Karen Blan

“A Honey of a Deal” came into existence when I found out that the company that I was working for had been sold to an out of town buyer and that they planned to close the headquarters in Alabama. At the time, my two boys were 3 and 1 years of age and had been in daycare for all of their lives since I worked full time. My work experience had always been in retail with over 20 years in various capacities such as sales, buyer, product manager, merchandise manager, and planning. The idea of opening my own small business seemed like a natural extension and use of this work experience and it has also allowed me to stay at home with my children.

My target business is children’s gifts and clothing. The age range is birth through around six years of age. I have been fortunate to be able to draw upon my “Mom” experience and that of my peers and use this knowledge to develop an assortment of gift items and apparel that can be used and not just sit on a shelf looking pretty.

After launching "A Honey of a Deal" in November of 2006, I added a 6 needle embroidery machine so that I could add names to the backpacks that I sold.

A little while later, a friend of mine who owns a children's clothing factory approached me about doing a small clothing line and "The Beez Kneez" was born in Fall 2007.

I have a wonderful loving husband who is very supportive of this business. God has opened many doors for us and we are very grateful.