The idea for 1818 Farms—a sustainable flower farm and award-winning lifestyle brand—began with a trip to a petting zoo. There, McCrary’s eight-year-old son, Gamble, became smitten with a Babydoll Southdown sheep. The entrepreneurial-minded child was captivated not only by the animal’s teddy-bear face, but by its potential as a business venture.
“All he could talk about was owning a sheep and renting it for nativity scenes, or selling its wool and its manure,” recalled McCrary. “It got me thinking: How could we start a family business that teaches our kids about sustainability and entrepreneurship?”
She adopted four sheep—Static, Buttercup, Lulu, and Daisy—with plans to create a small agritourism venture that sold a few handmade goods on the side. But she soon realized the products were the business.
“Selling the products is what gave us the revenue we needed to feed the sheep and keep the lights on in the farm,” she said.
From her kitchen counter, McCrary began experimenting with natural skincare recipes using ingredients she could feel good about using on her family’s skin. Her first batches were mixed with a hand blender and spooned into jars by hand. One of those early creations, her whipped Shea Crème, would later win Good Housekeeping’s 2023 Beauty Award for Best Body Butter.
After years of selling her products at Birmingham farmer’s markets, which only run seasonally, McCrary realized she needed another income stream. In 2017, she opened an Amazon Handmade store, joining the artisan-only community of sellers that cater to customers seeking authentic, handcrafted goods.
“What I love about Amazon Handmade is it’s like an Amazon stamp of approval that we are actually handmade,” she said. “It’s been a game-changer, attracting customers who really believe in small-batch production.”
Since launching in the Amazon store, 1818 Farms has gone from sending out three packages a week to 300—growth that soon signaled she needed a dedicated production facility.
“It was clear we outgrew our kitchen,” she said. “We couldn’t eat, we couldn’t cook, everything was covered in jars.”
She now has a staff of ten that helps package products from a space in nearby Huntsville. Despite the scale, McCrary’s commitment to small-batch, handcrafted production has never wavered.
“We make 400 jars a day, but everything is still small batch, still hand-touched and handmade,” she said.
That handmade ethos extends beyond beauty products. At 1818 Farms, nothing goes to waste. The farm produces roughly 250,000 stems of flowers each year, which are pressed, dried, or turned into botanical wax sachets—decorative wax ornaments infused with dried blooms and finished with a loop of wool from the farm’s sheep. Even the wool scraps that can’t be spun are composted to nourish next season’s flowers.
“A big mission of the farm is zero waste. We even make our own dyes,” she said.
While she learned much through trial and error, McCrary credits Amazon Seller University for helping her navigate the learning curve of e-commerce.
“Seller University is one of the best tools available,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned seller or new. All the help is there.”
In 2019, 1818 Farms won an Amazon Small Business Spotlight Award—an honor McCrary says changed the trajectory of her company.
“That award changed our whole business,” she said, adding that it gave her the push she needed to scale up production. “We went from walking packages to the post office to having carriers pick up hundreds of shipments a day. Our company wouldn’t be where it is today without Amazon.”
Yet, even as 1818 Farms grows, McCrary’s roots remain firmly planted in the community. She regularly opens the farm for workshops and events, from wreath-making classes to loofah-pilling days. The farm also supports local initiatives like the Singing River Trail, which is developing bike paths and greenways across northern Alabama.
“We believe in giving back,” she said. “You give, and you’ll receive tenfold.”