At The Wonky Bee, every jar of honey tells a story — not just about bees, but about curiosity, persistence, and learning to work alongside nature.
What began as a simple appreciation for good honey slowly grew into a passion for beekeeping and eventually a small apiary dedicated to producing pure, raw honey just as the bees made it.
A Sweet Beginning
Before I ever owned a hive, I was simply someone who loved good honey.
A friend of mine kept bees in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and I regularly bought honey from him. Over time we had many conversations about his bees, the way honey is made, and the incredible world inside a hive.
Those conversations sparked something in me.
What started as curiosity turned into months of reading and learning. I bought books, studied bee biology, hive management, and everything I could find about what it takes to properly care for a colony.
Eventually the only way to truly learn more was to start keeping bees myself.
Preparing for the First Bees
In 2022 I was fortunate enough to receive three hive kits through the Virginia Beehive Lottery.
I assembled each hive myself, carefully painting and preparing them so they would be ready for their first residents. Unfortunately by the time everything was completed it was already too late in the season to begin.
So instead of rushing into it, I kept learning.
Over the winter I continued reading and preparing so that when the next spring arrived I would be ready to start properly.
The following year I received my first three NUC colonies from the same friend who first introduced me to beekeeping.
Where The Wonky Bee Began
placed upside down
It didn’t take long for me to notice something about my bees.
Sometimes they liked to do things their own way.
They would occasionally build wonky comb — crooked, oddly shaped honeycomb or comb built where it wasn’t supposed to be. It quickly became one of those funny things that beekeepers learn to deal with.
At the same time, my own beekeeping journey had a few wonky moments too. As much as I tried to prepare, there were plenty of challenges and learning experiences along the way.
Somewhere during those early days the name came to me:
The Wonky Bee
It fit the bees perfectly — and it fit the journey just as well.
Hard Lessons in the First Year
Like many new beekeepers, my first year with bees was a struggle.
Even after months of research, putting everything together in real life was much harder than expected. Managing colonies, reading the behavior of the bees, and understanding what they needed took time and patience.
When winter arrived in Virginia, the colonies simply weren’t strong enough to survive the harsh conditions.
Losing those first hives was difficult, but it also became one of the most valuable lessons in my beekeeping journey.
The following year I cleaned up the equipment, started again with new colonies, and continued building on everything I had learned.
Moving the Bees to Georgia
In 2024 life brought a major change — relocating to Dearing, Georgia.
Moving bees isn’t as simple as loading them onto a truck. The process required coordinating inspections and approvals with both Virginia and Georgia to ensure the colonies could legally and safely make the trip.
Once the bees arrived in Georgia, I had to start learning again — this time about a new climate, new flowering plants, and a different seasonal cycle.
The warmer environment and longer growing seasons created new opportunities for the bees and the apiary.
Growing the Apiary
Over time the apiary expanded to eight thriving hives, and I began raising NUC colonies to help support other new beekeepers starting their own journeys.
From the beginning I have tried to focus on more natural hive management practices whenever possible. Instead of relying on harsh chemicals, I work to read the signs the bees provide and adjust management practices accordingly.
Beekeeping works best when you learn to listen to the bees.
The First Honey Harvest
When the first honey harvest finally arrived in 2025, it was incredibly rewarding.
Harvesting honey is far more work than most people realize.
Frames of capped honey are carefully removed from the hive, the protective layer of wax cappings removed and placed into a honey extractor where the honey is spun out of the comb. From there the honey drains into buckets and passes through a sieve to remove small bits of wax or debris from the hive.
Only then is the honey ready for bottling.
From Hive to Bottle
Every jar of The Wonky Bee Honey is filled by hand.
After extraction, the honey is carefully poured into bottles one at a time. Each bottle is capped and sealed with an induction sealer to preserve the freshness of the harvest.
Finally, every jar receives hand-applied labels — a label design that took nearly a year to refine until it felt just right.
Each bottle captures the hard work of thousands of bees and preserves it until someone is ready to enjoy it.
Sharing the Honey
The first bottles were shared with friends and family, and the response was incredible.
People loved the flavor and quality of the honey. Even friends and coworkers who normally didn’t seek out honey began asking for more.
That’s when it became clear that this journey had turned into something worth sharing.
The Wonky Bee Today
Today The Wonky Bee continues to grow, one hive at a time.
Every jar represents the work of thousands of bees, the lessons learned along the way, and a simple goal — to produce pure, raw honey and share the incredible work of the bees.
Sometimes the comb is still a little wonky.
And honestly… that’s part of the charm.