Jim the Beekeeper

Hello! I started beekeeping in 2013, but my fascination with honey bees began when I was a young child. I remember being able to touch honey bees without being stung. My grandmother assured me that the honey bees I saw collecting pollen wouldn’t aggressively sting me like the yellow jackets did (after I kicked their nest).

In 2012 I found a Grit Guide to Beekeeping magazine at my mother-in-law’s house and read it cover to cover. This reignited my interest in honey bees and in 2013 I set up my first two hives.

My hobby has grown into a small business while I continue to learn from beekeepers with far more experience than me. I have served as vice-president and president of the Wake County Beekeepers Association and am currently serving on the WCBA board as past-president. I achieved the level of Journeyman Beekeeper through the North Carolina State Beekeepers Association Master Beekeeper Program and am actively pursuing a Master Beekeeper Certification.

Blye’s Bees is a NCSBA certified honey producer.

Cindy, Chief Candle Maker

If you’re wondering what we do with the wax that is left over after extracting the honey from the hives, we use some of it to make candles.

Cindy, wife to the bee man, has been collecting wax molds over the past few years and enjoys the timeless process of small batch candle-making.