About Honey House Naturals®
Based in Washington State, Honey House Naturals® and
its values are well suited to the Pacific Northwest. As stewards
of the environment,
Honey House Naturals® is committed to the conservation of natural
resources and respect for our planet. In keeping with that philosophy,
our products are made with wholesome ingredients either found in
or derived from nature. Honey House Naturals® uses only the
very highest quality ingredients – no cheap fillers, always
petroleum free and never tested on animals. In harmony with our commitment
to conservation of the environment, we strive to employ reusable
and recyclable materials in the packaging of our products.”
Our Story
Our story begins with Ruthie Willis, owner of Honey House Naturals®.
A farm girl at heart, Ruthie has always had an almost reverent
love for anything that grows. She has made it her business to learn
the proper care and nurturing of things that stem from nature,
including everything from children and flowers to fruit trees and
honey bees. Her respect and appreciation for nature have transferred
into her own business philosophy for Honey House Naturals®.
Honey House Naturals® was not even a glimmer in Ruthie’s
eye when she began bee keeping as a hobby in 1980. Behind her home
in the Puyallup Valley, Ruthie had terrific fruit trees that she
wanted to be better pollinated, so she took a class from the local
bee keeping expert. Waiting patiently at the mailbox for her first
hive to arrive, the three-pound package of hot, hungry bees was
swiftly handed over by an anxious mailman. That’s where our
story begins.
The first year Ruthie had one hive, then three and, at the end
of five years, seven bee hives. To improve her bee keeping skills,
she joined the local bee club. As her work with the bees expanded,
so did Ruthie’s family. Over the next 10 years, Ruthie had
five children who would each help with the bee keeping in their
own way. The family business continued to expand as they gradually
went from 10 to 40 to 120 bee hives. Some hives were scattered
in their backyard, others near a tulip farm in Puyallup and the
rest in an apple orchard on the Olympic Peninsula. Around July
4 every year, the family would “suit up” to move the
hives to the mountains so the bees could make fireweed and wildflower
honey.
With an excess of honey and not enough friends to take it off
their hands, the Willis family found that the local Farmer’s
Market was ideal for marketing the liquid gold. Every summer the
Willis kids could be found at the market, passing out samples of
fireweed, huckleberry, blackberry or wildflower honey. Everyone
was involved, even the youngest. At eight years old, he confidently
managed the cashiering, making change with enthusiastic aplomb.
Five times a week the family could be found anywhere from the Puyallup
Farmer’s Market all the way up to the University District
Market in Seattle.
They were always trying to find new things to complement the honey,
making molded beeswax candles, homemade honey soap, pollen and
fruited honey. Eager to try something new, Ruthie began experimenting
with different mixtures of beeswax, oils and emollients to create
a product to soothe dry, cracked skin. Using a desperate family
friend as her guinea pig, she eventually found the perfect combination
of ingredients that could heal even his seriously damaged skin,
offering immeasurable relief. The popular Bee Bar® was
born.
The family sold the original Bee Bar® for
several years at farmers’ markets along with other honey
products. Because it was such a popular product, in 2000, Ruthie
made the decision
to promote the Bee Bar® exclusively.
As the children grew up and embarked on their own paths, Ruthie
developed a new family
of friends and
employees who now produce, package and promote the Bee Bar® products
from their Fife, Washington location.
Almost a decade and a half later, Honey House Naturals® ships
to all 50 states and as far away as England and Guam. Although
the Willis family no longer keeps honey bees, Honey House Naturals® still
emanates the sweet, warm scent of the hive. The Honey House has
become its own hive of activity in the production and marketing
of the much-loved Bee Bar® and its family of products.
Honey House Naturals® - Make It Natural
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