Bee Joyful spreads cheer in Country Christmas’ former home
Photos by Cathy Boissoneau
By Ross Boissoneau
Sun contributor
’Tis the season to be joyful. For Austin and Bethany Jo Bowers, that’s always the case.
They opened their Bee Joyful storefront late last year, but Bethany started the company as a youngster. She started making natural beeswax skin products for her family and friends at her family farm, where her father was a beekeeper. At 14, she officially started her own company, Bee Joyful, selling her soaps and balms at a local farmers market and shops.
Fast forward two decades, and now she, her husband Austin and their family have completely embraced the bees, with their own apiary and a bevy of bee-related products: soaps and lotions, candles, lip balms and more. While still available at farmers markets and various retailers, from Locals Lake Leelanau and Olesons to Oryana and Edson Farms, last year they made the big jump. They opened their own retail site on M-72 just west of Traverse City, at the former Country Christmas location.
It offered not only a storefront but also a home, a barn and acres of woods, perfect for exploring and foraging. “As a kid I loved herbology, read books about wild forage. It’s fun to think back a now see myself here using a lot of what I did back then,” Bethany says.
Bee Joyful is a true family endeavor. “My wife’s parents are beekeepers and her mom is a candlemaker. My parents write and illustrate books,” says Austin. That now includes children’s books including holiday seasonal favorites and, of course, books built around bees.
“Bethany is one of nine, and we have nine kids. Our oldest is 15½, the youngest eight months old,” says Austin. While the baby is presumably excused from helping, the others all pitch in. “The oldest, Bella, crochets and makes stuffed animals. Daisy, our 14-year-old, makes earrings.” Others do their part making bracelets, ornaments, and doing other chores to keep things running smoothly, including taking care of the bees.
Popular items include candles, soaps, body balms, deodorants, even laundry soap. “We have many different products,” says Austin. Many of the lines include different varieties. For example, there are more than a dozen hand soaps and a half-dozen or more lip balms and body balms. Throw in books, handmade ornaments, textile items, and more, and you get a well-rounded selection of natural and hand-made goods. Plus, lots of honey. All in all, enough to fill a whole store.
Bethany says they get a lot of ideas for products from customer requests. “They would say, ‘I love soap, but do you have (blank)?’ My mom and aunt have very sensitive skin. That pushed me to find something suitable for all skin types that’s 100 percent natural.”
Bethany’s favorite product is Bee Well, a salve meant to soothe and help heal cuts, insect bites, sunburn and more. It includes a variety of herbs, including comfrey, plantain, calendula, echinacea, chick weed and lemon balm. “There are lots of herbs from wild forage with olive oil and blended with beeswax,” she says.
The two had been looking for a suitable location to produce and sell their products when they found one of their favorite shops was for sale. They had been longtime customers of Country Christmas, and the shop out front came with a home and property, perfect for keeping bees, business and family together.
They’ve kept the original footprint and old woodstove, then brightened the interior with fresh paint and new displays, while also incorporating the bee theme with old beekeeping equipment on display. “We wanted the place to feel fresh and still keep the nostalgia,” says Bethany. They also added a window that peers into a hive where customers can watch the bees when they’re active in the warmer season.
Bee Joyful is located on M72 at 9005 E Traverse Hwy., 1.7 miles west of the bay. It is open noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
