One
of the great benefits of being a part of the Handmade in Kansas City collective
is the opportunity to get to know the other makers and sharing their
stories! Today’s Meet the Maker features
Christy Bean from Aunt Christy’s Country Kitchen – maker of small batch, hand-stirred, unique jams,
jellies and chutneys.
I
first met Christy at a craft show in Blue Springs and could not keep myself
away from her table. Partly because she
offers free samples of her unique jams, jellies and chutneys but also because
she was just so darn nice and funny! She
brings her sister or her mom along to help and you can just feel the love and
family support that help her business thrive.
I loved her and her jelly so much I bought cases of it to give for
Christmas gifts (and ended up keeping it and eating most of it myself!!). After eating so much of her jelly, I decided
to find out a little bit more about Christy’s story….
Christy
is the oldest of 5 kids and is married to Rick Bean. While she is Aunt Christy to several human children;
she has one furry baby of her own, a sweet kitty named Blitzen. Even though making and marketing her jelly
keeps her very busy, Christy works full time as a preschool teacher with 1-2 ½
year olds.
Christy
first started making her jellies for some handmade Christmas gifts for her
family. Her mom and sister loved the
Cabernet Sauvignon jelly so much…they ordered some to give as gifts to friends
and clients. So, in December 2012, she
quickly came up with her business name (from her own name and adorable little
cottage type house, which kind of looks like it could be in the country),
packaging and price point.
Her
product list has now expanded to included wine jellies, beer jellies, fruit
jams, herbed jellies made from herbs that she grows in her garden, and cocktail
jams. You can see the full list here.
Some
of the unique flavor combinations are inspired by her Dad, but others just came
from taking complimentary flavors and experimentation. Christy is always trying new (and sometimes
crazy) ingredients, like Dandelion jelly and her newest, Southern Peach Smash with just the right blend of peaches,
cinnamon, vanilla beans and bourbon. Both are AH-MA-ZING!
While
most of her creations are simply incredible, she does have one story where her
idea did not turn out the way she hoped.
You can read the story of her Key Lime Marmalade disaster on her blog,
Christy’s
inspiration comes from seeing people enjoy the flavors of her jellys and
jams. She feels like making people happy
is truly a wonderful thing and motivates her to create. She leans on encouragement from her Mom, her
fans and the other makers in the Handmade in KC group to keep her going when
things get tough.
What
does the future hold for Aunt Christy’s Country Kitchen? The short term goal is to find retail
locations like wineries and breweries, but the when asked for long term goals,
Christy says, I will see what happens from there. The possibilities are truly
endless!”
Find and follow Christy online at:
Website:
www.auntchristyscountrykitchen.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuntChristysCountryKitchen
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Aunt_Christys
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuntChristysCountryKitchen
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Aunt_Christys
Thank you to Laura Graybill from Handmade By Lolo Z for creating this blog post.
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