Shirley Kautman-Jones - GOODRICH, MI

SHIRLEY KAUTMAN-JONES was working at the bank full-time and her co-workers needed some help impressing the men in their life. Shirley, being a natural in the kitchen, would send them home with little bags of spices and easy recipes to follow. Her creations were an instant success and she realized it was time to expand outside her comfort zone of co-workers at the bank. She decided to start taking her savings and driving down to the market in Detroit, MI to price out different spices for her combinations. Her next idea was to sell her bags of spices at a craft bazaar at the Church. She labeled each bag 75-cents each and set up her table with samples of her creations. To her surprise, she sold all 100 bags in a matter of minutes. Shirley knew she was on to something, and that people were craving delicious dishes without a lot of hassle. She took her profits back down to that market in Detroit and the process began. Country Home Creations was born.

Today, with more than 100 different products, CHC’s products can be found at thousands of retailers. The best part, the mixes are still made the same old-fashioned way as when Shirley started the company. Amazingly, you’ll still find Shirley behind the booth at the local craft shows. She believes in sampling her products, and meeting the people that buy her creations in person. Several ideas for new products and recipes have come from meeting customers at the craft shows.