We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jane Donahue. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jane below.

Hi Jane, thanks for joining us today. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

“SHE IS A BUSY BEE” Always creating something….
Making a mark on the world that can’t be erased.
My personal valves begin with the Shaker saying “Hands to Work Hearts to God” What is and what was has always been apart of my soul. I have felt a curosity and interest in the present and the past. I have known people who started their own creative businesses and I have watched and learned what they enjoyed and were good at and how this gave me an awareness and understanding of the similarities of myself to them. Understanding your heart in the whys and hows of what you do is the beginning of the true purpose behind the committment. When the “calling” speaks and you feel a deep connection to that purpose your committment to go ahead with your idea and discover beyond your limits then get ready to be uncomfortable with all the “feels” that will come and don’t stop. You discover and develop your idea and its potential and thats when your soul feeds your heart and your purpose is opening up.
I consider a legacy to be my valves, memories, friendships, love, and what I respect. A legacy is what captures my life and the lessons I’ve learned along the way. It celebrates things that have been most important to me. Legacy captures the insights found in the present because of experiences in the past that are communicated treasures to build the future.
My life has meaning, my experiences and perspectives matter. What is most important has been hard-earned, giving me precious insights that I can share with my family and friends. Touching the hearts of those around me and those I love.
I want to be known for a strong desire to live a healthy and creative life. Choosing whats best for me whenever possible, not accepting anything less. This is why I believe creating with honey and all things bee related is life sustaining and imperative to our existance both personally and for our planet. I value and respect the bee, God’s divine creation.
The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. Honey never expires or goes bad. The bee and its purpose is to work to produce honey the honey is life sustaining – liquid gold. For me to follow this pattern of purpose in making my honey caramels is to help me by extending and sustaining my life with happiness as well. Another comparison of the bee and me is when the bee goes out to find nectar to bring back to the hive and she communicates to the other bees by doing a dance called “waddle dance”. I enjoy connecting with people and sharing what I’ve created in this same kind of excitement.
My drive is my passion for the bee. Sharing my love of honey with everyone and educating others about bees. I hope to continue to take my BeeKissed business into more directions utilizing other ways of making bee themed items and becoming a successful contributor to all things bee. My artistic style and expressive way of creating encompasses many genres from beekeeping, gardening, sewing, drawing, painting, refinishing, upholstery, quilting, thrifting, repurpose, collecting, decorating, canning, rug hooking, mixed media, everything primitive, needle felting, paper mache, reading, playing my harp, exercising, bike riding, dog lover, to name afew and enjoying them all to completion. I have created a design image to represent all these areas that contribute to the BeeKissed theme. The image is a black silhouette of myself with a bee. My business success is my committment to what I started and keeping my ideas fresh and evolving. Its important to enjoy the process, to be consistent and to take pride in it all. I hope I am known for my interest in always learning and doing new things, my work ethic and attention to detail. At the end of the day I am proud of everything I give my attention to and look forward to what tomorrow will bring.

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.

I started learning and experimenting with candy-making when I was a teenager. My Dad was the family candy maker and I have fond memories of watching him create in the kitchen. In 2015, inspired by the memory of my Dad and my lifelong love of all things sweet, I decided to make a caramel using honey because honey in its pure raw form has an abundance of nutritional benefits. My honey caramels are 55% fruit sugar, slightly lower on the glycemic index, so it absorbs slower; plus honey has trace amounts of vitamins and minerals. As the recipe started to develop, a friend offered me the opportunity to share my caramels in her downtown store so I could begin hearing customer feedback. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and the caramels were flying out the door. It was time to apply for a business license. I proceeded forward and used it for my own commercial candy business and began creating my caramels in a shared commercial kitchen in Pasadena , California. I always said that one day I wanted a job where I could serve delicious bites to customers, and now here I am with my BeeKissed Caramels. This is a dream come true, and what is better than making a product that puts a smile on everyone’s face! Truly a labor of love that is so fulfilling for my soul. I developed Sea Salt Honey Caramels which is the #1 favorite, also Pistachio, Whiskey, Hot and Apple. The biggest challenge after moving to Tennessee was adjusting the recipe to combat the humidity in the summer months. Honey caramels are soft and melt in your mouth, unlike caramels made with corn syrup. My honey caramels are a smooth mixture of raw honey, brown sugar, cream, and butter cooked until it melts and darkens. Then vanilla is added and topped off with sea salt. Combining honey with brown sugar is necessary to provide a bond that will give the caramel stability to hold a shape and create a firmness to cut and wrap. This caramel has a velvety texture and tastes like honey butter. This caramel is unique and delicious which is why its the one everyone comes back to enjoy! I am very proud of my dedication and how I continue to handmake and hand wrap thousands of caramels and stay inspired to make others happy when they enjoy them. The labor intensity of this kind of candy takes a particular person to stay on track and satisified. I do not have any employees, so quality and quantity are up to me, and the caramels are made in small batches. I have been welcomed into Nashville and have enjoyed participating in several Farmers Markets, as well as local businesses and special events. Orders can be placed by DM on Instagram and Facebook, the website beekissedcaramels.com has links to both social media and you can message your order.

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

The third year of business I was contacted by Pinners Conference to participate in their first California state event. This is a large two day event attended by thousands of people held in a large convention type facility. They had already become well known in several other states of hosting huge creative events and I got invited to be a vendor for their first California event held in San Diego. To say I was honored and terrified at the same time is an understatement, knowing that I single handedly was going to need to make enough honey caramels to sell for two days was mind boggling. Not to mention the cost of the booth space was $1500 and I would need to stay in a hotel since it was 100miles away from home one way. But all this pressure aside I was so excited to be able to create on this large scale level and was imagining how many people would be there and get to experience what I was creating. This excitement was pumping my adrenaline and I was dreaming of how big this could be and that thrill overcame the nervousness and I started mapping out how I was going to accomplish my caramel inventory to sustain me for two days. I neglected to mention that I have always had another job in addition to my BeeKissed Caramel business so my time is split and therefore I don’t have full time availability for my own business. I worked as a gym instructor five days a week, I also worked 20 hours a week at Starbucks and then made my Honey Caramels. I had five months to pay the booth fee and five months to order all the product supplies and decorations to make my booth look awesome. It took me one month to make the product and box it all based on my guess of the events attendance and hope for the best. I work with a lot of nervous energy and go until I drop, so there wasn’t a minute wasted. The event was great, I made enough caramel to get through to the second day. There were two other caramel vendors and on the second day I had customers coming and saying they loved my honey caramel the best, the other vendors were not unique. I made enough money to cover all the expenses with a little more to enjoy and the experience I will remember forever. Oh! They asked me back the next year and I said Yes!
My motto has always been “Dare to be Different” and my mantra is “Don’t underestimate me” I love a good challenge and believe in myself, and my instincts and I go with my inspirations! I say learn from others who inspire you but remember they can’t give you what they have you have to find and work your own! So find yours, work it, and BEE strong!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I have a reputation of making a unique caramel that doesn’t have corn syrup. The main ingredient is honey and so that sets me apart from others. I consistently emphasis the importance of my honey and my relationship with bees. My personal style is to color coordinate everything around the bee, yellow/gold/black. I participate with bee clubs, and enjoy socializing with Beeks (beekeepers).

Contact Info:

• Website: beekissedcaramels.com
• Instagram: @beekissedcaramels
• Facebook: Honey Caramels
• Linkedin: Jane Donahue