Paul’s Story
A little over three years ago my wife Dee made a decision to leave her position at Hallmark Cards as a senior designer to pursue a MFA degree in graphic design at Kansas State University. After a few months in school she narrowed the focus of her research to pollinators, specifically solitary native bees and their habitat. For her degree presentation she and I worked to develop a display that would showcase her strength in pattern design with a series of fabric graphics of patterns featuring graphic representations of various native plants. The challenge was to install the display without using any of the walls or permanent structure inside the gallery. I came up with a system employing a series of three “utility pole” like structures which we connected with wire cables to suspend the graphics from. Once approved by the department I got to work building the display.
Later Dee brought me a picture of a “Bee Hotel” and said, “Honey, would you build one of these for me?” I of course said yes, and since I did not have all the tools required for the project, asked for help from a friend who is an accomplished woodworker. The result was the first of what was to become my new hobby -- nesting houses for bees. My wife’s exhibit was installed and opened the week before everything shut down with the COVID outbreak in mid March 2020. We made it just in time and it received high praise.
The Pandemic shutdown brought everything to a grinding halt. My business as a print and display reseller also took a nosedive. Suddenly I had lots of time on my hands. Dee and I had to look for something new to do. She had originally embarked on her MFA with the idea she would teach graphic design at the college level, however with the Pandemic, there were no jobs. She began to look at ways she could use her patterns for textile products we could sell at maker fairs as well as out of the home. About this same time I was asked by people who had seen the initial “Bee Hotel” if I would make more of those. A timely gift from a friend enabled me to buy the necessary tools and set up a workshop in our basement. I had long desired to get into architecture as a vocation, and this became a way for me to realize, in a small way, that long held dream. I started with the designs I developed modeled after various ones I found online. A short time later I was asked if I could make a “Bat House” and soon after that were requests for bird houses and feeders. I was able to find online great instructional video’s that proved invaluable in learning this new craft. Dee and I got the idea we would develop a brand and name our creations with fun names for each. What followed were the Bee B&B “Bungalow”, “Cottage”, “Bat Haven” and “Bat Lodge”. We quickly added a variety of bird houses and bird feeders, and continue to expand the line.
All of this time I was doing more and more research on the native pollinators and their habitat, including what features were most desirable for the nesting houses (both structurally as well as placement and maintenance requirements). It has been a very rewarding and eye opening experience, as I followed my wife’s lead in discovering how crucial the various pollinators are to our human existence. I am motivated by the importance of helping these tiny creatures survive. I find great joy in building these wooden creations by hand, knowing that not only are they attractive but they serve a very important need to act as stewards of the gift that nature provides. With each of these products we include information that will hopefully motivate our clients with the same desire to promote the welfare of our tiny neighbors.