Sustaina-bee made wraps keep food fresh

WHEN Paige Phelan took maternity leave in 2016, she knew a project was in order.

“I needed something to do. I’d seen cloth food covers online a lot, and I thought, how on earth can they keep your food fresh?” she said.

“I was quite cynical, but my partner’s dad has a couple of beehives on his farm, so I asked if he had any spare beeswax, we got some and gave beeswax wraps a shot.”

The first attempt and a few to follow weren’t perfect, but Ms Phelan was enjoying the process, the practicality, and could see huge potential.

“They were pretty awful, but they worked, and I was so happy that I had proven my cynical self wrong. They were fun, kept me busy, and occupied while I wasn’t working.”

Now offering her own alternative to plastic food wrap, Ms Phelan has since honed the craft.

The small business owner behind Mind Your Own Beeswax, she creates handmade, eco-friendly, reusable food wraps with “pretty” patterned organic cotton.

The philosophy, “think globally, act locally,” is front of mind.

“We use a mixture of beeswax, jojoba oil and pine rosin to coat the organic cotton.

“Beeswax is the main ingredient which keeps everything fresh and preserves things, the oil softens the beeswax so they’re not crumbly and don’t crack, and the rosin helps with the tackiness,” Ms Phelan said.

“They really keep the food fresh. We’ve had things lost in the back of the fridge that came out still crisp and fresh, not mouldy or discoloured. Watermelon, pumpkin, avocado and cheese are all really good.”

Over the last few years, the process of making each food wrap has become quite the family affair, with plenty of production-line teamwork.

“We buy the wax in 30-kilo blocks, so my four-year-old, Henry and his dad, Matt smash it into little pieces together,” Ms Phelan said.

“We melt all the ingredients together. Matt does all the ironing of the cotton, and he’s getting better at dipping it in the vat of beeswax which takes some of the pressure off me.

“Then we go to the markets, mostly locally, but all around.”

A part of business ownership that she’s especially loved in Ballarat is this community aspect, developing a presence at events amongst other local producers.

“We only moved here just before Henry was born. Although I have family and friends in Ballarat, we didn’t have any of our own networks or connections.

“It’s been lovely to meet everybody and really start to feel a part of the community. The handmade and market community is really lovely in Ballarat, everybody’s been really welcoming and generous,” Ms Phelan said.

The wraps come in varying sizes from 16 square centimetres to 50 square centimetres, lasting around 12 months before they need to be re-dipped or re-waxed.

“There’s no need to throw them away. We sell the mixture separately so you can top-up your wraps or make them from scratch yourself. Otherwise, they can be popped in the compost because they’re all natural.

“These are a really easy way to introduce a little bit more sustainability into your everyday life. It’s easier to implement small changes than to try and overload yourself, and feel guilty about not doing everything right,” Ms Phelan said.

Mind Your Own Beeswax food wraps are stocked locally at Hattie and the Wolf, the Little Square Garage, The Chapel Store in Gordon and Ballan IGA. Ms Phelan is taking a break from markets during the pandemic.

Visit mindyourownbeeswaxfoodwrap.com, or make contact at [email protected].