Today we’d like to introduce you to Jayne Barnes.
Hi Jayne, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
In 2003, I decided to give my boyfriend Isaac a beehive for Christmas. What started as a simple hobby quickly turned into a sideline business, and now a full-time job and way of life. After getting married two years later, we have steadily increased our amount of hives every year, now keeping 600 hives of bees and selling our honey at local farmers’ markets and online. With the abundance of honey and beeswax, I began studying the art of making handcrafted soap using the old-fashioned cold process soap-making method, which ensures a moisturizing, long-lasting bar. I also make pure beeswax candles using the extra beeswax that is a natural by-product of our honey extraction. Our honey is harvested seasonally in order to bring out the distinct flavors and aromas of the floral source. We live in the Ohio countryside and enjoy working on our hobby farm with our four children, pet goats, horses, dairy calf, cats, dogs, and chickens… We hope to share our natural products with those who appreciate the simple things in life, and love to educate others about the gentle honeybee and her gifts.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Beekeeping has not always been without struggle. There have been harsh Ohio winters where some of our bees did not make it. We have had to learn from our mistakes, and also network with other beekeepers to learn new ways of doing things. We are always learning and constantly humbled by the things we don’t yet know in the world of beekeeping.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We specialize in making natural products from products of the beehive. We have 35 varieties of soap that contain beeswax from our beehives, made using the cold-process soap-making method.
We are also proud of our selection of beeswax candles, hand poured into molds to create various shaped candles. Our candles have no scent aside from the natural warm light honey scent that comes from the beehive. Many customers prefer our unscented candles as a natural alternative to the heavily fragranced candles mass-produced on the market today. The process of making candles has many steps to go from the beehive to the candle. First, we scrape off the beeswax cappings to remove the honey from the comb. The cappings are then spun to remove any honey residue. Then we melt the wax down and ladle it out with a filter, as the cleanest wax rises to the top. We do this process two more times before the wax is clean enough to pour into molds.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
Pure raw honey that you purchase straight from the beekeeper tastes very different from the ultra-filtered, pasteurized honey you buy at large grocery stores. If you think you don’t like honey, I’d encourage you to try local honey.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.honeyrunfarm.com
- Instagram: @honeyrunfarm
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/honeyrunfarm/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9jmtuEOZ70ImCpf2b9vhtg/featured
Image Credits
Jayne Barnes
Isaac Barnes
Tasha Braniff
