Shell-Bee's was founded by Cathy Gray-Connors in 2007. As a child she spent a lot of time on her grandparents' farm in rural Kentucky. One particularly fond remembrance was the smoking of hams and bacon for the winter. The scent of the wood smoke wafting through the crisp fall air indirectly led her to her entrepreneurial adventure with smoked sea salt and spices. Similarly, she was inspired by her grandmother's use of flavored sugar to sprinkle on treats to create her sugar blends. The current owners (Kelly, Forest and their son - also Forest) originally met Cathy in 2012 at a Kentucky Crafted fair when their booths were set side-by-side. They immediately hit it off. This led to Art Eatables using and selling Shell-Bee's spices and they build a long lasting business relationship and friendship at the the same time. When Cathy decided she wanted to retire, the Ramsey family couldn't stand to see such a wonderful legacy and great product fade away. Cathy graciously consented to let them buy her business, showed them the ropes and passed her knowledge on so the line could continue. Now, Forest Ramsey (the younger) has taken the lead to perfecting his knowledge of Cathy's recipes and keeping the Shell-Bee's name going into the future. His mission is the same as Cathy's - to provide the highest quality, unique, homemade Kentucky Proud smoked sea salts, spice products and sugar blends possible.