Laurel Miller Donahoo, creator of The Lovely Bee, is a Mississippi girl with a passion for design, local food, fashion, puppies, traveling, and of course, beautiful paper products! She’s lived most of her life in the Jackson, MS area and was raised on faith, good music (y’all know, like Allman Brothers and The Beatles), good manners (“sir” and “ma’am” every time!), and an appreciation for all things southern (Hello?! Thank you notes!) She now lives just outside of Jackson with her awesome husband, Price, their twin beagles, Delta and Dover, and rescue hound, Ringo!

Laurel embarked on the card-making venture (originally under the name of Laurel Miller Designs) in college as a way to help with the cost of the weekend road trips and online shopping she so loved. After falling in love with bees on an extended work vacation to Oxford, England (and with help from Sue Monk Kidd’s book The Secret Life of Bees) Laurel knew it was time to change the name of the business to something she more fancied: the bees. After several years of the “real world” keeping her from putting as much time as she wished into the card biz, she finally got up the courage to let go of a few things and make room for what is now known as The Lovely Bee!

“The Lovely Bee has been my creative outlet. I feel so blessed that I get to put so much time into something I love so much! I’m always brainstorming as to what to create next… Looking for great inspiration everywhere I go sure does make life exciting!” says Laurel.

She would like to thank those who encouraged her to take the steps necessary to get to where she is today! Be on the lookout for new introductions from The Lovely Bee in the very near future!