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Meet our Founder
Kara Brook Brown
Kara Brook Brown
Meet Kara
Kara Brook Brown’s motto can be summed up as:
“Bloom where you are planted, and journey intensely, so you may live deeply.”
Bee Inspired® is the seasonal harvest of Kara’s journey uniting humble beekeeping and the wisdom of Living with the Seasons for maximum harmony and joy.
Artfully audacious roots
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. It’s about creating yourself.” - GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
Our founder, Kara Brook Brown, was a spirited child from a modest family in Baltimore. At age four, she declared herself a painter. Kara took lessons from a neighbor who championed annual art projects to benefit the local youth. The experience shaped her life.
At age 16, Kara started a graphic arts business to fund college expenses, along with scholarships from the community and the school. Determination and persistence in seeking sources and assistance enabled Kara to attend Maryland Institute College of Art, one of the most prestigious art schools in the U.S.
Remembering an earlier admiration of encaustic painting, she channeled her creativity there — exploring a medium composed of beeswax, tree resin, and pigment. It was during a fateful moment in her studio when she accidentally boiled over a pot of wax that she had an epiphany: she needed to raise honeybees to get the wax she needed.
And in that moment, her future took a turn. Little did she know that raising honeybees for wax production was not the endgame, but a choice that launched her remarkable journey with the honeybee and the wise world of seasonal living. It’s wisdom that farmers know in their bones. Kara became passionate about sharing the joys of seasonal living with you.
Today, Kara lives each day in thankfulness. Kara’s latest entrepreneurial mission expanded to create hand-crafted, health-oriented products derived from the work and world of honeybees.
More recently, Kara has evolved Waxing Kara to the broader Bee Inspired brand. Bee Inspired brings new opportunities to experience natural solutions for life’s occasions, while promoting eco-sustainability and entrepreneurial advocacy.
She appreciates the people who have enthusiastically supported her journey and those who demonstrate a dauntless spunk. Along the way, Kara has continuously given generously of her time and guidance to youth, like herself, who are seeking to make their way. She shares her belief that knowing yourself and being able to tell your story is a critical skill in helping you achieve your goals.
Beeswax & open doors
“Every now and then one paints a picture that seems to have opened a door and serves as a stepping stone to other things.”
– Pablo Picasso –
Over the last ten years, Kara has focused on a painting technique known as encaustic, a method that uses heat to melt and fuse layers of beeswax, tree resin, and pigment. As she engages in this ancient medium, Kara feels a kindred spirit with the bees—her purposeful, community-minded companions.
Kara’s fascination with beeswax was a natural transition into the world of beekeeping. She wanted to paint in a sustainable way and provide beeswax for herself and other artists. She also wanted to help educate others of the importance of bees to our planet’s sustainability: that bees are responsible for one-third of the food we eat, and that honey’s nurturing, healing properties are an amazing gift to humanity.
When Kara shared her first harvest of Spring Wildflower on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, friends and family were thrilled by the pure, unique flavor. She felt so connected to nature and the rich earth of the farm that she wanted to do more. Like a bolt of lightning, Kara’s imagination became an irresistible vision: Creating a business that shares the benefits of honey and the flowers that feed the bees.
By the second harvest, Kara was creating artistic and natural products from her expanded hives and the farm’s bounty: lavender, sunflowers, clover, tupelo, and more. What next? she wondered. A determined entrepreneur, Kara established “Waxing Kara” — the precursor to Bee Inspired® — as a brand rooted in both beeswax and honey with a unique blend of art and food. Inspiration from the bees continued to drive Kara forward.
Advocacy born of gratitude
“I wanted to create a product line so good for you, so beautiful, so practical that if you wanted it, there would be no reason not to have it. And I wanted it to be a catalyst for the next stage of my gratitude.”
– Kara Brook Brown –
Today, Kara lives each day in thankfulness. She appreciates the people who have enthusiastically supported her journey and those who demonstrate a dauntless spunk.
While Kara’s entrepreneurial mission is to create hand-crafted, results-oriented products, her personal mission is to advocate for underserved youth who have that go-getter moxie. In 2002, Kara established a scholarship foundation in her Father’s name at her alma mater, MICA, which has awarded two scholarships per year to aspiring art students ever since.
More recently, Kara has evolved Waxing Kara to the broader Bee Inspired brand. Bee Inspired brings new opportunities to experience natural solutions for life’s occasions, drawing inspiration from nature’s bounty and those tireless bees. All while promoting eco-sustainability and entrepreneurial advocacy.
Kara’s pay-it-forward ethos extends to her support of the One Tree Planted non-profit organization along with her participation on the board of VisionWorkshops, a worldwide non-profit organization teaching the art of photojournalism to underserved youth who struggle with verbal and written communication. This program, often taught by National Geographic photographers, encourages children to learn and communicate in new ways. Find out more about how Bee Inspired gives back.
Join the propagation of good
“No doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
– Margaret Mead –
Kara is committed to hosting healthy beehives on the farm. As she watches massive bee colonies generate hundreds of pounds of honey each year, Kara clearly understands that her impact is only as powerful as her community.
This is where you come in! We invite you to experience the bees’ expansive energy, the magnificent rays of sunlight, and the vitality of emotions instilled within Bee Inspired products. We hope you’ll not only enjoy these luxurious gifts for yourself, but give them away — and join us in multiplying our impact in others’ lives.
And a mission that’s easy to get behind:
To inspire good and multiply its impact.
