Bee Girl's Favorite Things
Looking for gift ideas? Here are a few of my favorite things…
Sunday Afternoons is a hat company, based here in Southern Oregon, and I’ve known the owners since elementary school. I love the company because of their ethics, quality, and style. I’m wearing the Trinidad Hat in this picture. See the plethora of hats they offer on their website, or in the company store in Ashland, Oregon.
Anna at Bee Amour is a female founder, an artist, and a beekeeper, amongst many other things. I love the creativity and passion for bees that she puts into her pieces. She was a workshop leader at this summer’s #WASAshland conference, and I’m continually thankful for her generosity and talent. Order from her website, or find her vending at an event in Austin, Texas.
If I don’t go outside to play, I will die. These Hoka Speedgoat shoes are WATERPROOF, and so warm. They are my new favorite things this (almost) winter. I feel like I can run, or hike, forever in these bad mamma jammas. If you are local to Southern Oregon, get them at Rogue Valley Runners. Visit their website, and see if you can guess which ones are my feet 😉
Literally - anything at Patagonia is my favorite. Here’s me in one of their warm, and comfy puffies, and in a fleece. I think half my wardrobe is Patagonia. I feel great buying anything from them, as the quality and company ethics are through the roof, and they support and partner with organizations like Bee Girl to save the planet. Their missions statement is literally “We're in business to save our home planet.” They are also supporting sustainable and regenerative agriculture and fisheries through Patagonia Provisions. Find their goods online, or in stores, bonus points for shopping their Worn Wear collection.
Animal Stone is a female led company that makes these handsome charms to connect people with animals that they care about. Obviously, mine is Tera the Honey Bee. Their metals are from environmentally friendly and humane sources. They give to nonprofits all over the world who advocate for animal rights, women's rights, and a clean planet. Peruse the collection on their website.
I’ve known Chef Kristen since Bee Girl was just a baby organization. We were fast friends/soul mates upon finding our shared passion for a healthy food system. Not only do I cheer Kristen on in everything that she does (and visa versa), I’m a very happy customer of her “Meals to Go” service. Because when you work and travel as much as I do, you need your food to be fast and convenient, but also local, healthy, and DELICIOUS! If you are local to Southern Oregon, get in on this through her website.
I might be biased, but I think Bee Girl Honey is some of the most delicious liquid sunshine you can get. All of my bees work hard all year on our education and research projects, and along the way they also make some honey. We harvest and sell this delicious ambrosia, and every penny raised goes back to support those projects. Our honey is available now at local retailers in the Rogue Valley, see beegirl.org/honey for a list of our retail partners. (We’re not able to ship this season.)
Irvine & Roberts is a boutique winery that not only makes delicious wine, they are just completely wonderful people. I’ve loved being a member of their wine club, and a conservation partner, helping to create bee friendly habitat in their vineyard. This year we started with about 1,800 square feet of sunflowers. Myself, the bees, and the winery team loved it so much, we are going to do even more next year. Stop by their winery for a tasting (they even have faux chinchilla blankets to snuggle up by the fire outside), order their wines online on their website, or find them at a wine shop.
Medicine Mama's Apothecary was one of our first partners. They’ve been generously donating beeswax and propolis-based salves to the Beekeeper’s Ball, and the Hive to Table fundraising auction for years, and I’m obsessed with every single one of their products. Sweet Bee Magic goes with me on the plane, in lieu of lotion, because TSA hasn’t flagged it as a gel or liquid (in my bag, anyway). And V Magic goes.. well… you can guess. Find all of their products to keep your skin happy from top to bottom on their website, and at retailers nationwide.
If there was a world in which I could eat Crushpad Creamery’s “Honey Truffle Cheve” everyday, I would. This stuff is totally out of this world. Southern Oregon’s cheese game has gotten quite legit. There is just one caveat, you must travel to their winery/creamy in the beautiful Applegate Valley to feast upon this food of the gods. But don’t worry, the trip is totally worth it. Not only for the cheese and wine, but they have a mini donkey you can pet, and my favorite winery cat, LEWIS! I ate all the cheese, so don’t have a picture for you, but I do have a picture of me petting Leeewwwwiiiissss.
Another long-time partner of BGO is Honey Stinger. You may see a familiar face as you scroll around on their website and social media, and if you’ve been to a Beekeepers Ball or Hive to Table Dinner, you’ve seen their donated goods in the silent auction. If I could pick two products that I could eat everyday for the rest of my life, they would be the Gingersnap Waffles and Grapefruit Energy Chews. I live off of those during the bee/research season and they keep me buzzing when I don’t have time to stop and eat a meal. Find in most outdoor stores, grocery stores, and on their website.
Girl Next Door Honey has a plethora of bee-themed gifts in her shop on her website. Hilary and I started our organizations at about the same time, and it’s been awesome to watch her grow and come into her own as a beekeeper, educator, and artist. She was also a keynote speaker at this summer’s #WASAshland conference, and was awesome to be able to talk bees with her as we floated down the Rogue River. Though there is lots to choose from, Queen Spotting is my favorite book of hers. It’s beautifully illustrated and would be a great give to a newbee, someone who’s been beekeeping for years, or someone who just loves bees. Find it in her online shop on her website.
A product that I just tried out is Comvita manuka honey. I tell ya, it’s delicious. I usually save my manuka honey for when I cut or burn myself, but this stuff is so good, I might have a hard time saving it for my next calamity. They have a gift box on sale in their webstore that includes a one-year membership to The Nature Conservancy (long time partners of BGO). One of my favorite beekeepers, Noe Waters, works for their queen breeding program, so that adds an extra layer of sparkle for me! AND you can save 30% this gift box off with the coupon code GIFT30.
And of course, making a donation to BGO in a loved one’s name is a sweet way to let them know you care about what they care about. *If they care about bees, honey, and/or eating food* Support our work today through the donate button at beegirl.org/donate, or by clicking the link in my bio. Patagonia will MATCH all donations until they hit 10 million dollars (for all their nonprofit partners combined) and I hear that may happen by this Sunday (12/15), so please do give or gift a donation as soon as you can. Thank you!
