WHATCOM COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Marisa Papetti, a 48-year-old Whatcom County local, is a resident beekeeper and the owner of Marie’s Bees.
Beekeeping found her about 10 years ago, when a friend needed a property outside of Bellingham’s city limits to keep their bees. Papetti did not hesitate to offer her own space and quickly spent time learning and working with the hive.
Before she knew it, she was diving headfirst into the world of bees.
When people needed someone to take care of a swarm and searched for assistance online, Papetti was one of the first names that popped up. She started collecting swarms two to three years into beekeeping and it sent her all over Whatcom County.
She recalled that one of her first swarm collections was in the Birchwood neighborhood. As she climbed her way up into a tree to collect the bees, people gathered below to watch.
“It’s really an amazing moment to teach people about bees. The whole purpose of getting into beekeeping was to get a breather,” Papetti said.
As the population of bees grew, so did honey production. Eventually, Papetti made a Facebook post to see if anyone was interested in honey delivery. She was also taking care of her grandmother at the time and found that delivery runs were a great way to get her out of the house.
“Grandma would get in the car with me then, no arguments, she would just go. She loved being in the car and going on trips—we’d deliver a basket of goodies as far as Seattle,” Papetti said.
The deliveries started out to just pay for a tank of gas but as orders grew, Papetti and her grandmother started adding extra delivery days into their weekly route and eventually the profit was paying for gas and lunch. After some time, someone came out and asked her if she would consider selling her product through wholesale. Before she knew it, the budding honey business was coming to life.
“We were like ‘Okay, now we have to go legit.’ That’s when we became Marie’s Bees.” – Marisa Papetti
Since it’s conception, Marie’s Bees has become its own self-sustaining business. Marie’s Bees—named after her husband’s grandmother—now has a dozen employees and sells its product across the nation. She hopes to be known for providing stable living wage jobs as she continues to grow Marie’s Bees.
Papetti won the Good Food Award for her honey and lemon ginger creamed honey in 2022 and came close to winning an award for her rosemary thyme sea salt honey the year after. Her products range from raw honey and chocolate covered honey candy to creamed honeys with sweet and savory flavors.
Through Marie’s Bees, Papetti hopes to bring awareness to how people affect the environment through food and education. One of her most memorable moments was on a hive tour, where a 99-year-old woman shared that it was always on her bucket list to visit a honeybee hive. On a day-to-day basis, Papetti teaches people to not be afraid of bees and how to live among them.
“People and nature are my two favorite things,” Papetti said. “The calming interaction I have with bees has helped keep me focused and grounded, and visiting with people of all walks of life helps me keep an open mind.”
She set out to hold tastings so people could explore the world of honey, but at the time there weren’t enough people interested in honey tastings. To draw in a larger crowd, she tweaked the idea and started holding cheese-making classes with a convenient honey tasting at the end. Now, her cheese crafting classes sell out. Classes are most often held at the Chuckanut Center or in downtown Bellingham at the Community Food Co-op.
Papetti’s passion for people and bees is evident in the way she educates and crafts honey. She welcomes all with open arms and shares her knowledge of bees, honey and culinary artistry freely.
The owner of Marie’s Bees has big plans as the company continues to grow, but still plans to be involved locally by attending farmers markets and holding classes for her Whatcom County neighbors.
We are Whatcom is a weekly column featuring Whatcom County residents making a positive impact on the community. To submit a Whatcom County resident to be featured, click here.
