Lynlene Apiary and Crafts, a small beekeeping business with a growing presence at local markets, is turning honey and beeswax into premium handmade products while educating the public about the importance of bees. 

Carolyn Kleinert and Jolene Kleinert got their first bees in April of 2023 after completing a class with Sampson County to become certified apiarists. They’re now preparing to welcome more bees to their farm for a total of five hives. 

The Keinert’s apiary features vertical and horizontal hives. Jolene built the horizontal homes and appreciates that this design requires less heavy lifting than the vertical standard. In a vertical system, the boxes can become extremely heavy when full of honey. Horizontal hives, by contrast, keep frames at waist height and spread out horizontally, which can make inspections and lifting easier and less physically demanding. 

Much of Jolene and Carolyn’s work happens during short, regular inspections. 

“An inspection of a hive usually takes maybe five minutes, if you can get in there and see what you need to see. You’re checking for diseases,” shared Jolene. 

When inspecting the hive, Jolene and Carolyn check a few key things: whether the queen is still laying eggs, whether the bees have enough food and whether there are signs of disease or overcrowding. They look for brood – developing baby bees – in the comb, which indicates the queen is doing her job even if they don’t see the queen during the inspection. 

Honey harvesting comes only after the bees have what they need to survive. Jolene and Carolyn usually collect honey once a year, after the main bloom, and make sure each hive still has plenty of stores for winter. In a good year, a strong hive can produce several quarts of extra honey, which they extract, filter and jar for personal use and to sell at local markets. 

Additionally, Jolene produces beeswax candles and honey-based soaps from the hives she manages with her mother. The pair harvest and clean beeswax from hive frames, then melt and filter it before pouring it into molds for candles. Honey from their hives is also incorporated into soaps. Jolene points to honey’s ability to help skin retain moisture and its mild antimicrobial qualities as key selling points for customers looking for both natural and functional products. 

Education is a major part of the operation. At markets and workshops, Jolene and Carolyn explain the basics of beekeeping, help people tell the difference between honey bees, bumblebees and wasps and share practical advice for staying calm around bees to avoid stings. They also encourage residents who discover swarms to contact their local agricultural extension office, which can connect them with beekeepers who relocate bees rather than destroy them.

“A lot of people don’t realize you can call your local agriculture extension if you see a swarm of bees somewhere, and you don’t want them there, call, let someone come take them in. The agriculture centers have a list of beekeepers in the area that can be called anytime; they’ll call them and say, ‘Hey, at such and such address, they found a swarm of bees. Can you take care of it?’” advised Carolyn.

For those curious about beekeeping, Jolene recommends checking out local bee clubs, which she says are active in most counties and often host beginner courses early in the year. Even for people who never plan to own a hive, she says, “you can learn so much” about how bees work and why they matter.

“We need to get more young people into [beekeeping]. Because a lot of people don’t really start doing it till they retire, and then you can only do it so many years, because it’s very physical. That’s why I’m trying to get more people into the horizontal hives,” shared Jolene. 

With each market, workshop and new customer, Lynlene Apiary and Crafts is building a reputation not only for its honey and handcrafted goods, but also for its role in helping the community understand and support the bees behind them.

Coming up, Jolene and Carolyn will be at Stedman’s Party in the Park on May 16 and Hand Picked Nursery’s Strawberry Festival in Benson on May 23.