Natalie Wallace felt “imprisoned” in an old notion. She had studied filmmaking, so that was her forever calling. Then a friend said something life-changing.
“You’ve done this for 10 to 15 years already, but you have so much more of your life left,” he said. “What if this next thing you want to do is the thing you were supposed to do and the thing that you’re best at? You have so much more time to be great at something else.”
Today, that “next thing” is Honey Bear Ice Cream, the vegan, dairy- and gluten-free ice cream that democratizes dessert and honors a sweet rescue dog named Mabel.
“I feel very inspired by this concept that human beings don’t need to live along a straight line,” says Natalie. “People don’t give themselves the freedom to change over time. We should have the freedom to be in charge of our life and transform it into whatever we feel fits for us.”
The Lebanon, PA, native graduated in 2009 from Elon University in North Carolina. The era’s lurching economy inspired her to start two businesses that she still owns under the Wonderhouse Studios parent company—Birdhouse Wedding Films, and documentary studio Wonderscope Cinema.
“We like to say we’re focused on human stories, so we’re interested in capturing real people,” says Natalie. “We love showing the brighter sides of the human spirit.”
She does it all from a studio overlooking the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg, a town bursting with “a really interesting creative energy. I wanted to be part of a place that’s kind of being built up again. And of course, the river is beautiful, too.”
Now, for the ice cream. Natalie and her twin brother, Wonderhouse filmmaker George Fava, grew up in an Italian-Polish family, “always very into food, very into dessert, talking about your next meal while you’re eating a meal.”
Even when a rebellious gut forced her to give up gluten and dairy, ice cream remained her great love, so ingrained in her life that her husband, Mark Wallace, proposed with a ring concealed in an ice cream cone.
Amid the COVID-19 lockdown, her aunt gave her “the best gift ever”—an ice cream maker. Natalie made ice cream for friends, joking that it would become a business.
Then the jokes turned serious. Unlike the video businesses, ice cream felt like a universal proposition, spreading joy to the world. Natalie’s thought process: “I have the energy. Let’s give it a go, and if it doesn’t work out, that’s okay. At least we tried.”
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As she perfected ice cream made with coconut milk in a coconut cream base, Natalie conjured up the tastes of childhood. The ultra-chocolate Black Star is a fan favorite. So is Pink Moon, the sole non-vegan entry, a concoction of strawberry-lemon puree and strawberry cake that channels her mom’s beloved Jell-o cake. Everyone says it reminds them of strawberry shortcake ice cream bars.
Natalie’s business experience didn’t prepare her for the rocky bureaucracy of food production. Roadblocks included outright skepticism from regulators who couldn’t comprehend ice cream in non-dairy form. Fortunately, she is free to dream up ice cream flavors while her husband’s best friend and Honey Bear’s COO, Scott Cooper, manages such duties as acquiring frozen dessert licenses and overseeing agriculture inspections.
Whenever the team thought their venture was doomed, Natalie remembered a lesson learned over the years.
“If you have a bit of friction, that means you’re on to something,” she says. “That can be fuel to the fire.”
You’ll find Honey Bear Ice Cream at pop-up markets around central Pennsylvania and the Philly suburbs. It’s also available for pickup at designated sites and times. Instagram followers find the appearances and make the treks (@eathoneybear).
Then there’s the Honey Bear name. In 2010, Natalie and Mark rescued a sort of golden retriever-German Shepherd puppy from a Tennessee kill shelter. Natalie’s husband named her Mabel. Natalie nicknamed her Honey Bear.
“She’s super loveable, loves people, and also has a sweet tooth,” Natalie says. “She gives this form of unconditional love. I could be the worst person in the world, and she loves me back.”
Which reflects Honey Bear Ice Cream’s motto of “Ice cream that loves you back.”
“Creating something you can eat freely and not get sick from and enjoy and feel so blissful in the moment, that’s how I feel with Mabel,” says Natalie. “I wanted to name my ice cream after my dog and give it this cute, sweet, loving persona.”
Currently, Honey Bear Ice Cream is produced in a Harrisburg-area church’s commercial kitchen, where usage fees support a nearby community garden. As things go well, Natalie dreams of expanding.
“Every time I’m at the kitchen and bouncing back to the office, I feel very fulfilled and very happy and very at peace,” she says. “I’m a big believer in envisioning your future and imagining possibilities for yourself and figuring out how to get there. It’s exciting to tackle these challenges and say, ‘I’m one step closer to this thing that I really know we can do.’”
Honey Bear Ice Cream
