Meet the Family…

3 Feathers honey was started by the 3 unique women of the Featherstone family. This part of our family beekeeping unit was developed by Natasha, Heather and Sally-Kay who each play an individual role. The 3 Feathers logo not only represents these 3 unique women but also the 3 generations of Featherstones, with latest addition Henry Featherstone arriving last year.

The beekeeping unit was started by Norman Featherstone, the head of the family and also our head beekeeper. Norman began his beekeeping story in South Africa over 30 years ago, and has transferred that experience into a new business here in New Zealand, starting from one hive 8 years ago. He is assisted in the day to day beekeeping duties by his daughter Sally-Kay, who is studying to be a qualified beekeeper under Norman’s instruction. Norman’s son John works full time and assists with beekeeping on the weekends and busy periods for now.

John’s partner Natasha, originally from the UK and with a strong sales background is responsible for the marketing and sales of the honey.

Norman’s partner Heather is a qualified midwife and nurse full time, whilst also being in charge of the bottling process.

Sustainable Bee keeping

At 3 Feathers honey, we believe in trying to keep things as sustainable as possible. 

Our hives are checked frequently to ensure there is no threat from diseases or pests. We choose our sites carefully to ensure there is enough shelter and enough natural food for the bees to work on so they can thrive naturally. We are lucky to have such beautiful native bush and pasture on our doorstep in New Zealand.

Towards the end of the honey season we leave honey in the hives for the bees over winter. We try to avoid feeding them artificially as much as possible but of course if a hive is struggling we do give them a helping hand.

At the beginning of the season, before the honey flow comes in, a substantial number of our bees are used for pollination in Kiwi fruit orchards in the bay of plenty.

 We only use glass jars in our packaging as we don’t believe in single-use plastics. New Zealand’s plastic problem, although under-documented, is a serious concern with no current solution. Glass is the most easily recycled material and can be recycled endlessly with no loss in quality or purity, so please recycle your jars after use. Our local clients are also encouraged to bring back their jars for re-use. At our food shows we do not supply bags so please remember to bring resusable ones for your shopping.

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