Paxton, Kobe, and three kids.
We keep bees on organic farms around Idaho's Treasure Valley and make a tallow lotion in our kitchen.
a note from Paxton I run the local side of this business. I make the lotion, work the markets, and write back myself when you send an order.
Local honey around here costs more than most families want to pay for something they cook with, so people end up buying the store stuff, and that isn't from here. I sell ours raw and unfiltered, by the quart, the gallon and the five gallon, priced so you can cook with it. It goes through a big strainer to catch bees and comb and that's all that happens to it. It never gets heated, so the pollen is still in it.
All of our hives, about five hundred, sit on organic farms, by agreement with the farmers who work them. A hive eats whatever grows around it. Most hives get put wherever there's a field and a farmer who doesn't mind, and whatever gets sprayed on that field is what the bees bring home. Ours don't go there. The farmer gets the pollination and the bees eat clean. I keep the farm names private, because that's the farmers' business too.
I render the tallow lotion myself, in my own kitchen, and I'll tell anyone who asks exactly what's in it. My business partner handles the big commercial accounts and doesn't want anything to do with the website, so anything you send from here comes to me. My mom ran the business before me and has since moved to Nebraska to start a dairy farm.
The name comes from the prayer. On earth as it is in heaven. Matt. 6:10 For us it also points back at the land of milk and honey, and at the idea that what we have was given to us. So when the business does well we give some of it back, at the markets and in the community. That's what I want this business to be about.
Paxton
How we work
- 01 About five hundred hives, all on organic farms around the valley, by agreement with the farmers who work them. The farm names stay private.
- 02 The honey is raw and unfiltered. It goes through a big strainer to catch bees and comb, it never gets heated, and the pollen stays in it.
- 03 Honey comes by the quart, the gallon and the five gallon, priced so a family can cook with it.
- 04 The tallow gets rendered twice, then steeped in organic vanilla beans. Most people render four or five times to get rid of the smell, and lose the good stuff along with it.
- 05 No essential oils in anything. That's what makes the lotion safe on a newborn or a pregnant mom, and safe on your face in the sun.
- 06 The beeswax is from our own hives. Twenty five pound blocks are unfiltered. Anything smaller I filter myself.
- 07 Pickup is any day, any time. Send a note and I'll set it out.
Who's at the tent
Kobe is my husband. He says he's just the muscle, and he does the loading and sets up the tent. Elias is seven, Harper is two, and Zariah is a newborn, so on market days all five of us are behind the table. The kids come along because there's nowhere else for them to be, and people seem to like seeing them there.
Honey, beeswax and tallow lotion
Each one comes in a couple of sizes, and I can tell you exactly what's in every one.
See the shop →Questions we get at the market
The lotion
What's in it?
Grass-fed tallow rendered twice, organic vanilla bean, calendula, organic jojoba oil, organic castor oil, a little of our own beeswax, and organic arrowroot powder. The arrowroot goes in last so the castor oil doesn't leave you greasy. It's the same recipe every batch.
Why do you only render it twice?
Most people render tallow four or five times to get the smell out. The good stuff comes out in the first renders, and every extra pass takes some of it with the smell. So I stop at two and steep the tallow in organic vanilla beans instead. People say it smells like cake.
Is it safe on a baby?
Yes. There are no essential oils in it, which is the main reason. We use it as a diaper balm and on eczema. It's also fine on your face and arms in the sun, since essential oils are what cause photosensitivity.
What's the difference between the jar and the tube?
It's the same lotion. The two ounce tube has a little more beeswax in it so it's firm enough to push up from the bottom. It's the one you keep in a bag.
Is it greasy?
No. It's whipped and emulsified, which makes it creamy instead of airy, and the arrowroot at the end soaks up what the castor oil would leave behind. A little goes a long way and it stays where you put it.
Do you make the scented ones any more?
No. I used to, and I stopped to keep it as safe as possible for everyone who uses it. There's one recipe now and no essential oils in it.
Where does the tallow come from?
Grass-fed farms around the Treasure Valley. There isn't one ranch to name, but it's all from around here and all grass fed.
The bees
Is the honey raw?
Yes. It goes through a big strainer on the way into the jar to catch bees and bits of comb, and that's it. It never gets heated, so the pollen is still in it.
Where do the hives sit?
On organic farms around the valley, by agreement with the farmers who work them. There are about five hundred hives. The bees eat what grows on an organic farm instead of whatever is next to a rented field. I keep the farm names private.
Why does that matter?
Whatever the bees eat ends up in the honey, and it ends up in the bees too. Good honey and healthy bees both come from what the bees are eating.
Buying
How do I get some?
Build your order on the order page and send it. I'll write back to confirm what's in stock and we'll work out the easiest way to get it to you. Pickup is any day, any time. If you'd rather text, I'm at (208) 718-0219.
How do I pay?
Venmo. Nothing on this site charges you and I don't take cards. I confirm the order first, then you send the Venmo when you pick up.
Do you ship?
No. It's all local. I'll work out how to get it to you around the valley, but I don't mail anything.
Do you deliver?
Sometimes I can meet you somewhere local if it fits my day, but I can't promise it. I have three young kids who run my life right now.
Where can I find you at a market?
We're not at a weekly market right now. We do pop-ups, usually in the summer. Text me and I'll tell you where we'll be next.
How much beeswax do I have to buy?
Unfiltered blocks are twenty five pounds and up, starting at eight dollars a pound. Anything under twenty five pounds I filter myself, and that's ten dollars a pound.
Do you do wholesale?
Yes. Send the details through the wholesale page and they come to me. My business partner handles the big commercial accounts, but you don't need to track him down. Start with me and I'll work it out.
If your question isn't here, send a note.