Here's the kind of feedback we like to hear from folks!

About the Gold Star Honey Harvest Kit:

Hi Christy,
My first harvest with the new Gold Star kit worked wonderfully. Everything was much simpler, cleaner, and more efficient. The kit was so easy to clean when everything was over! At first I thought that processing just one bar was going to be kind of silly. The kit appears so big. One bar worked perfectly however, resulting in a beautiful 1 1/2 quarts of honey. My hyper-active north hive is busy building comb on the new bar already. It is just unbelievable!
Thank you so much!
fred :)

On the Gold Star Top Bar:

"These comb guides are the most foolproof I've seen. A guide that is steep and goes from edge to edge really keeps the bees from being creative and keeps the combs on the bars. I installed a package in my Gold Star hive and never touched them from April to September and only one comb was attached to more than one bar."

On Gold Star's How-To Video series -->
http://www.youtube.com/GoldStarHoneybees

From Clare on FB - Hey Christy, I checked the hive again and all is going well.. I think you hit the nail on the head, thank you. Also thank you for all of your awesome video's on youtube. I've learned a lot from them and appreciate the valuable advice and encouragement.. You have good energy and I'm sure have brought a lot of happiness to a lot of people with your knowledge and willingness to share it. You rock.

(Thanks, Clare!!!)  You can check out Gold Star Honeybees on Facebook here:  http://www.facebook.com/goldstarhoneybees

Christy!!!

I am the happiest beekeeper on the planet.  I have the smartest bees in Raymond Maine!!  Two weeks old and they have 5 of the most beautiful full bars of wax you have ever layed your eyes upon!!  There are a few caps and definitely some larvae, they were sooooo beautiful.  Also, my queen is marked!!  She has a magenta dot on her back!!  I am soooo in love.  I went in - really in this afternoon and my bees were busy but so laid back.  They are just incredible.
Thank you so very very much!!
Erin

What I like about Gold Star Honeybees Top Bar Hives is that they are the most naturally bee-friendly man-made hives available.  The products are simple, straight-forward, and beekeeper-friendly.  The hive plus the products that go along with the hive put the honeybee first in consideration and the beekeeper next.  This is as it should be with these generous creatures.  Gold Star emphasizes chemically-free products and remedies for beekeeping challenges.  This is as important as anything else.  Gold Star is the most generous and encouraging educator so as to best protect and promote bee and hive health.  I love the Gold Star ethos.  Clearly.  -- Mary L.

On our forthcoming book - "The Thinking Beekeeper - A Guide to Natural Beekeeping in Top Bar Hives"

Christy,
I just wanted to let you know I pre-ordered your book and can't wait for it.  I am getting my first package of bees tonight and am so nervous/excited to start my top bar hive.  I stumbled upon your website after my father had built my top-bar hive for me.  Thanks for sharing your information--because of people like you I have the courage to try this out.
Sincerely,
Kelly

Note from the author:  You can order your copy here!

I have been thinking about what it is that makes Christy's class  different than other teachings that are available to beekeepers and top bar hive beekeepers:

Christy,

First I want to thank you for the wonderful class. You made it fun in addition to being educational. I have been recommending your classes and way of keeping bees to everyone I come in contact with. I have been working on the hive, pictures attached, and am nearly done. The plans in the kit were very well done and easy to understand. Best I have ever seen. I had a lot of 1x12 pine left over from my SawMill days and used it to make the hive. If it works out next summer I will buy clearer pine boards. I made a jig to make the topbars and did it all on my tablesaw.

Thank you again for the fun time at the class. Keep up the good work.

Sincerely,

Dave Couture

Pix of Dave's hive built from a DIY#1:

Here's an update from Dave - Early October 2012.
 
After I took the 2  day class last fall, which was wonderful, I took the DIY #1 plans which I purchased from ‘Gold Star Honeybees’ and built the TopBarHive during the winter. See picture on previous testimonial.  This spring I had a swarm in my back yard and transferred the bees into the TopBarHive. I really enjoyed taking care of the bees this  summer.  Having access through the top bars is a pure pleasure.  I am getting ready to prepare the hive for winter next week.
I also have a conventional hive which is extremely more work due to the weight of the boxes.  I would recommend the  TopBarHives from ‘Gold Star Honeybees’ to anyone.  Christy Hemenway is a font of knowledge and a great recourse about beekeeping.
 
