Meet Kristin Barnes

We recently connected with Kristin Barnes and have shared our conversation below.

Kristin, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
Ha! I’m not sure I have… I’ve come to chocolate from a different background than most. I like to tell people I’m an artist who found an intriguing medium in chocolate… I didn’t study culinary or pastry arts, and the only kitchen I worked in before sweet bean’s was my own home kitchen.

I studied art in high school and college, even had a scholarship to attend art school at CCAD – but I took a left turn and decided to attend Kent State, graduating with a Bachelors in psychology, and a minor in studio art, ultimately going the corporate route.

I found my way back to being creative after feeling stressed at work, and wanting to do something that made me happy. This hobby quickly spun into a small business and now we’ve grown from our kitchen into a studio with a small but mighty team of creative and culinary curious team members. I regularly pinch myself that this is what I get to do for a living.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
sweet bean was created in 2013 as a side-hustle, by husband and wife team, Bob and Kristin Barnes. After participating in the inaugural cohort of the Cleveland Culinary Launch & Kitchen Small Business Food Incubator, we launched Sweet Bean in the Fall at the Cleveland Flea with our first, and signature product line: hand-painted, -filled and –moulded chocolates. Often referred to as tiny works of art – we use colored cocoa butter and a handful of painting techniques to give our bon bons their signature bright + shiny look, while scratch-made fillings created from fresh, seasonal and local ingredients (when available) make them irresistible. In 2015, we introduced our second product line – bean to bar chocolate. We make chocolate starting from the raw cacao bean. We roast, crack and winnow the beans, then grind them (which can take multiple days) to create single origin chocolate bars.
In 2019, after 6 years of part-time chocolate making and a full-time marketing career, I took the plunge and became a full-time chocolatier, and sometimes marketer. Later that year, sweet bean participated in Season 3 of Cleveland’s Chain Reaction, a local pitch competition, and was selected one of 5 finalist winners.
We opened our chocolate studio located at 819 e 185th st. in Cleveland’s Collinwood neighborhood in 2021. We have retail partner stockists in Akron, Shaker, Lakewood and across the U.S., and we partner frequently with local restaurants and wine bars.
Today sweet bean aims to be your one stop shop for gourmet artisan chocolates that are ‘almost’ too pretty to eat, and other locally made gifts perfect for any occasion. We want to help you celebrate ALL the days: birthdays, anniversaries, retirement, even the random Tuesday. We provide you with gifts to wow friends, family, employees and clients. Whether you treat yourself or a loved one, when you give sweet bean chocolate, you make the occasion special.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
adaptability, perseverance, happiness

as I look back, I think the one trait that has served me over my entire life/career is adaptability… being open to trying new things, eager to learn, and not afraid to take a chance. I think my pursuit of joy and happiness has led me to where I am, doing something I love, sharing it with others, hoping it brings them joy as well.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
we are always looking to partner or collaborate with other individuals and businesses… whether its to carry sweet bean in your boutique, or for us to find a small business to carry on our retail shelf. or to host pop-ups!

We are always open to working with event, restaurants and hospitality related business. We love pairing our chocolates with spirits, good food, and good times.

We are also expanding into corporate gifts, we already create custom wedding/event gifts – working to cobrand employee and client appreciation gifts is the evolution of this.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Kristin Barnes

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