70. Designing a Life You Love, Slow Food, and the Benefits of Canning with Chelsea J. O’Leary of the Wiley Canning Company

Today’s guest is Chelsea J. O’Leary, a Nashville-based artist, entrepreneur, and home food preserver. She is the founder and owner of Wiley Canning Company, a company dedicated to canning, pickling, and preserving local and seasonal fruits and vegetables. Her first book, The Wiley Canning Company Cookbook, is now available. Chelsea creates recipes and hosts workshops to teach others to can, pickle, and preserve as well. She explores photography through both a film and digital format, and she is especially drawn to photographing fruits and vegetables.

When she is not canning, pickling, preserving, or creating photographs, she values and seeks meaningful, curiosity-driven dialogue with others. She loves to write and run, in the woods or through the city, and she cherishes time spent with her husband, Jared, and son, Sullivan. You might find them at a local farmers’ market, park, or nearby wooded trail.

Chelsea holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Latin American Studies from Otterbein University and a Food Product Development Certificate from Cornell University.

In our conversation we discuss:

• The questions she asked herself to design a life she loved, start her company, and nourish her creativity

• Her relationship with food and the role that it plays in her life, both from a philosophical perspective and day to day.

• What she would tell her younger self in terms of taking the leap of faith and making the career change

• What you need to know about canning, pickling, and food preservation, the questions she gets asked the most, and baby steps to take to try it at home.

• Motherhood, entrepreneurship, and creativity. How she views all three under the same umbrella rather than as separate entities

• When fear is there to tell you something and show you what you care about, and what to do in response to fear, doubt, and the imposter syndrome.

Resources:

Gratisfied

Healthified Online Magazine

Instagram: @gratisfied @healthified

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Chelsea On Instagram

The Wiley Canning Company on Instagram

Chelsea's Website

The Wiley Canning Company

The Wiley Canning Company Cookbook