Everyday Heroes: Georgia beekeeper inspires growing honey community
You can find Simone Fyffe at Atlantic Station in Midtown most Sundays, standing among the array of tents and tables where dozens of local entrepreneurs gather to market their products to passing customers.
Her display is intentionally artsy, decorated with colorful labels that feature a cartoon image of her and art supplies. She has original paintings displayed nearby for purchase, along with honey that she harvests herself and sells.
“My life, at the moment, has been kind of consumed by the bees,” she says. “And I wanted to incorporate it into my business, so I’ve done a lot of research and educated myself in being a beekeeper and dealing with honey-based products.”
Fyffe used to be a medical assistant before switching gears to become a full-time artist in 2017. During this period, she spent a lot of time exploring Georgia’s state parks and noticed something interesting: Every park sold honey. That’s when she saw a business opportunity.
By 2021, Fyffe had purchased a hive that she began to cultivate in her backyard. Now, that original colony has grown to nine hives that she utilizes as the main source for her locally produced honey products through her business, Art + Honey Co. by PCS LLC.
Her honey assortments range from luxury honey-infused perfumes and body butters to signature raw, organic honey blends like lavender dream, watermelon ginger, and garlic and green onion. All the ingredients used to infuse her honey come from her own garden, which she tends to year-round.
Fyffe says she tries to be as non-transactional with her bees as possible, taking only what she needs for her products and ensuring that enough is available to the hive for its survival, given bees’ endangered status.
“I just kind of collect my honey and move on because, you know, we need them,” Fyffe said.
About one-third of the food we eat comes from plants that honey bees pollinate, and they currently face environmental threats, which has fueled a national call to “save the bees.”
As a beekeeper, Fyffe understands how dire the issue is. And as a Black woman, she also understands that she’s somewhat of a rarity. Fyffe said that Black people are underrepresented in the bee community. That’s why she makes herself available to those who need an access point to the industry and teaches gardening and beekeeping classes.
”There is a honey community, and that professional honey community is very white,” Fyffe said.
Fyffe approaches this in organic and simple ways, like opening her home up for hive tours, where beekeepers of all levels can come and see her bees. She provides all the equipment and also serves as a mentor, with the goal of introducing more Black people to the wonder of bees.
“I’m trying to do everything I can while I’m here, just because I feel like this is what I meant to do,” she said. “I want to create my space. I want to create a space for other people doing what I love.”
HOW TO HELP
To learn more, visit the Art + Honey Co. website at pcs-creationsbymo.com.
