Our Story
“…Eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste…”
Proverbs 24:13 KJV
If someone had told a teenaged Jonathan Nobel that he would someday make his living surrounded by thousands of females and spending winters in the Sunshine State, he would have advised them to seek a professional. Yet, today it is reality. Despite growing up in downtown Grand Rapids, MI, he knew a thing or two about agriculture – he spent every waking moment on his uncle’s farm in Dorr, MI, and discovered a deep love for farming and all that it entailed. So when a family friend asked him to tag along while tending his bee hives, it wasn’t much of a departure from what Jon was already doing.
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After a while, (and this is the part that still makes me wonder why HE hasn’t sought a professional) when he was stung for the umpteenth time, instead of screaming and running for the trees, he thought, “Hey, if I’m going to get stung every day, I might as well be keeping my own bees.”
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Soon after, he bought a beautiful farm in Otsego, MI, which has come to be known as Nobel Honey Farm. And that is how “Jonny” got into the “bizzz-ness” of beekeeping.
Then in 2006, he married me…
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I didn’t like the taste of honey…at first. (But in my defense, if you put a piece of chocolate and a potato chip in front of me, I'm gonna pick the potato chip every time. No judging!)
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Although I didn't eat it often, I soon discovered the many benefits it possessed for my skin! So as a creative outlet, I started experimenting with honey and beeswax in soaps, balms and candles. One day, I brought some to the local farmer’s market along with our honey, and the response was fantastic! Having spent more than 15 years in the retail industry, I recognized a great sales opportunity when I saw it. Hence, Jonny Bee Goods was born.
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Fast forward to today - we're still going strong! We sell our honey and wax products at home, at market and online. Occasionally, when I get some free time (wait, what's that?) I work on developing new products; but I'm pretty picky and since the only people on my development team are me, myself and I, it's a pretty drawn out process!
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Be that as it may, we love the bees, we love what we do, and we're grateful that we get to work together every day! I hope you'll find that our products reflect that love in both quality and consistency!
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Kari
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