Her Majesty's Secret Beekeeper celebrates urban beekeeping in San Francisco

June 23, 9:09 PMSF Sustainable Food ExaminerJeri Lynn Chandler

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Her Majesty's Secret Beekeeper honey bee

San Francisco is buzzing over a cool new shop opening on Monday, June 29th. Called Her Majesty's Secret Beekeeper, it will carry locally made beeswax crafts, books, honey and other bee-inspired ware -- plus supplies for urban beekeepers. The shop's queen bee, aka shop owner Cameo Woods, also plans workshops and other events. Already there have been a couple of pre-opening honey tastings at the shop in anticipation of Monday's official opening.

Cameo chronicled her process in opening HMS Beekeeper in her blog. Through scouting out a location to navigating the land of paperwork and permits to ordering up inventory, her enthusiasm does not seem to have been dulled in the least by the logistics of launching her new business.

She says the neighborhood where the shop would be located was a given from the get-go. "From the very beginning, I wanted the store to be on Valencia street. I’m a little weird in the way I shop in SF. I’m still a small-town girl at heart, so I always try to shop within the borders of Castro, 16th, 18th, and Valencia. And plus, 826 Valencia, Paxton Gate, Four Barrel, Five and Diamond, Ritual… I can go on forever. Valencia Street is the bomb-diggity."

Add to that list Her Majesty's Secret Beekeeper.

Honey / photo: HMS Beekeeper

If you're surpised to learn there are beekeepers in the concrete confines of the Bay Area's cities, you might really be surprised to know just how many keep hives and harvest honey here. Word is they tend to enjoy keeping a low profile, but you can join in and learn more from the San Francisco Beekeepers Association, a group dedicated to educating communities about honeybees and the historic art of beekeeping -- as well as serving as a resource for members.

All the news of the demise of the honey bee due to 'colony collapse disorder' has raised awareness and interest in bees. More people are interested in helping out bees by providing habitat and food sources. In 2007 the San Francisco Beekeepers Association had 133 members, double the number it had just three years before, and membership has continued to grow.

And it turns out city gardens are not such a bad resource for honey bees. Even ornamental flowers can be food to bees. Add to those the fruit trees and backyard vegetable and herb gardens that are more and more common these days, and you have a reasonable number of plants that both feed -- and need -- pollinators. Bees will range three miles from there home hive for food, so the opportunities are out there.

3520 20th St., San Francisco

Curious about bees and beekeeping? Maybe looking for supplies and equipment? Sounds like there's a new shop opening in the Mission next week that's worth checking out.

Her Majesty's Secret Beekeeper
3520 20th Street
(between Valencia and Mission)
San Francisco 94110

Find Her Majesty's Secret Beekeeper on the web at www.hmsbeekeeper.com
Find Cameo Wood on twitter as @HMSBeekeeper