S2E9.2 | Cloister Honey – Paper Trails Podcast

SEASON 2: EPISODE 9.2

CLOISTER HONEY

Paper Trails Podcast is channeling Bill Nye vibes on this episode — we learned SO MUCH from the inspiring owners of Cloister Honey in Charlotte, NC.  First, Nick suited up and learned beekeeping (go back and check out part 1 if you haven’t!) and on part 2, Nick sits down with founders Joanne de la Rionda and Randall York who share the scientific process behind their crystalized honey blends.  Hear how they went from hobby beekeepers who shared honey with friends, to creating their cinnamon honey to compete with teachers/part-time bee keepers and sell at farmers markets.

BEE a dear and subscribe!

 

“Crystalized honey is not rocket science but it’s a pain.  We do the hard stuff.  It’s not as easy to make cinnamon, ghost pepper, lavender, pumpkin spice at high quality.”

– Randall York, Cloister Honey

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By |2022-03-23T13:32:39-05:00June 29th, 2021|Paper Trails, PodCasts, Season 2|0 Comments

S2E9.1 | Beekeeping with Cloister Honey – Paper Trails Podcast

SEASON 2: EPISODE NUMBER: 9.1

EPISODE GUEST: Cloister Honey…and their Bees

Nick suited up and got a lesson in beekeeping from Charlotte, NC’s own Cloister Honey.  (there were no bees with Jerry Seinfeld’s voice, unfortunately.)  It’s an entirely fascinating process learning about the the work of the queen, the hive, what makes a have successful. 

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“Nature is brutally efficient.”  Cloister Honey’s Randall York shares on the unforgiving behavior of how the hive crowns a new queen.

A few fun facts Nick shared from the hives: 

1) You can move a hive 2 feet or 2 miles… nothing in between because the bees won’t find their hive 

2) Bees only live for a few weeks 

3) The bottom 2 boxes of hive are never touched bc that’s the honey for the bees to eat and live off of. The ones above that are the ones that bee keepers take to eat or sell. 

Beekeeping is fascinating and we’re so excited to share a bit about what goes into their honey with you. 

“In the hive, about 97% of all the bees in the hive are female.  They do all the work.  The males do nothing – all they do is they hope to mate.”

– Randall York, Cloister Honey

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By |2022-03-23T13:32:39-05:00June 22nd, 2021|Paper Trails, Season 2|0 Comments

S2E1 | Honey Tree Farms Casey Ostwinch

SEASON 2: EPISODE NUMBER: 1

EPISODE GUEST: Casey Ostwinch

Casey Ostwinch began landscaping at age 16 and immediately discovered one important thing:  He sure preferred the fresh air to work indoors.  Fast forward and he and his wife, Tori, are now living off their land, Honey Tree Farm, and selling produce to local restaurants and markets.

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Casey’s love of the outdoors carried on into college where he studied horticulture and landscape. It wasn’t long after moving to North Carolina to become an arborist for Barlett Tree Experts that Casey started taking the job home. 

He and his wife, Tori, began homesteading and growing their own food in 2016, documenting it all on Instagram. And on Instagram is where their farm life took off. Someone discovered their feed and approached them the Ostwinches to turn their land into a farm. 

Casey and Tori sold everything, packed up their belongings, and moved to a camper on the property. Tori continued her work at a corporate job while Casey tended to the farm. But they soon realized that they could manage the farm together. 

And what began as a quest for good health now became a business idea. Trips to farmer’s markets and restaurants in the area had sparked an idea in the Ostwinches — they could do this too. 

Casey turned to some gardening books suggested by friends that taught him about turning the farm into a business and ‘market gardening.” They’ve found success producing fruits and vegetables to sell. 

And they’ve also found success online. On their popular YouTube channel, Honey Tree Farm, Casey and Tori post weekly videos showing the progress of their work and give tips for those who want to begin gardening. Because unpredictable weather can make farming and gardening tricky, the Ostwinches teach their viewers to be prepared for the unexpected and help answer questions for struggling gardeners. 

Casey’s top takeaways as a business owner for finding success: 

1) Communication Matters 

2) Develop a relationship with your customers 

3) Be proactive 

4) have a strong work ethic 

What’s next for Honey Tree Farm? Right now they have plans for the future that involves more than only selling vegetables at markets, which they’re super excited about but can’t say just yet!

“There is no finish line.  Nobody ‘wins’ a business.  There is no finish line.” 

– Casey Ostwinch, Honey Tree Farm

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By |2022-03-23T13:32:41-05:00April 6th, 2021|Paper Trails, Season 2|0 Comments

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