"Is it for washing bees" or "is it made of bees" Questions I often get asked at market stalls, and while it is fun to go down the route of imagining a full colony of 50,000 bees all lining up to have their 6 arm pits scrubbed, that's not the reason for the name.
In 2012 my husband and I became beekeepers and after many years of learning we finally started getting a honey crop. With enough to sell, and a whole table to fill we began to think of other lines to add. Candles, beeswax wraps and furniture polish were made, and after a talk at our beekeeping association on soap making, I dived in headfirst learning all about using our beeswax, and honey, in soap. I joined a soap makers community, and was given guidance on the myriad of legal hoops that I needed to jump through. That community also held a competition, pushing me to make more than just plain, unscented bars. Patterns, fragrances, techniques and essential oils filled my world for those summer months, and I'm very proud to say I came third. I took a few months perfecting my own recipe, ending up with a bar that is hard and long lasting but not overly waxy, perfect for hand washing or in the shower.
Now, nearly two years from that first launch - both in soap making and in beekeeping, I'm still learning, trying new things, and learning how not to do things!
