Today we want to give you a little behind the scenes action!
We sat down this week to reminisce a bit on how got to where we are today. This is just a little snippet.
We wish we could say that everything we are doing at Bellator Society is meticulously planned and executed to our vision, but that’s just not us! We are creating content and products on the daily around here by God’s pure grace. While we are joined in our Bellator Society by so many amazing writers and creatives, we have to admit that He is the one really guiding this operation. . .and our new Bellator Lotion Bars are a great example of that!
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Fran: I remember the exact moment we decided to collaborate with the Walnut Valley Honey Company to create our first batch of lotion bars. Do you remember?
Tracy: I do! We had spent weeks, I think, looking for the right gift for our original Contributors right after the launch of our website. We wanted it to be thoughtful and meaningful, but everything we were finding was mass produced or just not useful really. I remember you texted me in the middle of the day and said you thought you found the perfect gift. . .from a beekeeper’s family. I was intrigued, to say the least.
Fran: Yes, that’s exactly right. I was visiting back home in Arkansas. My older boys had been hanging out with some friends—a precious, giant Catholic family—who also happen to be bee keepers. I think my heart was set on working with them the moment I walked into their house. It smelled like the Garden of Eden. Or maybe even Heaven? I am a smells kind of girl and I am not afraid to ask people what perfume they are wearing or what soap or laundry detergent they use. So, as soon as I walked in, I think I inhaled and immediately exhaled, “What is that glorious smell in here?!!” Our friend showed me some of the products that she had been making and selling locally and online and I think I texted you the second I got back in the car.
Tracy: Well, if you are a smells girl, I am a luxury spa product girl, so I was totally interested. I have always loved the idea of celebrating Catholic artists and artisans. And the thought of collaborating with like-minded people who were also bee-keepers was a huge sign for me that this was the right path for us.
Fran: I know, right? I mean if it has a bee on it, it’s basically your monogram.
Tracy: Ha! That’s absolutely right. Bees are so special to me and my family. My grandfather called my grandmother “Queen Bee” for ages. He named his boats Queen Bee I. Queen Been II. And on and on. Our family’s lake house is the “Bee Hive.” All the women in my family feel connected to bees—it’s almost our family crest! If you want me to pay attention to something, put a bee on it.
Fran: And I love that the Bee is such a sweet symbol for Christian evangelism, too. It really couldn’t be more appropriate for what we are trying to do with Bellator Society! I think it was St. John Chrysostom who said something like the bee is special among creation because it works so diligently for others. That is exactly what we are trying to do!
Tracy: Oh, that’s good. Every blog we publish, every social media post, every product, everything we are doing is to bring more goodness. . .sweetness—honey! to a world that needs it so desperately. We want to make Catholic evangelism sweet as honey.
Fran: I also love that our first batch of the Bellator Lotion Bars was chrism scented. That was just perfect, wasn’t it? Chrism is the oil of anointing in our Church. That just fit. I remember once hearing the advice that there are a hundred good things we can do in this world at any given time, but we need to pray and look for the ones for which we are anointed. I’d like to think we are doing that at Bellator Society. I love that our Lotion Bars are a little sign of God’s lavish abundance in anointing so many incredibly talented people to join us on this mission.
Tracy: Oh, me, too. I just love everything about our Lotion Bars. I can’t decide if I like the Balsam Bars or the Garland of Roses better! The chrism scent is like being in heaven, but the rose! The rose takes me back to my childhood at home in El Dorado. It smells like my mom all dressed up—just beautiful.
Fran: I don’t choose. I love them both! I keep tins all over my house and even in my car!
Tracy: Yes! I love that they smell divine and they aren’t messy at all. I can throw a tin back to kids in the car. . .it’s perfect on hand, lips or just a little aromatherapy at the end of a long day.
Fran: Exactly!
Tracy: I couldn’t be more pleased with these!
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We hope you will love them, too. We think they are the perfect little gift for Mother’s Day, Graduation, Baptism, First Holy Communion, Confirmation, Hostess Gifts, Father’s Day (Balsam Bar, especially!), Teachers Gifts. . .really for any occasion when you want to spread a little sweetness and evangelize through your gift, too. Each Lotion Bar is impressed with the image of the Bee symbol from Walnut Valley Honey Company and is fragranced with a signature scent they created just for Bellator Society–a match made in heaven!
1 thought on “The Buzz”
God works in mysterious ways by placing people in your life. I was at a park this morning when a mom pulled up and her precious children piled out. We began chatting quickly and before you know it, we realized we were BOTH connected to Bellator Society!! SHE is the bee lady who makes the amazing basalm bars and whom I’ve heard about for years through mutual friends!! And what a sweet woman Vera is!