Local Business Gets National Spotlight!

Things are a-buzz in one Tehachapi household these days. Stacia Guzzo, owner of local business Handcrafted Honey Bee, has recently gained the national spotlight by becoming one of the top finalists in the Martha Stewart American Made competition.

The American Made is a national competition that celebrates handmade goods, those who make them, and the local community. The nomination process began in June and included several thousand small American businesses from around the country. With four categories in the competition-crafts, design, food, and style-the nominated businesses varied widely, from small, unique restaurants to artisan leatherwork to clothing companies to bath and body products. By September 15, judges had closed the main nomination period and narrowed down the competition to almost 950 finalists. Among those finalists was Tehachapi-based Handcrafted Honey Bee.

Handcrafted Honey Bee, which sells Do-It-Yourself skin care and beauty kits, offers a unique product. Each kit comes with instructions on how to make a particular beauty product or set of beauty products, and comes with the pre-portioned ingredients, containers, tools, and instructions to do so. Guzzo's goal, she says, is to help people find joy in making things from scratch and to help them recognize how easy it really is. "I have so much fun making my own body care," she says, "And I don't think people realize that it can be easier and even quicker than going to the store to pick something up. Most of my kits can be done in under 30 minutes. Plus, then you have the added bonus of knowing exactly what is going onto your skin."

Guzzo knows a little bit about how to create skin care and craft effective, popular recipes: she's also the owner of Tehacha-Bee Farm, which makes soaps, lotion bars, lip balms and deodorants that you can find on the shelves of local businesses like Kohnen's Country Bakery and Tehachapi's Original Apple Shed. "People were constantly asking me if I could offer a class on how to make a certain product, or if I could customize a product for them with a particular scent or without a specific ingredient." The kits that Guzzo sells through Handcrafted Honey Bee offer just those opportunities-every kit is fully customizable, with a myriad of options for flavors, scents, colors, and additional add-ons that can enhance the final product. "It takes the guess work out of DIY, making it accessible for more people to experience and have fun with," she says.

Handcrafted Honey Bee is run entirely out of Guzzo's home, in a crafting studio that is adjacent to their home. In fact, the so-called "momtrepreneur" runs the business while working from home with her two children, ages 3 and 2.

In the American Made competition, there will be ten total winners-nine of them will be chosen by judges, and one will be chosen by popular vote. The winners will each receive $10,000 to grow their business, a spot in Martha Stewart Living Magazine, a spot on Martha's Sirius XM radio show, a spot in the exclusive Martha Stewart eBay Marketplace, a customized video made to showcase the business, and a trip for two to New York to be presented at the American Made Makers Summit in November. "Winning this competition would be a game changer for our business" Guzzo says. "We've been trying so hard to get the word out about our business, and it's difficult when your resources are limited." But Guzzo seems to be doing a pretty good job gathering popular votes. Out of the almost-thousand finalists, Handcrafted Honey Bee has stayed within the top 5 businesses since voting opened September 15. Voting ends October13th.

You can help Handcrafted Honey Bee by adding your voice to the vote! Simply go to http:// http://www.marthastewart.com/americanmade and search for "Handcrafted Honey Bee" to find their nomination page; there is a gray "vote" button in their profile. Although you must register an email to vote (to keep fair track of voters), it is a quick and easy process. Once you've confirmed your account, you can vote up to six times a day for the makers of your choice-or use all your votes to vote for one maker.