Meet the Maker | Simply Beelish-ious
What started as a hobby with a single bee hive has become a thriving business for Chris and Julie of Beelish! With a range of products made from honey and all things wax, Beelish is a regular at Wine Country’s Handmade in the Hunter markets. This month we caught up to talk all things beelish-ious!
HVMAG: Can you please tell us a bit about what you do? How did you come up with the idea?
JULIE: In 2009, Chris came home one day enthused about meeting a beekeeper who showed him his beehive and now he wanted one too! After completing a variety of courses and training days provided by the local Amateur Beekeeping club, he felt confident to purchase his first beehive. His ‘hobby’ was successful, and soon his one beehive grew to 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and then 20+ hives. We suddenly had more honey than we could give to family and friends and a growing box of beeswax.
So ‘Beelish…. for all thing honey and wax’ was born, and we have enjoyed using our raw honey to extend our range of products. Our honey is sourced from our own beehives, and our products include Raw Honey, Creamed Honey, Cinnamon Honey, Ginger Honey and Roasted Almonds in Raw Honey.
What types of products do you sell? What is your top-selling product? Who is your typical customer?
Apart from our honey, we also produce candles and food wraps. Beelish Beeswax Food Wraps are a natural, easy and cost-effective way to reduce your use of single-use kitchen plastic wraps. Beelish Foods Wraps are made from our beeswax, which has been blended with tree resin and organic coconut oil and then infused onto bright, colourful 100% cotton fabric. You use the Beeswax Food Wraps to replace your single-use cling wraps, so they are both pretty and eco-friendly and sustainable. Chris is also busy in the shed making a variety of Wooden Gift Boxes for the honey, which make wonderful gifts, and I use the pure beeswax to make Beeswax Candles. When you burn these beautiful candles, you enjoy the natural honey aroma knowing they are free from toxins and additives.
What is an interesting fact about bees that our readers might not know?
There are just so many interesting facts about bees! For starters - bees have four wings, six legs and five eyes, flap their wings up to 200 times per second, and they communicate through dance. A worker honeybee will produce about one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime, and there can be between 40,000 and 60,000 bees in one beehive. Just to name a few!
What do you like most about Handmade in the Hunter Markets?
We have been stall holders at the Handmade in the Hunter Markets for about 11 years. All the stallholders at this market make their own products, and the visitors get to meet and chat with the actual makers, who are all very passionate about their products. Visitors to the market are locals and travellers from all over Australia and overseas. It’s great fun to provide tastings of our honey products to market visitors and to hear their stories.
For upcoming market dates, check out page 5 in this issue or visit the website at www.handmadehuntermarkets.com.au.
