The Honey Exchange

Bee Keeping Supplies and Bee Inspired Gifts

The cheery yellow exterior of the little shop located at 494 Stevens Avenue Portland signals what golden goodness you will find inside. The Honey Exchange is a shop promoting all things honeybee from beeswax candles, hobbyist beekeeping supplies and specialty foods and beverages made with honey. It is a family owned business. Phill and Meghan Gaven and daughters Maura and Caitlin opened the store in summer of 2011. The Gavens understand the important role honeybees play in our environment. They started beekeeping with a single hive in 2008. That one hive led to the following years mentoring new beekeepers, providing school presentations and taking classes themselves. Their enthusiasm for honeybees continued to grow and eventually grew into owning a shop.

As you enter the shop’s front door you are greeted by a beautiful mural being designed, drawn and painted in situ by daughter, multi-media artist, Maura, as a site specific work.The mural depicts the Norse goddess Freyja and the Irish patron saint of bees Saint Gobnait. Both are surrounded by medieval skep beehives and white deer. The mural is the culmination of ten years of appreciation of art, livestock, and community.

The shop showcases local and varietal honey and honey based mustards. The color, flavor and even aroma of honey differs, depending on the nectar of the flowers visited by the bees that made it. Varietal honey may be compared to wine in terms of how a product can differ from region to region.

The Gavens have curated a charming shop that offers more than just honey with bee related home goods, health products, beverages and crafts, all chosen with quality and honey in mind. The shop is especially busy during the Christmas shopping season with a wide array of products for gifts and stocking stuffers for all ages. I loved all the interesting items on sale and walked away with a bottle of Maine made Mead and beeswax food wrappers but there was so much more I wanted.

Holiday season is followed by early spring classes on Beekeeping 101 for beginners. Beginner Beekeeping is a five week class that takes absolute beginners from setting up a new hive, managing it throughout the season, getting ready for winter, and planning for the following spring. The class has a special focus on urban, suburban, and chemical-free beekeeping. Space is limited to 25 people.

Are you looking to become a beekeeper? The Honey Exchange has all the beekeeping equipment, education and resources to get you started and keep you going. Beekeeping resources include Hive how-to instructions, Sugar Shake Test for Varroa Mites, Installing package bees, How to render wax, and so much more. You will find everything you need in beekeeping supplies to keep your bees happy and healthy.

In addition to all the retail goodies and classes, the shop also offers a number of bee related services and supplies like Honey Extraction Services. From July 1st through October 31st, The Honey Exchange offers extraction services for local beekeepers looking for honey removal without the mess and time it takes. Please note that they cannot process honey that has crystallized in the comb. They also provide bee management services for local businesses.

To celebrate their 10th anniversary, The Honey Exchange is having a t-shirt design contest. The purpose of the Contest is to select a design for T-shirts and other products. The theme of the design must be in line with The Honey Exchange’s mission of promoting the value and beauty of honeybees. For guidelines and rules, please visit The Honey Exchange's website. Postmark/email deadline for entries is Tuesday, August 31, 2021.