Davis Couture

I just attended Christy’s two day bee class and found it to be a perfect introduction to the fine art of bee keeping. Christy’s style lends itself to a class full of exploration into the fascinating life of the honey bee. I learned how important this insect is to sustaining our agricultural and natural systems and how imperiled they are by the same practices that have brought industrial agriculture to the unsustainable place it now occupies.
I cannot recommend strongly enough the importance and outright fun that this class can deliver. I have signed up for a top bar hive as a result and can hardly wait to roll down my sleeves and become a member of the bee keeping world. If you have ever thought that you might want to know more about tending wild bees and are looking for a perspective that draws the best from age-old practices and explores the newest methodologies of organic bee keeping, this is the class for you. Enjoy!
Sincerely,
Des FitzGerald

On Gold Star Hive Kits:

Christy,
Just a quick note to let you know that our deluxe top bar hive kits arrived in the mail this week.  We wanted to commend you on a great job with the design and easy to follow assembly instructions...putting the hive together was a breeze!!  Thanks again!

Andrew & Rashel Harris
Palestine, Tx

"The instructions that came with the hive kit were great, assembly went very easy because all of the steps were laid out so clearly both in language as well as in the graphics. All of the pieces went together smoothly and the materials are high quality. We felt like we were giving our first bees a great home."

-- Sandy and Suzanne

Hi Christy,

Just wanted to let you know that as a woodworker I found your top bar honeybee hive design to be terrific.  The directions were clear and the parts well made for easy assembly....can't wait for Spring and the sound of a working hive.  Thanks for getting us started.

Best regards,
Scott

I purchased a top bar hive from you last summer. It is fabulous, easy to put together and a beauty to see! The bees I packaged in April must love it. I have never seen so many bees in one hive.

-- Bob G

YES!  I have already "fondled”  the deluxe kit and fell in love with it when I saw you at the NOFA NJ Winter conference nearly 2 years ago.  The top bars are so beautiful and smooth and precise – a far cry from the crude ones I made in a workshop here with string and wax!  I can’t wait to provide a really classy home for my bees next year.
 
Janet H

Hi Christy!
I bought a deluxe kit from you at the NOFA NJ conference. I just put it together this past weekend. I must tell you how impressed I was

with the craftsmanship and how well written the instructions were. Putting it together was a breeze, everything fit perfectly, and your instructions were very clear and concise. I must admit, when I first purchased the kit I thought that the price was a little high. After assembling, I feel that your kit is an awesome value. Thank you for a quality product.

David Scarinci
NaturalScape, Inc.
908-419-3740
david@naturalscapeinc.com

"The Gold Star top bar hive was easy to assemble and fit together well. Next, I painted it with moss green milk paint that was left over from another project. I placed sugar water in the hive just to see what would happen. About a week later bees were entering the hive on a regular basis until all the sugar water was gone. It was nice to see that native bees were attracted to the top bar hive, while we waited on our bee shipment to arrive. - RW”  

"WOW! What an unBEElievable BEEautiful TBH...and soo easy to put together!"

-- Queenbee of Baltimore Honey.org

I just spent the most marvelous two hours yesterday putting together a Gold Star top bar hive for the Coal Country Beeworks and Christy's instructions were spot on. We had talked on the phone a couple of times, and although she had assured me that one could, in fact, enjoy the process of building a hive... I had my deep-seated Langstroth-rooted suspicions.

Do you remember when we met?

We asked our Constant Contact newsletter subscribers that question - and here is what sort of memories we got in response!  Congratulations to Jenny from Out of my Gourd Farm, who won the prize for that survey!

I remember meeting Gold Star Honeybees for the first time!   It was at:  I met you on the phone a few years back. I was interested in bee keeping and you gave me a lot to think of. This year I made the big step and asked for a top bar bee hive for Christmas, I am also looking forward to taking a class with you in February at the shelter institute. Thanks Jenny - Out of my Gourd Farm - Woolwich ME

I remember meeting Gold Star Honeybees for the first time! 
It was at: The Green Festival in Washington DC.  The first year I talked with you, I thought top bar sounded like an interesting idea. The second year, we talked some more, and I bought my hive a few weeks later. I wish there had been a
Green Festival this past fall! I missed you.  -- Deborah 

I remember meeting Gold Star Honeybees for the first time!  Oh my goodness, I met Christy at the Newton Public Library where she spoke and presented the film, The Disappearing Bees!  Her presentation was so powerful!  Immediately, I liked her directness and ability to relate beekeeping to an urban dweller like me! 
Ended up walking out to the parking lot after the presentation, helping her carry materials, and chatting about the top bar hive. I was all excited and began chatting with my friends and neighbors about my intention to become a beekeeper!   Not only did I order a hive, I ordered gear for myself and my grandson.  Christy was so responsive and encouraging, I became a beekeeper!  Thrilled that our paths crossed! :)  Buzzing along, Suzie

I remember meeting Gold Star Honeybees for the first time!
It was on YouTube!  Love all the things I learned from you, honey goddess!
My bees appreciate it too. No varroa mites thus far in this hive.  Be well,  Monique

