Not Your Granddad’s Sarsaparilla

When people walk into our Montgomery store—or stop by our booth at Crossroads—they often shop for a while before eventually asking:

“What’s the G stand for?”

I always smile when I answer: Greenbriar. That’s our name.

Before Greenbriar Market + Refillery found its home on Bowness Road, it lived only in my head. It started during the lockdown, while Mat and I were waiting for our new townhouse to be built in Greenwich… on Greenbriar Way.

I loved the idea of Greenbriar for an eco-friendly shop. It’s technically a thorny vine—often called a weed—but it climbs, twists, and adapts to whatever’s around it. You’ll find it reclaiming forgotten places, growing back stronger even after being cut down. It’s persistent. Resilient. A little wild.

Some might call it scrappy.
We like to think of it as unshakably rooted.

At the time, we had sold our previous home and were renting while we waited for possession of our new townhouse. It was the middle of lockdown, and everything felt uncertain—but in that quiet, I started dreaming about opening a storefront in Greenwich, just steps from the new Calgary Farmers’ Market. I pictured walking across the parking lot from our home to our business. A short commute. A big leap.

So I started small: an Instagram account, a business plan, domain names, and a corporation. Greenbriar Market + Refillery was born on paper before it ever existed in the real world.

(If you scroll back far enough on Instagram, you’ll find the original logo I designed myself in Google Draw using a tutorial I found online. It wasn’t half bad—and not that far off from the beautiful upgrade we eventually did with Torrie over at Terra Digital. In fact, the vine woven through the “G” was inspired by Smilax ornata—the original species that sparked this whole story.)

Greenbriar first launched as an online store, with just a fraction of the brands and inventory you see in our shops today. Our original Greenbriar Collection (recently rebranded to Ornata—more on that in a minute) consisted of just six original scents that Mat and I created together.

Two have recently been retired, but Peaceful Prairie, Snowy Summit, Urban Unwind, and Wandering Woods are still burning bright. And if you’re lucky, you might find a few of the retired Calming Cascades and Personal Paradise products on clearance at Crossroads.

All of these scents were named on a road trip to Banff, after a long day of blending oils with our local manufacturer. Notebook in hand, me jotting down ideas in the passenger seat while Mat drove—both of us sniffing fragrance oils off little wooden sticks. Just the two of us and a car full of inspiration.

When Greenbriar first started, it lived in our hallway linen closet and guest bedroom—and yes, it smelled amazing. I was back toworking full-time, and every time the Shopify app dinged with a new order, I’d light up.

That little ding still gets me.
Especially when it comes after hours.

It always makes me pause and wonder: How did they find us? Why us?

In all the noise of the internet—in the chaos of the world—someone found our little family-run business and decided to shop with us. And that still feels like a small miracle every single time.

Mat and I would pack and ship everything ourselves, and even had the odd “in-store pickup,” which meant customers awkwardly walking up to our townhouse door in a neighbourhood that wasn’t even half developed yet.

That was just four years ago, but it feels like a lifetime.

Greenbriar has grown and changed so much since then. Like its namesake, we took root where we could and spread across the city—eventually making our way into Crossroads Market, too. (Which, yes, definitely confuses people who think we’re up at the other Farmers' Market...)

When it came time to launch a new brand—our skincare line—we wanted something that tied back to Greenbriar. And then I learned that globally, there are more than 300 species of Greenbriar.

That sent me down a rabbit hole of Latin plant names... and we haven’t looked back.

Aspera
This luxurious-sounding name actually means rough or harsh—which feels fitting for the kind of climate our skincare is here to combat. Canadian winters aren’t gentle, but your skincare can be.

The Smilax aspera vine is a little thorny, yes—but it’s also lush, with vibrant leaves and berries that feel like a surprise burst of beauty in the wild. That’s what Aspera is to us: a line that softens the rough, restores the dry, and makes room for beauty, even when conditions are tough.

Sebeana
The name Sebeana has a softer sound to it, but don’t be fooled—this one’s all about strength and versatility. Inspired by a lesser-known variety of Greenbriar, it’s the kind of vine that thrives quietly but persistently, adapting to its surroundings without losing its shape.

Sebeana is our line of functional beauty—clips, combs, brushes, and everyday essentials that are thoughtfully designed and intentionally chosen, whether they’re built to last or meant to return to the earth when their time is up.

Ornata
Smilax ornata is a climbing vine known for its ornate tendrils and delicate curves—it’s beauty in motion. You’ll also find it listed as Jamaican sarsaparilla, which has a long history of use in herbal remedies and perfumes.

Fittingly, Ornata is our fragrance-forward collection. Candles, room sprays, diffusers, bath bombs—this is the scent memory section of the store. Each item is designed to linger gently, wrap you in comfort, and transform the everyday into something a little more special.

Cuprea | Coming Soon!
Named after Smilax cuprea, which takes its name from the Latin word for copper. It’s an unflashy species—low to the ground, sturdy, and often overlooked—but it holds the soil together and keeps ecosystems balanced.

That’s the role Cuprea plays in our shop: the workhorse. Scrubbers, sponges, brushes, and all the useful things that help you clean, tidy, and reset—without the waste. Humble, essential, and stronger than it looks.

As we close out March and celebrate four years of Greenbriar, I wanted to pause and share a bit of the story behind the name—and behind the brands that now grow from its roots.

Whether you’ve been with us since the linen-closet days or you just placed your first order yesterday, thank you. Truly.

In a world full of noise, you found us.
And that means more than you know.