September 07, 2011
As a Sound Recordist, my line of work has taken me high above the Albemarle Sound in the Crow’s Nest of the Elizabeth II to recording doctors performing open-heart surgery on a 5-month old. None of those had given me a buzz of adrenalin quite as much as suiting up in a head-to-toe protective gear, to record the sounds of thousands of flying, pollinating, potentially stinging bees.
Ahh, but that is the normal for an everyday beekeeper; or apiarist, for the more bee culturally minded reader.
Burt’s Bees employee, Brandi, assured me that my encounter at her hives would leave me with a bee-nign feeling. All kidding aside, I had felt completely safe arriving on location at Brandi’s house to get to know more about her hobby of beekeeping.
Burt’s Bees approached Horizon to do a “NPR”-style profile on Brandi. It was fascinating to hear Brandi speak about her love of beekeeping. One might not consider it a relaxing hobby, but in Brandi’s case, she looks forward to suiting up and heading out to her hives to collect the rectangular frames which hold the sweet golden honey she jars and sells out of her home.
As expected, a lot of what Brandi collects from her hives is the same bee by-products that Burt’s Bees uses in their own line natural beauty products. There is the honey, the beeswax, and royal jelly to name a few. The sweetest part of this project was the jar of golden goodness I was able to take home with me.
To find out more about Brandi and how she makes the honey go from the comb to the jar, you can go to Burt’s Bees’ website or fly on through Horizon’s Portfolio. You’ll probably see it there along with a bunch of other projects that create a buzz.
