We recently received this letter from the Greenfield Second Church in Greenfiled, MA regarding their annual Beefest:
Hello Martin Pierce Staff: Your nature-themed products are stunning. I am boldly writing to inquire about a donation of bee or butterfly item for our Community Bee Fest raffle to be held June 7, 2014.
WHY would you want to do this? We are losing millions of bees each year to colony collapse disorder which greatly impacts the farmers’ ability to grow fruits and vegetables. Our community Bee Fest, now it its 4th year, is an attempt at public education with a real purpose. Rev. Lorenzo L. Langstroth was pastor of our church in Greenfield, MA, in the 1840’s. He created the “Langstroth moveable frame beehive” still used by 80% beekeepers in the world. We honor his contributions by holding an annual “Bee Fest” with bee education, children’s crafts and a Pollinator Parade and by lifting up the serious challenges bees are facing worldwide. Bee researchers from the University of Massachusetts will give short talks on their research for adults which includes both interested local residents and New England beekeepers.
To give back to our community, our church is organizing 5 raffle baskets of donated bee-themed products. Proceeds from the raffle, after expenses, benefit SNAP (food stamps) and Heifer Prject Int’l (to purchase honeybees for families in 3rd world countries).
If you are willing to donate either a dummy bumblebee door knob or butterfly pull, we would be so grateful. If you are interested, please add product brochures for guests to order directly from you-I am sure they would be as delighted as I am to find your company! This event is growing in scope and numbers and we expect about 450-500 attendees this year. www.greenfieldsecondchurch.com]
We appreciate your kind consideration.
This interesting fundraiser is dedicated to something near and dear to Martin's heart----the humble Bee. We also liked the fact that some of the raffle proceeds go to the Heifer Project International to help purchase honeybees in 3rd world countries; and more generally that this Bee Fest helps raise awareness about the challenges bees are facing.
Bees have always been important in Martin’s art work as seen in his first bee sculpture of a bee landing on an orchid.
We are both fans of bees, even after being stung. Iris, however, who was recently stung, does not share our viewpoint but, then again, name me a pitbull that does! One of our favorite bees is the black carpenter bee which we first encountered back in 1978 when we were on a camping vacation in Santorini Greece. It is this bee that was the inspiration for the bumble bee handle from our Netzuke collection that we donated.
Carpenter bees are large bees that are distributed worldwide. There are some 500 species of carpenter bee in 31 subgenera. Their name comes from the fact that nearly all species build their nests in burrows in dead wood, bamboo, or structural timbers. Wikipedia
To view our entire Netzuke collection and other custom hardware, please visit our site at www.martinpierce.com.