I was home in the evening, it was early December, and my phone rang. I answer and it was a reporter from the New York Times. I said, “Wait, what? Let me sit down.” I was so nervous I didn’t even get her name the first time. She was Maria Cramer for The New York Times. She was writing an article about a new trend in second hand gifts and experiences for the Holidays gift guide, and she also wanted to include home made products. She found out that I was a beekeeper who made soaps, lip balm and other cosmetics, and wanted to hear more about how I got into it.
A few days later, on December 15, the article was published. Here’s a quote:
“More than half of the shoppers in that survey also said they wanted to know that products were made in sustainable or ethical ways.
Adriana Compagnoni, 53, was motivated by that desire in 2012, when she began making homemade presents from the honey and beeswax she collected from the hives she keeps in her backyard in South Orange, N.J.
“Maybe I was delusional, but I was pretty confident people would like it,” said Ms. Compagnoni, who also sells the homemade items at holiday pop-ups. “It’s not a trinket that’s going to end up in a landfill or cluttering their homes.” ”