I remember meeting Gold Star Honeybees for the first time!
It was at: The Weston A Price conference, my husband was the man you called a perfect ole’ Curmudgeon. We had a good laugh over your depiction of a man who was active in the beginnings of the organic movement in Florida back in the ‘70s and has had bees most of the years since, raising them in an all natural, clean environment .
We have looked into the top hive system and even set in his ways as he is, he has not decided against your top hive plan.
Best wishes for your success in bringing many more folks into bee keeping!  Nancy and Karl Falster  www.falsterfarm.com

I remember  meeting Gold Star Honeybees for the first time! 
It was at: The 2011NJ NOFA winter conference in Princeton.  It was a great to be introduced to the top bar method of keeping bees. I am not a beekeeper (yet), but when I start I will be using top bar hives.  It just make sense! - Patrick

I remember  meeting Gold Star Honeybees for the first time!
It was at: NOFA NJ Winter Conference in Princeton, NJ January of 2011.  I sat in on your Beekeeping 101 class and visited your booth to see the beautifully crafted top bar hive and other accessories.  I have been bitten by the beekeeping bug and am trying to learn as much as I can before getting started. Your natural approach to beekeeping and allowing the bees to create their own honeycombs without who knows what chemicals makes so much sense.  I also love the fact that as a 66 year old woman, with the top bar hives there would be no lifting of heavy boxes.
I keep hoping you will hold a bee school somewhere in my vicinity! --  Janet Hansen

I remember meeting Gold Star Honeybees for the first time!
It was at:   A presentation that Christy gave to the Bristol County Beekeeping Association.  -- Johanna Boynton

I remember meeting Gold Star Honeybees for the first time!
It was at Women Standing Together when Christy presented her business case and impressed us all with her innovative design, passion and knowledge. -- Jessica Esch

I remember meeting Gold Star Honeybees for the first time!
Yes, you had an exhibit at the Washington DC Green Festival. I think it may have been 2008 or 2009. I can not recall. I thought it was such a cool idea to have bees in the yard.  Sincerely, Bill Boteler

I remember meeting Gold Star Honeybees for the first time!
It was on Christmas morning 2010, and an exciting---and surprising---introduction it was! My brother and his wife saw their first Gold Star hive earlier that fall at the Common Ground Fair in Unity, Maine. They mentioned the clever hive design to my nephew who thought that would be a great idea for the family to chip in on and give me for Christmas. Unbeknowst to him, the family decided that it would be a great gift idea for my brother as well. Now a year later, I think that my brother would say that he's as enthused about the new hobby as I am.  -- Ann Patterson

I remember  meeting Gold Star Honeybees for the first time!
It was at: my computer We actually have never met in person . but that doesn’t mean that we won’t!  Thanks for the opportunity to share.  -- Joe Robichaud

Hi, I remember meeting Gold Star Honeybees for the first time!  I remember where I met you. It was the summer 2010 NOFA conference at UMass Amherst. You were in one corner of the big vendors tent. I think I had already looked at your brochures, but then I wandered over while you talking about top bar beekeeping. I was instantly won over and wanted so much to be able to do this! (Not yet, I'm afraid.)

 
The next time was this past fall at a local food fest at the Museum of Science in Boston, and again I got to learn more about how the hives work and why they are so important for the bees. Again, hive envy! One of these days... Iris Weaver
you may put this with my name on your site -- Iris Weaver / Spiritual Herbalist, Shamanic Practitioner, Healer / www.irisweaver.com / Beverly, MA

I remember meeting Gold Star Honeybees for the first time!  It was at: The Weston A. Price Conference in Dallas Texas. - Kurt Albrecht

I remember  meeting Gold Star Honeybees for the first time!
It was at: NOFA-MA winter conference in January of 2011. I attended an introductory workshop on top bar beekeeping, and although I don't have a hive yet, it convinced me that when I am ready, it will be a top bar hive. -- Ben Whatley

I remember meeting Gold Star Honeybees for the first time! It was at: Common Ground Fair in Unity, Maine. -- Jim Watterson

I remember meeting Gold Star Honeybees for the first time! 
It was at:  Christy's class in Wiscasset at the Morris Farm!  Met some great people.  Learned a lot.  Remembered why I love Maine.  And now I live here! :) -- Debra

I remember meeting Gold Star Honeybees for the first time!
It was at: The Green Festival in Washington, DC -- Michael

I remember meeting Gold Star Honeybees for the first time! 
It was at: Puyallup, Washington. The first Mother Earth Fair, we had a great time! -- Jason Richmond

I remember meeting Gold Star Honeybees for the first time! It was at this years WAPF Conference in Dallas. I was so impressed with your commitment. I have 12 acres in Florida. Please seriously consider coming to Florida to educate, when you have had it with the snow.

I remember meeting Gold Star Honeybees for the first time!
It was at: Common Ground Fair 2010 -- Robert

I remember meeting Gold Star Honeybees for the first time! 
I have never met you but we chatted through email about honeybees. I am in Nova Scotia. -- Owen Manzer

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