at the National Arboretum's Herb Garden in Washington, DC. Leslie's "teaching mission" is not only to send her students home with the inspiration and knowledge needed to make their own handmade toiletries but to remind them of a time when "handmade from scratch" was the norm and that sometimes, in our stress-filled culture, it is useful, even necessary, to step out of the fast lane a moment and experience the peace found within the slow pace of the handmade process.

Speaker Contact
soaplady@lesliesgarden.com