I started working with beeswax in 2003 when my boyfriend and I got our first hives, but my love affair with craft started back when I was a child. I am an only child born to German immigrants. My mother lived an adventurous life before meeting my dad. She trained as a kindergarten teacher in Germany and spent eight years living in Peru, teaching in a German school. It was there where she was inspired to learn to make things by hand and from scratch. By the time I came along, she had become the quintessential housewife—an excellent cook, accomplished seamstress, and avid gardener. Later she studied weaving, pottery, and lapidary at the local community college. She had a mantra that still echoes in my head today: “You can make that!” She usually reminded me of this when I was eyeing something at the mall that I wanted to buy with my allowance and usually, under her tutelage, I succeeded in making something I liked even better.
My father was trained as a machinist in Germany and had the very precise mind this type of work required. He spent most of his life working as a machinist in Germany and the United States, and later as an engineer. At home, he was “Mr. fix-it” and “Mr. build-it.” He always had some sort of project that kept him occupied. When he and my mom first got married, money was tight, so he built all their furniture—bed and night stands in the bedroom, couch and coffee table for the living room, and a kitchen table. Being somewhat of a traditionalist, he encouraged me to spend my free time with my mother, helping her with cooking, cleaning, and gardening, but he was doing far more exciting things in the garage and workshop. So I would often join him to help with his projects and learn about woodworking and mechanical things such as lawn mowers and cars.
I am definitely a product of these two characters! I remember taking an interests-and-career test given by the guidance counselor in high school. I answered each question as honestly as I could and then waited for what seemed like weeks for the test results. The results came in the form of a number with a supporting pie chart that mapped the numbers around the outside, and each number represented a career path. My result was 99 and I searched the pie chart for a long time before I finally found it—right smack dab in the middle of the circle. I don’t remember exactly what they called that category, but I think it was “unclassified” or something equally obtuse. I was furious! It was NO help at all! In the years since, I have come to love my 99 score, realizing that it all boils down to balance and desire. Basically, I can do whatever I want to do, if I put my mind to it. But to be truly happy at what I am doing, I must find the balance between the analytical and the creative. It took me five years of college and sixteen years of work as an engineer to realize I needed to include creative outlets in my life as well.
When I met my boyfriend, Karl, he was looking for direction in his life. A short time later, he met a beekeeper’s wife at the library. She needed help printing out something and after Karl helped her, he mentioned his fascination with bees, and asked her if her husband ever needed help. She chuckled and said that most people were leery of working with bees so he could usually use a hand. The next week Karl was helping him, and by the end of the season he had a starter hive. He was hooked! The next year we ramped up, buying ten more colonies, and learned that keeping the bees alive was not all that easy! We did have some super yummy honey, though, and some awesome light yellow beeswax.
Right about the time that Karl discovered beekeeping, he also stumbled on my stash of handmade soaps. These soaps were the product of a two-year soap-making binge. Years earlier, my friend Laurie had called me up and asked if I wanted to learn to make soap. At the time, I told her no—I had too many hobbies already and didn’t need to put my time and money into yet another one, but she persisted and about a month later, I called her up and said, “Fine! You win. Show me how.” I went shopping for supplies and we scheduled a day for soap making. Together we made two or three batches of soap that day. “OH MY GOSH!!!” I told her, “This is the coolest thing ever!” I was hooked! After she left, I went out and bought more supplies and made enough soap to last an army a lifetime! I handed the bars out to family and friends and hoarded them away. When I couldn’t justify making any more, I stopped.
Karl quickly discovered that he liked my handmade soaps more than commercially available soaps, so when we started selling our honey at local farmers’ markets, we decided to sell my soaps as well. I fine-tuned my recipe and peddled them along with our artisan honeys. It was a great match. With a surplus of beeswax, I started making other items such as lip balms, solid lotions, and salves. Encouraged by the success of my products, I continued adding to my line with creams and lotions, perfumes, and candles. With each product addition, I acquired new ingredients and new knowledge. I also learned the value of experimentation. Following a recipe that comes out of a book or off the Internet can yield a good product, but what makes it good? Having a firm knowledge of the ingredients and why they are in the recipe is extremely important.
Now I have found that my business satisfies me on all levels—I use my analytical skills to create and execute recipes and I use my creative skills to develop the scent and look of my products. All in perfect harmony.