Vendor Spotlight: B.E.'s Bees

ARTICLE BY: Kali McCrackin Goodenough
PHOTOS BY:  Kali McCrackin Goodenough & Peggy McCrackin

​Bruce Embury, owner of B.E.’s Bees, got his start as a beekeeper through boy scouts.
“When I was a teenager, I knew this kid through boy scouts and he had bees up near where my mother worked, so I went up and visited,” Bruce says.
His parents gave him a hive for Christmas. He learned how to keep bees and gather their wax and honey, which gave him the skills he needed to start his own colonies in Wyoming in 2011. Currently, Bruce has 20 colonies of honey bees, each with 40 - 60,000 worker bees. From his bees’ efforts, he creates beeswax candles and steals the honey to sell.

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​“The thing that sells the most is the honey sticks,” Bruce says.
His honey sticks come in a selection of flavors and are tasty sweet treat.
For Bruce, he sees bees as more than just pollinators and creators of candles and honey, however. 
“We can learn a lot from honey bees,” he says. “Bees are a superorganism, so there is no one in charge. They see something and they do it.”
In addition to bee products, Bruce sells handmade wooden works including cutting boards and thick, wooden spoons. He even made the beautiful honey-comb shelf he uses to display his products. 

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​“I’ve always worked with my hands,” he says, working on a spoon as he talks with customers. “I just enjoy it.”
Bruce first started selling at the Thursday Local Market in 2013 and loves seeing all the people who come to the market. He has been on the market board for several years.
This week, stop by the B.E.’s Bees booth, try a honey stick and check out the cute cutting boards and candles. Bruce will be happy to see you and share his passion for bees. 

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