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September 3rd, 2008
diy wednesdays: homegrown honey

we know this week’s diy post is a little off-topic, but (continuing on last week’s sweet theme) we thought it would be fun to share one of our many, many obsessions with you—beekeeping! for the past few months, we’ve been tending to our little hive in the hopes that some day we could harvest some delicious, homegrown honey. well, this labor day we enjoyed a very sticky, very sweet bonanza, and we caught the whole thing on tape!

back next week with more diy goodness!
-derek & lauren

honey1.jpg
honey2.jpg

30 comments
Annie said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 1:37 pm

You two are amazing. Thanks so much for the the video. I love it.

September 3rd, 2008 - 2:07 pm

That video made me so happy! One of my all-time favorite visuals is watching the hot knife cut through the wax caps and exposing all of that gold. I first saw it on Reading Rainbow as a kid, and every time I see it happen it brings me great joy. Thanks for sharing!

Wendy said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 2:10 pm

That is awesome! I’ve never seen the process before - fascinating…

September 3rd, 2008 - 2:19 pm

SHUT UP! Seeing that process was so educational. I know you’ve been telling John and I to get some bee’s of our own… this just might have put us 1 step closer. You guys are out of this world!
Thanks.

Green Key said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 2:24 pm

Thanks for posting this! It’s really fascinating. Is that a Gocco printer you’re using for the labels? I haven’t used mine in years. They’re a blast!

kp said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 2:37 pm

Thanks for sharing, that was thrilling! What is happening in that last image? It looks like your using some sort of small press thing-y to make the label… could you tell me what that is? Thanks again!

Aurora said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 2:39 pm

absolutely amazing. what a satisfying conclusion to all that hard work, thank you little bees, Derek, Christina, and Lauren. YUM!!! I can’t wait to taste a little bit of Berkeley. Visual OMG with the pouring of the liquid gold from the bucket, yowza! good job friends!!!!!!!!!

Christine said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 2:55 pm

Wow- I can’t believe all the areas of knowledge you two have! This was really amazing to watch!

joy said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 3:55 pm

wow - you guys are amazing! love it.
-joy

lauren said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 3:57 pm

hello! thanks for all the nice comments- we wish we could share a little honey with each and every one of you.

we printed our labels using a gocco printer- that is the blue mechanism in that picture. if you’re not familiar with gocco, you should definitely look it up. it’s the best for small scale custom printing.

Ann Horwich said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 4:16 pm

I so love this! What a great reward! Do you have recommendations/how-to’s for where to go to learn to do this? Thanks for sharing :-)

rebecca said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 4:33 pm

phenomenal! inspiring! starting to dream now…. thank you!

stacy p. said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 5:06 pm

awesome, buzzzzzzy bees!
as always your projects are so inspiring.
i cannot wait to taste the honey.

Emmie said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 6:53 pm

This is such an awesome post. I loved seeing the whole process of collecting the honey. It makes me want honeybees!

Derek said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 7:13 pm

Hi Ann:
Start with a Google search to see if there is a Bee Club or Association somewhere near you. Most likely there will be. Beekeepers are universally nice folk, and love to share their passion with anyone and everyone. Otherwise there are a lot of great books about beekeeping, including “Beekeeping for Dummies” (http://www.amazon.com/Beekeeping-Dummies-Howland-Blackiston/dp/0764554190/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220483618&sr=8-1), which is a great primer.

September 3rd, 2008 - 7:35 pm

awesome :) Once again, I just love your scope of crafty coverage Grace!

mary said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 7:53 pm

wonderful!–from the suit to the gocco

any plans for the wax?

Ann said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 9:39 pm

Thanks, Derek!

Rowan said:
September 4th, 2008 - 5:33 am

Mmm yum…

A teaspoon or so a day of locally produced honey can ease symptoms for hayfever sufferers - may be an extra selling point?

Thanks for sharing x

male said:
September 4th, 2008 - 10:51 am

Derek&Lauren: simply fantastic!!!! though i want to know where did you get the printing kit for you labels from? thanx!

Laura said:
September 4th, 2008 - 11:52 am

oh man my mouth is watering sooooo bad…. it must taste even that much better when you’ve put all that work and care into the process.

September 4th, 2008 - 12:27 pm

Where are you getting your gocco supplies? I have the little B6 printer, but I can’t find screens for it anymore.

lauren said:
September 4th, 2008 - 2:44 pm

Hi Heather- we went a little crazy and stocked up on Gocco screens and bulbs last year, so we’re still using those. Thinkink.net is a good place for ink and other supplies.

Mary- we are going to melt down all the wax next weekend and hopefully make a couple candles and some lip balm!

MissWolverine said:
September 5th, 2008 - 2:41 am

so totally awesome. bees are so great. good for your garden and honey has so many great healing properties. especially for burn wounds. put some honey on it every day and it heals without a scar.
damn, now i just wish i had somewhere to keep my own.
such an awesome video

September 5th, 2008 - 6:50 am

Great! :D

September 9th, 2008 - 10:15 am

Hi there! A friend of mine forwarded me your link and I hope you do not mind I posted it in my “bee Spotting” post today. I am an artist on the verge of bee-keeping and found this fabulous! I apologize for the short notice, It has been a whirlwind week and really thought I had already commented here once.

Keep up the wonderful work, I will bee back for sure!

September 15th, 2008 - 3:14 am

What a great video! Bees are amazing little creatures. It’s just such a mind boggling thing that these little insects create something so pure and so yummy!

Marissa McMillon said:
October 6th, 2008 - 3:12 pm

I absolutely loved watching this! I’ve always wanted a beehive. Someday when I have a home I will. Thank you for sharing and showing how the process works.

farah said:
October 15th, 2008 - 5:52 pm

i know this post is about honey… but im wondering if anyone can tell me what that little press would be called and where i can find one?

Rita Leid said:
November 30th, 2008 - 10:33 pm

Can you tell me if there is a way to find a local homegrown facility?

I live in MOORE, OK. I love the homegrown stuff, but do not know how to find where to buy it.

Thanks lots!

Rita Leid

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