From rubber ducks to antique artwork to homemade jewelry, Meant to Bee has a little bit of everything.

The shop which offers single purchases and items in bulk, came out of Lytaunie Burks’ frustration with how unaffordable she says the Flathead Valley was getting to be, especially as a native whose family has been in the area for years.

Out of that frustration, and care for the area, Meant to Bee was born, a locally sourced, customizable goods store that aims to sell local products at an affordable price.

“We have a vision of having a community of local businesses and artists that have an opportunity to get their work out in an affordable way,” Burks said.

Notably, they hand-make earrings using an engraving machine, owned by Silvertip Engraving which also shares the same building. The earrings, designed by Burks, can be made of wood, acrylic or vinyl and can be customized with plastic or metal hardware.

They officially opened in March of this year but say that it has been more of a soft opening. The ultimate goal, according to Burks, is to provide a local way for businesses to buy bulk items that don’t come from overseas.

“What we really want to do is bulk wholesale for different local businesses,” Joe Burks, Lytaunie’s husband, said.

For example, they made custom earrings for a woman who had cancer, where 50% of the proceeds went to medical expenses for the woman’s family.

Ideally, they hope to sell bulk items to businesses and charities for them to then sell at a higher price. They are currently looking for booster clubs interested in buying discounted items, like earrings, keychains, necklaces and more, to sell to raise money. That way, local goods are helping to fund local organizations.

Simply put, they said, it allows fundraising to go further.

“Part of the reason we did this was to see if something local could be sustainable,” Joe said. “We’re just trying to keep it affordable and fair.”

Married in 2014, Joe and Lytaunie live in Evergreen, not too far from their shop on U.S. 2. They look forward to the day when they can start a bakery in the shop as well to sell goods to shoppers and to cater events.

The name, Meant to Bee, was the brainchild of Lytaunie’s mother. Throughout the years, her mom always would say that whatever had happened was just meant to be. Recently, Joe and Lytaunie went on a trip to Rome, where there were bees everywhere.

Hence, Meant to Bee came to be.

“It's really just a passion project right now,” Lytaunie said. “We are just trying to give back to the community.”

Meant to Bee is located at 3154 U.S. 2 East in a building attached to Silvertip Engraving. For more information, visit https://www.meant2bee.net/.

Reporter Kate Heston can be reached at [email protected] or 758-4459.