We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jillian Medford a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jillian , appreciate you joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

I grew up taking summer trips to visit relatives in Minnesota, where my great-uncle kept bees at the family lake cabin. I loved watching my uncle work in his apiary and, to this day, swear that no honey I’ve tasted since will ever be quite as delicious as that sweet liquid gold we would take home at the end of our Minnesota summers.

As a lifelong bee enthusiast, my appreciation for bees and their honey eventually became a passion for healthier, cleaner living and pollinator conservation. Taking direct action by keeping honeybees and creating pollinator gardens so wild bees could thrive felt like the next natural step. So I began learning as much as possible about bees; as I became aware that the current state of pollinator health directly stems from how we’ve been treating our earth, it weighed heavy, especially when I looked at the issue through the lens of motherhood. Its always been important to me to do all we can to leave a world for our children worth inheriting.

Before starting my business, I was an at-home mom and part-time preschool teacher. I’ve always been creative; in one form or another, I’ve crafted, created, and imagined my way through life, and making natural skincare products was something I had always enjoyed doing for myself. So, when I began keeping bees, I also began crafting skincare that included the honeybee byproducts I harvested from my hives. It wasn’t long before my sister, who runs a farm nearby, asked if I would make some of my products for her farmstand. It was there that Keepers Collective skincare got its start. I began making private-label products for the farm and started an Etsy shop shortly after. In the beginning, the profits were merely a way to support my beekeeping hobby. Then, as my products grew in popularity, I realized that I could use my platform for more. With our Keepers Collective product line, with every product sold, we are spreading awareness about the fantastic wellness benefits within the hive and inspiring curiosity and conservation around pollinators and the essential work they provide.

As my budding business took off, I was proud to show my children that we could all positively impact the world around us. Then an idea came to me; what if we could empower young children to make small but mighty changes by learning to care for, and protect their surroundings? And so the idea for our Bee Camps and community outreach programs bloomed. We proudly offer children’s Bee Camps and local outreach classes now, along with our skincare line.

Sharing my love for bees, inspiring children to nurture the world around them, and supporting pollinator stewardship in our community has been a dream come true!

Jillian , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

As a lifelong bee enthusiast, my appreciation for bees eventually became a passion for healthier, cleaner living and pollinator conservation. Taking direct action by keeping honeybees and creating pollinator gardens so wild bees could thrive felt like the next natural step. I’ve always been creative; in one form or another, I’ve crafted, created, and imagined my way through life, and making natural skincare products was something I had always enjoyed doing for myself. So naturally, when I began keeping bees, I also began crafting skincare that included the honeybee byproducts I harvested from my hives – the rest is history!

Keeper’s Collective is an all-natural skincare brand in Snoqualmie, Washington. We create nourishing, pure, handmade products – and we couldn’t do any of it without our friend, the mighty honeybee. With our pollinator conservation efforts, community outreach initiatives, and Kids Bee Camps, we also work to spread awareness about the essential role of pollinators.

As an eco-conscious consumer, It can be hard to find natural products that are sustainable, effective, and luxurious all in one! Keepers Collective products are pure and clean – exceptional skincare made simply. Our products are kind to you and kind to the earth. You can feel good about using them every day, knowing that we are always seeking new ways to uphold our collective responsibility towards the planet and all living things.

Our Keepers Collective skincare is full of Superpower Ingredients that come straight from our bees. We utilize the benefits of apitherapy in our products with unique combinations of raw honey, propolis, beeswax, pollen, and royal jelly to naturally help support skin health and vibrancy. Using these five pillar ingredients in our hives and other all-natural ingredients like oils, butters, and vitamins, we create skincare that is void of fillers and chemicals and packed full of the best nature has to offer for our skin.

As the owner, beekeeper, and maker behind the Keepers Collective brand, I’m proud of everything we’ve accomplished. From making a skincare line around conservation and sustainability to managing our apiary and pollinator gardens and running summer camps. These aspects of my business have sometimes felt like three different businesses. Learning how to merge the three into the same vision and build a company with intention and passion – with a mission helping promote bee stewardship in our online and local communities makes me beyond proud of what we’ve accomplished!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I’ve never been asked this question, and the answer that immediately comes to mind is relatively private; I was diagnosed with two brain aneurysms during the second year of my business. My first reaction was disbelief; aneurysms are hereditary, and there’s not much one can do to prevent them. Honestly, I struggled to cope with the anxiety that arose around my new diagnosis. Starting a business is hard work, and it can seem overwhelming at times, and I worried that I wouldn’t be able to balance and maintain a low-stress and healthy lifestyle. I eventually realized that I was one of the lucky ones whose care providers found the aneurysms before the worst could happen, so I chose to focus on self-care and the right mindset.

Fortunately, beekeeping has always been a source of solace for me. Working with the bees feels like a form of meditative practice, a connection to the natural world that helps bring me back into balance. Even when my health was in flux and business was hectic, I found peace in tending to my hives. Beekeeping has been a key part of my recovery journey and is important to maintaining my mental health and well-being.

Ultimately, my experience with aneurysms has opened my eyes to the importance of taking time for yourself. Finding ways to care for your physical, mental, and emotional well-being is essential to long-term success. It may seem daunting to balance a business and taking care of yourself, but with perseverance and dedication, it can be done and I’m proof of that!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

After starting my business, I quickly realized that in the beginning, a successful business doesn’t necessarily hinge on marketing and social media – it is much more than that. It became clear that unlearning the assumption that you can’t be successful early on without social media was crucial to my individual success as an entrepreneur. This shift in perspective enabled me to focus on the other aspects of creating and running a business. Knowing I didn’t have the capacity as one person to focus on all aspects of the business at once, I decided to narrow my focus and work on building a solid foundation for my company first. That meant dedicating much of my attention to curating quality products and services, attending in-person events, and establishing a good reputation with customers. Fortunately, this approach paid off – I was able to start building a steady customer base without overwhelming myself.

Even though I had to go against the grain, the payoff was well worth it. Now I look back and realize how crucial it was to trust my instincts and focus on what I knew to do best to establish a successful business. And though I completely acknowledge that social media is an important marketing tool, having a solid product foundation and proof of concept first, laid the groundwork for my success. Going against the grain proved to be a wise decision. It’s important to remember that even though there are trends, it doesn’t necessarily mean they need to be followed without thought or reason. Now that I have a strong foundation, I’m starting to branch out and plan to grow my reach on a few platforms. I am grateful that I chose not to put too much emphasis on social media early on and instead focused on what mattered most – the business itself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thekeeperscollective.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keeperscollective_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keeperscollective/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillian-medford-59218819/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@keeperscollective5699

Image Credits
Dakota & Co.