Tristan and I have always loved wild places.

From the sparsely populated canyons of Los Angeles to the rugged and enchanted mountains of New Mexico, to the isolated and subtropical rainforests and wild beaches of northern NSW, Tristan found himself closely tied to nature growing up. My home in a tiny town in the high mountains of Colorado found me constantly outdoors, climbing mountains, swimming in fresh rivers and cross-country skiing through snow-covered pine forests.

For both of us, making our livelihood based on nature, sees us realise our dream come true. (That doesn’t mean it has been easy… The life of a commercial beekeeper who wants to do things properly and take good care of the bees is a path only the most tenacious, persistent, stubborn and resilient succeeds in - but that’s a subject you can read more about on our beekeeping page...)

In 2000, we moved to Tasmania with our two-year-old daughter, drawn by its island magnetism, its uniqueness in the world, its ancient wild landscapes and its challenge of offering unrealised opportunities. These traits fuelled an adventurous and entrepreneurial fire we both had smouldering within us. All we needed was to be stung!

This came when our paths crossed with someone who gifted us a beautiful black 2kg tin of leatherwood honey and unknowingly set in motion a journey that would lead to a life centred around the magnificent bee and the world’s most delicious honey (leatherwood).

As is the case with “Newbees”, we could not help being drawn into the fascinating world of bees.

We acquired several hives, then split these hives and proceeded to pour every penny we made into the business (now with a son, as well as our daughter, alongside us). After a few years of minding the bees as a hobby, Tristan took the leap of faith and quit his building job to devote his attention full time to this alluring and addicting pursuit. With the few savings we had, we bought hives and leatherwood leases from an older beekeeper. It was an enormous and necessary move to grow the business.

During the time we built up our numbers of hives, we learned as much as we could about the Tasmanian beekeeping industry. Because of our experience prior to moving to the island, we were able to see a perfect opportunity to open a honey shop in which we could create something that would be central in showcasing Tasmania’s honey industry - a kind of honey- and bee-centre where we carried a wide representation of honey from producers all around the state, as well as locally-made honey and bee-based products. Whether it is the nature of beekeepers or the island mentality, the lack of cohesion within the Tasmanian beekeeping community seemed like a problem and to this day remains an issue with the overall marketing of this unique and important product.

That first shop, although probably not impacting the industry on any significant level, started our retail journey where we could share our passion for education and awareness of the importance of bees, honey and protecting the Tasmanian wilderness.

Our second shop, located in the Quadrant Mall, Launceston, allowed us to reach a larger customer base, with visitors from all over Australia finding us, as well as expanding our devoted local customers.

(Please note - we no longer supply the products you see in the photos - this was our journey in the past…) 

 Our last shop, located in Exeter (Tamar Valley) - The Beehive - was quite something to see and experience.

For almost 5 years, we welcomed locals and visitors into our hive of everything bee and honey we could find from Tasmania. 15+ different honey varieties from our own bees, all up for tasting; the best honey alcohol range in Australia; two live display beehives, where we gave talks to groups of school children, the elderly and special needs, as well as farm gate festival participants; and also a bee garden that we designed, planted and maintained, full of flowers throughout the year for customers to enjoy as well as be inspired to add to their own gardens to feed the bees.

(Please note - we no longer supply the products you see in the photos - this was our journey in the past…) 

In many ways, it was a very complex and difficult decision to close down this popular and successful shop…

But with such a passion for the forests (especially the leatherwood trees), the honey and the Tasmanian beekeeping industry, I felt it was time to make a bigger impact in spreading the word about how important these subjects are - their uniqueness is fascinating and should be revealed to the world.

I have now started writing a book on leatherwood - the trees, the honey and Tasmania’s beekeeping industry. 

Stay tuned!

Yours truly, Rebecca

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