Charleston designer creates beekeeping suit for women

Beekeeping yields more than just honey. Some scientific research suggests beekeepers may age more slowly and live longer than the general population due to their consumption of bee products. Beekeepers also play a vital role in supporting local ecosystems by maintaining healthy pollinator populations, ensuring that wild plants continue to reproduce, providing food and shelter for birds, insects and other wildlife.

The practice has been around for thousands of years, yet the protective suits haven’t changed much. The one-size-fits-all approach leaves women struggling with poor fit and limited functionality. That matters, especially given the statistics, which reveal women make up an estimated 30-32% of the beekeeping community.

“I listened to women complain that the crotch of their unisex suit was at their knees and that everything fell out of their pockets the moment they bent over,” said artist, designer and third-generation beekeeper Jenna York, founder of Jeometry Beewear of Charleston.

An idea takes wing

York was attending a “Women in Beekeeping” panel discussion at a Beekeeping Association summer conference when inspiration struck. As women shared their frustration with protective gear, she knew she could help.

“Working with sticky honey and stinging insects requires focus and protection,” she said. “When the room expressed how difficult it was to find functional gear, I raised my hand and promised to design a solution myself.”

With more than two decades of fashion design and production experience, York believed she could engineer a suit to fit the female form.

Built by beekeepers, for beekeepers

After surveying more than 100 female beekeepers, York sewed and field-tested a dozen prototypes within her own apiary.

Living in the South also highlighted another problem: heat.  Traditional suits can weigh about seven pounds and become uncomfortably hot.

Her answer was the “Sunny Suit,” a lightweight design weighing under two pounds. York, who holds a master’s degree in fibers and textiles, partners with a contractor in North Carolina to manufacture the gear using an advanced, triple-layer mesh crafted from 100% recycled plastic water bottles.

York started out with 100 suits and quickly sold out. Today she is prepared to make about 800-900 suits.

“I’m learning the pacing of having someone else manufacture them,” she said. “I had sewn for myself for more than 20 years, so when you’re outsourcing and relying on other people to complete the needed steps, it’s less hands on and more sitting at the computer, sourcing materials and coordinating with suppliers.”

Positive feedback

The Sunny Suit has earned praise from industry professionals, including commercial beekeepers and educators.

“Finally, a bee suit made for women, by a woman beekeeper,” said Tamila Morgan, a professional beekeeper known online as @the_beefarmer. “It is intuitive, thoughtfully designed and hits a home run by being both functional and flattering.”

Rebecca Bills @randracres, said, “It’s made for curves and it’s lightweight. I can feel every breeze coming in.”

York hopes her work will encourage more people to become beekeepers.

“Bees are fascinating and it’s important to know that one-third of the food on our plate relies on pollinators,” she said. “The more I learn about them, the more I want to learn.”

York is optimistic about the positive feedback and is already fielding requests by men to create a lighter suit for them and even ones for dogs.

“Right now, I’m just taking one thing at a time,” she said.

What motivates her most, however, is the positive reactions from the customers.

“I like seeing the smiles on the female beekeepers faces, knowing that they will feel protected without fighting the suit and that has been extremely rewarding,” she said.