Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Bethany Donnelly. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Bethany, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Designing the Duty Station Collection has been such a special project for me. Growing up as a military kid, our family always collected something unique from each place we lived. Now that I’m a military spouse myself, I’ve tried to come up with fun ways to remember all of the places we’ve called home. I first came up with the idea of pairing each duty station with a different scent right after we moved to a new state in 2020. I had been thinking about how strongly scent is tied to memories, and I began researching which fragrances best captured the states (or countries) of each duty station. I love the concept of helping families create scent memories along their military journey.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Bethany Donnelly, and I am the owner of The Fragrant Bean. It all began when I decided to give candle making a go while I was working full-time in the Philadelphia area. I had always been fascinated with candles and their ability to transform a space. Once I began making them myself, I absolutely fell in love. From the hands-on side of mixing and pouring the wax, to the creative side of designing the labels, I enjoyed everything about the process. Little by little, friends began placing small orders for their favorite scents, and I officially opened The Fragrant Bean in 2014.

Over the past 8+ years, I have continued to grow and learn so much. Candle making seems simple, but it takes patience and (a lot of) testing to not only find the ideal blend of wax and fragrance, but to also match the candle to the correct container and wick. All our candles are made with soybeans grown in the U.S. and hand-poured in small batches with premium grade, phthalate-free fragrance oils. I don’t want to say we’ve perfected this process, but I’d like to think we’ve come pretty darn close!

A few years ago, my husband joined the Army, and now the business travels with us wherever the military sends us. It has been such a joy to create gifts that help connect friends and family around the globe. I now focus most of my time on designing gifts for other military families and have started branching out beyond just candles with wooden duty station signs and little wooden houses. I’m excited to see how this little company will continue to grow with us in the years to come!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Jumping into military life was a huge pivot point in my life. For the first five years of our marriage, the Army was not even a topic of conversation, but after a series of interesting events (and a lot of prayer), my husband officially joined in 2018. All at once, everything changed. I left a job I loved, we moved away from the city and friendships we had known for most of our marriage, and we had to immediately go through a six-month separation during training. It was a hard year. Military life undoubtedly comes with its own set of challenges, but each place we have lived has brought something special, from getting to explore a new city to the amazing friendships we’ve built along the way. I can say with confidence, I would do it all again in a second.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Hands down, the most fun part of what I do is being able to share it with other people. Whether I’m designing a unique piece for somebody or meeting new faces at an event, people are what make this work so rewarding!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://spouse-ly.com/store/thefragrantbean/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefragrantbean/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefragrantbean