Hand Crafted Bee Line

Tom walked in to the ARTBANK during my visit today. He keeps bees on his farm near Bunclody and hand-crafts bee hives. One of his bee hives is on display and for sale in the ARTBANK.

I've often navigated around Tom's hive when viewing the gallery but haven't really given it much time or thought, but to hear Tom and Jon share one or two bee-keeping world smarts, and have Tom explain to us something of how bees work and a little about our generous population of wasps was spellbinding.

We have enjoyed two summers watching the busy bees collecting their nectars from our Wexford foxgloves, mints, heathers, and lavenders and often wondered what the bees get up to to turn it into delicious honey and shiny shoes. The story Tom spun was only an introduction, but inspiring.

Jon was only too happy to share his knowledge of the hive too, and he soon had helping hands dismantle the hive to show off its component parts.

The hive is remarkable. It comprises different layers, each with its own specific role.

The entrance is really low to give the bees less of an opening to defend against raiders such as wasps. Then there's a tray that you clean free of wastes and monitor for dead bees; an indicator of how healthy the hive is.

Then there's a layer to hatch and to nurture new bees, and another for the production and recovering of that scrummy honey. Yet another special layer is available with smaller wooden hangers to harvest portions of the plump comb.

Each component is hand-crafted from wood by Tom. The joints are lapped or dovetailed beautifully, and the fit of the smaller components is wonderful. The whole hive feels built to purpose and built to last. It looks great too, when you really give it more than a glance.

Tom's bee hives are made to order and are priced at €250. The optional section box is a further €70, which I think is great value when you see all the joinery that has gone into crafting it.