About

Krista Conner

About Seattle Bee Works

Founder Krista Conner began beekeeping in 2007 with just two beehives stationed in a friend’s garden. Today Seattle Bee Works operates a growing number of beehives located throughout Seattle, offering homeowners the chance to host beehives in exchange for honey.

Krista’s fascination with bees and beekeeping began as a distraction from medical treatments she received for breast cancer in 2006. While still absorbing the news of cancer, she found relief in an offhand conversation and discovering that her co-worker was a beekeeper.  Harry Edwards (of 50000bees.com fame) described how he managed hives in his Seattle backyard. Graciously, Harry offered her the chance to tag along on one of his hive inspections.

Unbeknownst to her at the time, this hive inspection would be a life changing event for Krista.  While visiting the bees for the first time, she was amazed by many things. The first of which was the fact that someone could manage beehives and harvest honey right from their urban backyard.  The experience of actually going in the hive started a cascade of amazement with honeybees which continues to this day for Krista.   By the end of her first hive visit, there were no stings, just total fascination with honeybees and the ability to tend them. Before she left, and even before Harry offered her a jar of honey, Krista was asking about requirements to get started (equipment, costs and ways to learn more).  Krista was going to make this hobby her own…and she didn’t even have a backyard of her own!

Krista’s first two beehives were stationed in a friend’s garden on Queen Ann hill in return for honey as “rent” of the space.  This model of beekeeping (with hive hosts) is the operational model for Krista’s company Seattle Bee Works, now with several “bee yards” located across the city. The largest concentration of Seattle Bee Works’ hives are located in West Seattle, the home base for the company and where one of  its  brands,  “West Seattle Honey”, originated.

Instrumental to Krista’s success and growth as a beekeeper have been Puget Sound Beekeepers Association, where she is active as Vice President and Director of Publicity. Local beekeeper, Tim Celeski (of Beegeek.com fame) has been Krista’s beekeeping mentor and advisor from the very beginning.

Thank you for visiting Seattle Bee Works!  Please explore the site and discover more about honeybees and honey, or get in touch if you have questions!

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Seattle Bee Works Honey

Seattle Bee Works offers local artisan honey which is pure and raw - harvested from urban beehives local to Seattle, Washington.
Honey varieties available (in limited quantities) include: Wildflower, Blackberry, Fireweed, and Knottweed (Krista’s favorite).
Seattle Bee Works Honey and the West Seattle Honey brand can be found in local retail outlets or by contacting the beekeeper herself. See Honey page for more information.