Woman's love for bees leads to sweet success

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- All Things Bees owner Shelley Rice is very well known around town.

"Wherever I go, it's, 'I know you. You're the bee lady.' Or, 'Are you the bee lady?' Yep, that's me," said Rice.

Rice really does all things bees.

"I do teaching. I do bee removal. I manage bees. I raise bees. I buy and sell bees. I'm interested in to apitherapy, and I sell honeycomb to chefs," said Rice.

With clients ranging from individuals to schools, businesses and nonprofits, Rice's business exploded.

"I don't even have a website. I don't want a website. All of my work is word of mouth, and I can't even keep up with the work I've agreed to," Rice said.

Her passion is what makes her popular.

"It's just fascinating that the bees eat the nectar and pollen for energy," Rice observed. "Then they use the nectar and pollen to create wax, so they can build combs. So they can store the nectar and pollen. Then, when it gets to a certain moisture content, they cap it with wax, and it becomes honey."

While there are commercial outfits to make honey, Rice does her work the "old-fashioned way."

Beekeeping was once a male-dominated business, and Rice said she's proud to be one of the women to break the mold.

"I took a lot of chances. I took a lot of risks in doing what I'm doing."

Rice advises others to do what's right for you and your situation, especially if you're a mom.

"A lot of women base their decisions on what they're going to do on their family, and I've had to learn how to balance that." She said. "I am a happier, healthier, more balanced human being because of the bee."

Beginning Friday, Rice is selling her honey at Picnic, Revolucion Coffee and Juice, and Pinkerton's BBQ for $10 a jar. She is raising money for a little boy named Daniel who suffers from a rare and painful disease called FOP.

You can help by stopping by one of the purchase points and picking up some local honey.