Today we’d like to introduce you to Ruth Albee.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Ruth Albee and Austin Jordan met while working as practitioners at Functional Patterns Minnesota, where we helped people improve posture, movement, chronic pain, and overall performance. One of the foundational ideas FP promotes is reconnecting people with nature through practices like grounding and earthing to support nervous system regulation and overall wellbeing.
As we explored that practice with ourselves and clients we came across the idea that honeybees vibrated at the Earth’s Schumann resonance. We later learned that wasn’t entirely accurate, but at the time it sparked an incredible sense of curiosity. We looked at each other and thought, “We have to get some bees.”
As we began researching beekeeping, we reached out to Mike Mackiewicz of Bone Lake Meadows Apiary in Scandia to see if he’d be interested in keeping hives on our property. The moment Mike stepped out of his truck, he started telling us about traveling through Romania and sleeping on top of live beehives as part of a traditional form of apitherapy. We’d never heard of hive aerosol therapy or bee therapy before, but that conversation completely changed the trajectory of our lives.
Inspired by what we learned, we dove headfirst into beekeeping, found incredible mentors, and teamed up with talented carpenters, family, and friends to pursue what seemed like a crazy dream: building one of the only dedicated apitherapy centers in the United States.
Today, we’re in our third season operating Honeycomb Cottage MN in historic Stillwater, Minnesota. We spend our days caring for our bees, welcoming guests from across the country, and sharing a one-of-a-kind opportunity to slow down, reconnect with nature, and experience the remarkable world of honeybees. It’s been an incredible journey, and we truly feel honored to share it with others.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The biggest challenge has likely been education. apitherapy is still relatively unknown in the United States, so when people hear the phrase “bee therapy,” they almost always assume we’re talking about bee venom therapy or getting stung. What we actually offer is completely different we focus on the naturally occurring hive aerosols, aromas, vibrations, warmth, and soundscape produced by healthy honeybee colonies. Since very few people are actively searching for something like this, we’ve had to spend a lot of time educating the public and relying on word-of-mouth to help people discover us.
Another challenge has been helping guests understand just how incredibly sensitive honeybees are to scent and other forms of stimulus. Bees have an extraordinary sense of smell, and a lot of people don’t realize how many fragrances (especially endocrine disrupting aromas) their personally exposed to and wear throughout the day from laundry detergent and fabric softener to shampoo, deodorant, lotions, perfumes, and even air fresheners in their cars. We’ve had to place a big emphasis on creating a fragrance-free environment, both to protect the bees, future guests coming to ease symptoms and to ensure every session is as peaceful and natural as possible.
Building the Honeycomb Cottage itself also came with a steep learning curve. Because there are so few dedicated apitherapy centers in North America, there really wasn’t a blueprint to follow. We had to figure out much of the construction process as we went, learning through trial and error and making improvements along the way. Looking back, there are certainly things we’d do differently, but we’re incredibly proud of how the cottage turned out.
The encouraging part is that interest continues to grow every year. As more people experience the deep relaxation, meditative qualities, and connection to nature that the space offers, they’re sharing those experiences with friends and family. Many guests also tell us they notice improvements in things like stress, sleep, breathing comfort, seasonal allergies, or overall well-being. While everyone’s experience is different and we’re careful not to make medical claims, it’s been incredibly rewarding to see people leave feeling calmer, more grounded, and inspired by the remarkable world of honeybees.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Honeycomb Cottage MN is one of the few places in North America dedicated to honeybee therapy (apitherapy) a practice that invites people to slow down and immerse themselves in the living environment of a healthy beehive without ever coming into direct contact with the bees.
During a session, guests relax inside a small cottage where they’re safely separated from active honeybee colonies by specially designed screens and hive walls. From there, they experience the gentle warmth of the colonies, the calming soundscape of thousands of bees working together, subtle hive vibrations, and naturally occurring hive aerosols produced from honey, beeswax, propolis, pollen, nectar, and the surrounding landscape. We have 45 or 90 minute sessions available ranging from single, doubles sessions to small group sessions upwards of 7-10 people. Popular clientele and events seem to be birthdays, anniversaries, date nights or individuals and groups seeking a sound bath esque meditation type experience.
One of the things that fascinates us most is how dynamic the experience is throughout the year. As different trees and wildflowers bloom across the St. Croix Valley, the character of the hive changes with them. Every session is influenced by what’s happening in nature that season, creating an experience that’s deeply connected to the rhythms of the local ecosystem. We often describe it as breathing in the landscape itself.
We’re especially proud that Honeycomb Cottage isn’t just a wellness business it’s also an educational experience. Every guest leaves with a deeper appreciation for honeybees, pollinators, and the remarkable complexity of a colony. Whether someone comes seeking quiet reflection, a unique date experience, time in nature, or simply curiosity, our hope is that they leave feeling more relaxed, more connected, and inspired by one of nature’s most extraordinary creatures.
Our background in human movement, nervous system health, and nature connection naturally led us here, and today our mission is simple: to create a peaceful space where people can slow down, reconnect with the natural world, and experience the remarkable atmosphere of a living honeybee colony in a way very few people ever have.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
If there’s one thing we’d love readers to take away, it’s that honeybees are just the beginning. Whether or not someone ever visits Honeycomb Cottage, we hope they leave with a greater appreciation for the incredible importance of pollinators and insects as a whole.
The renowned biologist E.O. Wilson referred to insects as “the little things that run the world,” and it’s hard to overstate just how true that is. Pollinators support much of our food system, countless wild plants, and the broader web of life that sustains birds, mammals, and entire ecosystems. As my mentor Laura B. Ferguson likes to remind us, they support the entire animal queendom and food system as a whole.
There’s a metaphor often used in conservation that compares biodiversity to an airplane or spaceship. You can lose one rivet or bolt and nothing seems to happen. Lose another, and another, and it still flies. But eventually you’ve removed enough seemingly insignificant pieces that the whole system becomes vulnerable to collapse. Nature works much the same way. Every species has a role, even if we don’t fully understand it yet.
The encouraging news is that each of us can make a difference. Plant native flowers. Leave part of your yard a little wild. Reduce pesticide use. Support natural beekeepers and conservation efforts. Share what you’ve learned with your family and neighbors. Small actions, multiplied across thousands of people, can have an extraordinary impact.
Our hope is that Honeycomb Cottage isn’t just a place where people relax it’s a place where they fall in love with the natural world again. We believe that once people truly experience honeybees up close and understand their remarkable intelligence and importance, protecting them becomes something they naturally want to do.
Pricing:
- 45 min double sessions $105
- 45 min single session $75
- 90 min doubles is $155
- 90 min individual $125
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.honeycombcottagemn.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/honeycombcottagemn?utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BQwvZcLY2/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@honeycombcottagemn?si=zTKOo5m0LOeZgd5t
