Most people are quick to run as fast as possible from any bee that crosses their path. But Claire Marin found her peace right smack in the middle of the buzzing masses.
It all started in September 2003, when Marin gave her partner Cathy a beehive as a gift. Before long, she found herself eagerly anticipating her own time spent with the bees. As an established, successful publishing professional, Marin was fairly adapted to the bustling din and organized chaos of the industry, but she saw something much more inspiring in the similarly humming hives to which she tended in her off hours: the hyper-efficient, meticulously organized, community-oriented and selfless mindset of the bees inspired Marin to ponder the merits of modeling her own “beehavior” that way (we couldn't resist!).
By 2010, she’d expanded her hive collection to 15 and decided it was time to pull the plug on publishing in favor of a career more aligned with her newfound philosophy. She founded Catskill Provisions, in Long Eddy, New York, with a mind to producing only 100% raw, local products in an effort to be as gentle and beneficial as possible to the environment and the community. The premier artisan food company’s products, like their seasonal Wildflower Honeys, are completely local, letting you “taste what the bees taste”: clover, apple and pear blossom in the spring and chestnut, maple and asters in the fall. Marin now manages over 700 hives spanning through Delaware and Sullivan Counties, and even one right on West 10th Street in Manhattan.
The pure and delicious honey she harvests from her bees highlights the buzzy bounty of upstate New York, in all its sweet, sustainable glory. And not to worry—no bees were harmed in the making of this honey. Marin proudly claims they’re some of the “happiest in New York State.”