Today we’d like to introduce you to Kara Hoke.
Hi Kara, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started The Hokestead in 2022 as a passion project, created to share the surplus of plants, produce, and flower bouquets from my garden, along with a small offering of honey from the hives that my husband, Tyler, keeps. I applied to become a vendor at the Monroe County Farmers Market and set up for the very first time on the last weekend of April 2022. That first year, our stand was small and simple, but both of us were grateful just to be there. From the beginning, what mattered most was connecting with the community and being part of something so special.
After a few weeks at the farmers market, I noticed there were no natural body care products available. Having previously made lip balms, body balms, and salves as Christmas gifts, I decided to bring a small batch to market mid-season. That small addition quickly grew into something much bigger, and is what The Hokestead is most known for today. As of 2026, I offer over 30 clean, natural bath and body products year-round: at in-person events, in a few local shops, and on my online store. With the incredible support of our customers, our plant, produce, and other selections have expanded as well. In particular, we’ve been able to invest in additional equipment and expand our apiary, significantly increasing our honey offerings. In 2024, I left my job to pursue The Hokestead full-time, a step that has allowed the business to truly grow and thrive.
It’s amazing to think that just a few years ago, we simply hoped to sell a handful of garden plants and tomatoes. Today, The Hokestead is a thriving full-time business that continues to evolve as we bring in more of the passions that inspire us. This year, one of the ways we are expanding is through a service: yoga. I recently completed my 200-hour yoga teacher training with a focus on Hatha and Vinyasa Yoga, and am working on certifications in Yin and Restorative Yoga. Kodiak Hollow in Waterloo graciously offered their studio space, so I am currently teaching several classes each week there. Yoga feels like a natural extension of everything we value: intentional living, caring for our bodies, and nourishing the soul. As we continue to grow, I’m excited to weave yoga more fully into The Hokestead and see where this next chapter leads.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Like any small business, we face our share of challenges. The Hokestead is truly a wife-and-husband operation, but with Tyler working full time, I have to be intentional about creating balance. My goal is to structure the business in a way that allows it to run primarily with one person while still maintaining the quality and care we’re known for. Nonetheless, balancing it all can be demanding. From tending the garden and caring for plants to handcrafting all-natural products and maintaining inventory, there’s always something that needs attention. Add in signage and displays, marketing and promotion, paperwork, monitoring trends, navigating economic shifts, staying current with product regulations, and fulfilling online orders… the to-do list never seems to end.
But despite the long hours and constant juggling, it’s worth it. The Hokestead allows me to build a life that reflects who I am, gives me the freedom to create, and keeps me deeply connected to the community. That makes every challenge meaningful.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The Hokestead is a small backyard homestead on ¼ acre in Hecker, Illinois. I am committed to going beyond organic, to growing heirloom varieties only, and to producing pure, simple, and clean products. In the spring, we offer no-spray heirloom garden plants: vegetables, herbs, and annual flowers. Summer brings our no-spray heirloom produce, with a focus on rare and flavorful foods like ground cherries, Asian long beans, vibrant heirloom tomatoes, unique cucumber varieties, and the garlic we’ve become known for. When available, we offer honey from our hives and we’re proud to say we maintain and practice ethical beekeeping standards, prioritizing hive health over honey production. We harvest honey only when our colonies are strong and able to rebuild their own stores for fall and winter. Clean and natural bath, body, and face care products are offered year-round. The beeswax from our hives, along with the no-spray herbs and flowers I grow and then infuse into oils, become the foundation for these items. Throughout the seasons, we offer other handmade and homegrown goods: fresh bouquets, framed dried flower art, and other creations inspired by what we grow and forage.
My bath and body care line is what the business has become most known for, and what I’m most proud of. Years before selling, I made simple products as gifts using online recipes. But turning this into a business required much more than a few ingredients and a Pinterest recipe. It meant investing in education and truly learning the art and science of formulation: understanding how ingredients function, how they interact, how to balance and adjust ratios, and how to ensure safety, stability, and performance over time.
I am a former teacher, so education is at the heart of what I do. I don’t want customers to purchase from me simply because I claim something is high quality. Instead, I want them to understand what’s in their products, how to read ingredient labels, and how to evaluate quality for themselves. Empowered customers make informed choices, and that builds trust.
That commitment is what sets The Hokestead apart. I use as many of my own homegrown ingredients as possible, dedicate significant time to carefully formulating and refining each product long before it ever reaches the shelves, and empower my customers with knowledge to decide for themselves if my products are best for them.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Many people are surprised to learn we operate on just a quarter acre. We’re truly a backyard garden, yet we’re still able to grow a remarkable amount of food. Between the beds we’ve spent years building and the soil we’ve steadily improved, we harvest a fresh selection of produce each week through the summer and preserve enough to carry our family all the way through winter. Thankfully, our bees live a few miles from our home on a larger farm. It would definitely make things interesting if all our hives were on our small property too!
The rest of our operation is indoors. Part of our basement has been transformed into a “warehouse,” lined with shelving that holds the ingredients for our natural body care products. Another corner serves as a mini greenhouse, where seedlings get their start under heating mats and grow lights before moving to the outdoor greenhouse once the weather warms. I’ve also taken over two spare bedrooms upstairs – one is my office and the other stores crates, displays, and other items we need to set-up at a market. Some days it feels like The Hokestead has taken over the whole house, but each year we find new ways to make it all run a little more smoothly.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thehokestead.com/
- Instagram: @the_hokestead
- Facebook: The Hokestead
