Give me S'mores: Women business owners create sweet, trendy product

Rebecca Brooks, Fremont News-Messenger
·2 min read
Everything on this S'mores board is a local product from the fresh-made marshmallows and graham crackers to the beeswax candle inside a small, handmade crock.
Everything on this S'mores board is a local product from the fresh-made marshmallows and graham crackers to the beeswax candle inside a small, handmade crock.

BELLEVUE — Charcuterie boards are popular with being the center piece displays of cheeses, meats, fruit and more. Five area businesses created their own spin on that trend and each added their special talent and product to a S'mores Board, which can be used in the home to cook marshmallows, with chocolate and graham crackers.

Andrea Adkins, of rural Bellevue, has a home business — Quirky Pirate Designs — and she makes charcuterie boards and other personalized gifts and decor. Her board is at the center of the new product for a mostly female group of area business owners.

LeRose Meadows, co-owner with Sue Andrews, and their staff from Candy Depot, 120 E Main St., Bellevue, supply the sweets for the board. Ashley Hancock makes the chocolate bars, Meadows makes the scratch marshmallows, and the staff create the graham crackers.

Handmade crock contains beeswax candle

Debbie Bowers, of Fremont, supplies the little crock in the middle of the board from her business, Playing in the Mud.

The small crock is then filled with a beeswax candle by Cherry City Honey Farm, 1000 CR 312, Bellevue.

Even the wood Adkins uses is locally sourced from Homestead Hardwood in Vickery.

Adkins said the project started after she offered a class at the Cherry City Honey Farm on charcuterie boards.

Owners and staff from several area businesses joined together to create a trendy item now for sale through Quirky Pirate Designs - it's a Charcuterie S'mores Board. In front are, left to right, Sue Andrews, LeRose Meadows and Ashley Hancock. In back are Andrea Adkins and Tami Wylie.
Owners and staff from several area businesses joined together to create a trendy item now for sale through Quirky Pirate Designs - it's a Charcuterie S'mores Board. In front are, left to right, Sue Andrews, LeRose Meadows and Ashley Hancock. In back are Andrea Adkins and Tami Wylie.

"Andrea is the brain of that," said Tami Wylie, who owns Cherry City Honey Farms with her husband Gary. The Wylies' new building has a classroom area for meetings and training.

"It just kind of evolved, and I wanted to make everything local," Adkins said. So far the board set is a custom-ordered product, but she is considering having them available at the Candy Depot.

Tami Wylie and the Candy Depot had a couple connections before this project. Both use Marketing Purposely and owner Jaime Garza to promote their businesses.

Wood conditioner is made by Cherry City Honey

Adkins had a connection with Cherry City Honey Farms not only for her class but their products. "Every board I make goes out with container of (wood) conditioner," Adkins said, which is a Cherry City Honey product. So with all the connections, the businesses aligned easily for the S'mores project.

Meadows said an important point about this S'mores board is that beeswax is used for the candle. Unlike other candles, beeswax when heated will not be absorbed into the the chocolate or marshmallows — it burns clean and there is no soot.

The candle with the board will burn for 15 hours or more and when the crock is empty, patrons can bring it to Candy Depot where it can be refilled, Wylie said.

The price of the Charcuterie S'mores board is $110, Adkins said. She can be reached at 567-267-8108 or visit quirkypirate.com.

The Candy Depot phone number is 419-483-7080. Cherry City Honey Farms can be reached at 419-271-2720 or visit cherrycityhoney.com.

rbrooks@gannett.com

419-334-1059

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Small businesses come together to make S'mores Boards