Our Story!
~ The Ladybug Blessings Story ~
It all started back in 1999 with a Life-Changing bar of soap...
Wait, what did you say? How can a simple bar of soap be "life-changing"? Let us explain!
Let's go back 25+ years, when our gracious founder, Miss Lana, was a homeschooling Mama (much like myself!) who struggled with MAJOR dry skin issues. She tried so many commercial soaps, used SO much lotion, and exhausted so many treatments that it felt like having dry, itchy, irritated skin after taking a shower was just part of life. One day, that all changed when a friend gifted her a bar of Handcrafted, natural soap, and she described the experience as literally "Life-Changing!"
That simple gift changed the trajectory of her life and career, and many more lives through the birth of Ladybug Blessings! Lana researched the benefits of natural skin care and keeping nasty chemicals and commercial fillers out of her bath & body routine, and used that knowledge to formulate most of the LBB staple products with the same recipes that we make and sell today. Through hard work, big dreams, big ideas, and a HUGE dose of prayer over the years, she grew Ladybug Blessings into a thriving, nationwide Natural Bath & Body brand. We've come a long way from that first test-batch of soap on the kitchen stove that her son has often described as "radioactive sand"!
Miss Lana's dedication to leading this company with a personal touch and faithful principles carried her through many years of good and bad, lean and plenty, while surviving some major life challenges, including winning a cancer battle! She raised two wonderful children and eventually was given the opportunity to retire and start a new life full of flowers, grandkids, and ministry in late 2019. That transition started the current season of Ladybug Blessings under the Beams family ownership, and we couldn't be more proud of where we come from...
NOW: Let me introduce myself:
I'm Jennifer Beams, owner and heartbeat behind Ladybug Blessings since 2019!
My journey with LBB started somewhat by accident and completely by God's hand. After getting married and moving 8 hours across the country, I was looking for a new career path and truthfully, a new life. Ladybug Blessings had a staff opening as lotion maker and Lana offered a young, unexperienced newlywed who was climbing out of an abusive childhood the position, and the chance she took on me changed my life. I went to work to make money, but I left that shop every day with a changed heart and renewed direction. After being a touring musician for years and growing up with a traumatic foundation, my life needed some humble rebuilding, and the ladies of LBB were such faithful servants to teach me about hard work and God's unconditional love in a way I had never known. When I left LBB a few years later because of health reasons, my life had forever been changed. I thought that was the end of my Ladybug journey, but God had unexpected plans!
In early 2016 as a stay-at-home Mom, I started a natural soy candle business from our kitchen stove and grew it slowly with local craft show appearances, school fundraisers, a few local shops to carry my creations, and teaching opportunities. Peaceful Places Candles became the work of my heart and to this day it's still my favorite brand to tell people about because I'm so proud of that opportunity as a young Mama. I walked a very similar journey to miss Lana 20+ years ago, and that's always been a great encouragement for me to remember.
Over the next few years, I also returned to the LBB shop to fill in for staff on vacation, do extra office work between holidays, and generally fill the gaps when they needed help. When Lana expressed her retirement wishes to our family, we spent months praying, considering, consulting loved ones, and making plans. It all felt like such a big, impossible dream! Yet with the help and support of SO many people, here we are today, doing our best day in and day out to continue this legacy of faith, family, and naturally blessing people with these handmade bath & body goods!
Ladybug Blessings continues today as a TRULY small business with a few employees who have become family, LOTS of love and dedication and long hours. Many days, you'll find my kids' school work spread out on the breakroom desk and a random hot wheels car in the floor from late night or early morning multitasking. We are a hard-working, homeschooling, firefighting, God-trusting family just doing our best every single day to make this dream work and be good stewards of the opportunity we've been given through this brand. Every label design, every marketing e-mail, every new product idea and formulation comes STRAIGHT from our heart to your hands. There's no big corporation, no tropical vacation homes, no automated customer service; just a simple little Kentucky family here.
We are SO blessed by each and every order you make, every single dollar you spend, and every friend you tell about our products. We do our very best to support every shop and small business across the country that stocks Ladybug Blessings and Peaceful Places on their shelf, and it's our goal to continue far into the future!
We hope you'll join in this mission with us and be blessed. Stay safe and well, Ladybugs!
Peace & Joy to you;