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Karen and Brian Thomson are graduates from Iowa State University with degrees in Horticulture. North Barrington, IL has been their home for 25 years. Karen & Brian have two sons who are also Iowa State University graduates. One is working in Washington D.C. and the other in Chicago.
In 1975, Brian volunteered at the Cranbrook Nature Center in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, tending to the beehives. When he was 16, he started Thomson Assembled Beehives and sold beekeeping equipment ready to be used. At the time, ready to use equipment was was a new concept. He continued the business and maintained 10+ hives while teaching classes about beekeeping until 1984. Shortly after that time, Brian was busy with internships in his field of study (Turfgrass management) and had to sell the beehives and put his passion for bees on hold.
In 2016, Ray and Brenda Bailey (Karen's sister - pictured on the left), started keeping bees in Texas. Brian could not let his brother-in-law start keeping bees without him starting a few hives himself! The first year, Brian and Karen started 2 hives and by the second year they were up to 8 hives, with plans to add more the next year. As of 2024, the Thomson's have 140 hives and growing. It is now a full time business. Karen and Brian attend many farmers markets in the area along with selling their products online and teaching classes.
Honey Lake, the inspiration behind our name, is a real lake in North Barrington, IL .The lake is located outside of Chicago. It is a 65 acre glacial lake. All of our beehives are located in and around North Barrington, IL.
Palatine FARMERS MARKET
The Next Farmers Market we will be at is the first Summer Market of 2024 - May 4th - 7am-1pm
All of our honey straw flavors and honey spoons are back in stock!
2024 Nucs and Queens
Nuc's will be ready~ May 11th
We have limited numbers of nucs available
Bee Packages are SOLD OUT for 2024
Queens will be available April 19th - we encourage pre-ordering queens from our website - pickup only
To order, click on the "SHOP" Tab above and scroll down to "Queens, Packages and Nucs"
Fall Honey is Sold Out
We have plenty of our Spring/Summer Honey