The Honeysuckle Bee         Me

Thanks so much for taking the time to look at our website. 

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My name is Gwen. I am the founder of The Honeysuckle Bee and Me and live with my family in the beautiful green rolling drumlin hills of County Down, close to the shores of Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland.

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There is no doubt that adding a little nature to our daily lives can bring us such much joy.

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I am passionate about the use of natural materials, ingredients, sustainability and helping to prevent the decline of our native pollinator species.

I truly believe that we would all like to do more to help protect our environment but that sometimes the choices can seem not realistic or overwhelming.

 

​My company story began about 15 years ago when i gave up working as a Sick Childrens nurse to be a stay at home Mum to our 4 boys. I took a diploma course in Aromatherapy, dabbled in herbal medicine, kept chickens, pigs and sheep and began beekeeping. somewhere in the middle of this mayhem, I learnt how to make soap using the traditional cold process method. This soap was a big success with family and friends and so my company, The Honeysuckle Bee and Me began...

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​Since then, my boys have grown into young men, my business has grown and I have further developed the range of products and services while still adhering to my values of, using quality ingredients and materials that are natural, sustainable.

 

I have been keeping honey-bees for over 12 years now and manage 20-25 hives. 

The wider pollinator insect habitat (and its plight) has become something that I am very passionate about and I am now an advocate for the re-establishment of our Native Irish Honeybee - Apis meliffera mellifera and also a proud supporter of The All Ireland Pollinator Plan.

I am also pleased to be the Beekeeper for the Historic Hillsborough Castle & Gardens where I am involved in projects in which our Honeybees are a fascinating tool for community engagement and education.

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​My products and workshops are inspired by our beautiful Northern Ireland countryside and ingredients that we have growing in abundance or that I grow, myself, using organic methods here on our small holding.

It is always a joy to able to turn simple things into something functional yet beautiful and a pleasure to use.

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​I would love to help you make small changes that can bring a little bit of natures joy into your daily life.

Be it as simple as beginning your day with one of our plant based soaps, learning how to make your own lovely lip balm,  planting a herb patch at the end of your garden or beginning an adventure in beekeeping, I look forward to sharing it with you...

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If you need a little help or have any questions about my products or services, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.

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Gwen x

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