About Us — Spencer’s Apiaries
How do you describe what we do? We practice bee husbandry and kinder beekeeping. For us, that means our entire philosophy puts the bees’ needs above our own thoughts, expectations, or desires for them. The guiding questions are always, “What do they need?” or “What do they want?” Their success becomes our success—but we never forget that there are shortcuts out there, easier or more profitable ways to do things. We weigh every decision against our core belief in true bee husbandry.
So what does kinder beekeeping mean? It goes hand in hand with that philosophy. In practice, it means we move slower, more intentionally, and in ways that create the least amount of stress for the bees. Our inspections are careful and methodical. I don’t rush. I don’t force. I work with the bees, not against them.
I truly love the bees and everything they produce. This journey began in 2012, and it has been an incredible learning and growing experience for both the bees and me. I went from knowing virtually nothing to becoming a full-time beekeeper here in Southeast Michigan—managing multiple apiaries, producing thousands of pounds of honey, propolis, and beeswax products, and now running my own bee school to help others begin their own adventures in beekeeping.
Maybe you don’t want to keep bees yourself but want to experience the magic of a hive up close. We offer apiary tours for that very reason. There is so much to share about what we do and how deeply this work means to us, but I’ll end with this: the products the bees give us—their gifts—are handled with the same love, respect, and thoughtfulness that we give the bees themselves. These gifts are sacred. What we sell is pure, unadulterated, healing, and simply amazing. The idea of doing anything less for the bees, or with their products, is unimaginable to us.
So try some honey, take a tour, come to class, and experience what these bees have to offer.
Mark Spencer
Beemaster
