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Years after Brexit, a London honey shop looks beyond Europe for sources

Apr 18, 2023
Samantha Wallace of From Field and Flower considers changing her supplier network in response to changes in trade regulations and rising costs.
Beekeepers at one of Samantha Wallace's suppliers in Sweden.
Courtesy Wallace

Even a London honey stall is caught up in Britain's historically high inflation

Jul 5, 2022
"It's a bit like pushing a boulder up a hill," says London store owner Samantha Wallace.
Bees at an apiary in Italy. "We've actually just had to, for the first time, raise our Italian honey prices," said Samantha Wallace.
Macro Bertorello/AFP via Getty Images

Brexit import changes are still painful for London honey seller after 2 years

Dec 7, 2021
After a strong summer, a London honey seller is dealing with the coronavirus omicron variant and changing trade policy on animal goods.
A beekeeper in northwestern Italy. New laws governing imports of animal byproducts in the United Kingdom go into effect in January.
Marco Bertorello/AFP via Getty Images

In London's Borough Market, importing is a "roller coaster" after Brexit

Jun 14, 2021
Britain's departure from the EU created a new trade regime for British businesses. A honey seller describes her importing experience.
Beekeepers harvesting honey. "We pay tariffs to Italy, to let our products out of Italy," says Samantha Wallace. "And then we pay a tariff to the U.K., which is quite ironic, as a U.K. business."
Marco Bertorello/AFP via Getty Images

London honey seller faces Brexit and the pandemic

Dec 8, 2020
Samantha Wallace, who runs From Field and Flower in London, has spent the last few years preparing for Brexit. Now, the pandemic has hamstrung her efforts to prepare.
From Field and Flower's honey products.
Janet Nguyen/Marketplace

For a British honey shop, Brexit uncertainty still looms

Dec 4, 2019
Holiday sales will help From Field and Flower, but Brexit could bring tariffs of up to 40%.
Samantha Wallace sources most of her honey from small producers in Europe. Above, worker bees process honey while others seal the honeycomb full of honey with white wax.
Prakash Singh/AFP via Getty Images

From the cubicle to the beehives

Oct 30, 2018
When she left her office job, she didn't know what her business would look like. But it had to involve bees.
“I was at the office job 40 hours a week,” says Hilary Kearney, founder of Girl Next Door Honey. “And then on my lunch break, I was doing things like catching swarms, just really cramming in bees into all the little cracks of time that I had left over.”
Tosca Rodigonda. Courtesy of Hilary Kearney.

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From the cubicle to the beehives

Oct 30, 2018
When she left her office job, she didn't know what her business would look like. But it had to involve bees.
“I was at the office job 40 hours a week,” says Hilary Kearney, founder of Girl Next Door Honey. “And then on my lunch break, I was doing things like catching swarms, just really cramming in bees into all the little cracks of time that I had left over.”
Tosca Rodigonda. Courtesy of Hilary Kearney.

England muscles in on Manuka honey production

Nov 1, 2016
Costly Manuka honey comes from New Zealand and soon, maybe, England?
Manuka honey can cost hundreds of dollars.
Sage Ross/Wikimedia Commons

Will honey bees stay sweet on North Dakota?

Oct 21, 2016
Corn and soybean production is eating into North Dakota's great bee habitats.
Beekeeper Mark Sperry in Kindred, North Dakota says he has to travel increasingly long distances to find good forage areas for his bees due to increased acreage of corn and soybeans near him.
Annie Baxter/Marketplace