Hello and welcome to Bee’s Knees Mercantile! We are Kassie Dawn and Kyle Dean — high school sweethearts turned lifelong partners, environmental stewards, market-goers, and seasoned market directors of Village Markets and Badrock Farmers Market. As full-time creatives, we work from our homestead in Bigfork, Montana, nestled at the base Rocky Mountains, where we embrace a slow-living lifestyle by offering intentionally crafted heritage gifts and goods using locally sourced or wildcrafted ingredients from local small farms, including our very own homegrown herbs. As such, much of our products are seasonally made, reflecting the nature of each season, and therefore, are crafted in small batches to ensure the integrity and terroir of each harvest. Likewise, when we are in abundance, we may also offer fresh chicken eggs by the dozen from our free-range barnyard flock at farmers markets or arrange delivery for Flathead Valley residents on a first come first serve basis.
In 2018, we introduced Bee’s Knees Mercantile (previously Bee’s Knees ‘n’ Knits), a take on one of our favorite nostalgic sayings “bee’s knees,” meaning “outstandingly good,” and that is exactly what we set out to achieve; dedicated to honoring our heritage and rural community by preserving the arts, culture, and trades of Northwest Montana. Utilizing only the highest quality sustainable raw ingredients and material, we are able to offer functional, durable, and quality goods from our home to yours. Our Montana made products include soap, folk remedies, pottery, woodcrafts, and fibercrafts; most of which are inspired by our heritage, as well as inspired by folklore with historical references.
In 2020, we introduced The Village Markets, a series of seasonal handmade and homegrown markets based on the belief that it takes a village to provide and revive the spirit of community, held at the Swan River Community Hall in Bigfork. As artisans ourselves, we have a special affinity for our fellow stewards and value those who share in our lifestyle. Depending on the occasion, we feature between 20 to 30 hand-picked vendors ranging from local farms and ranchers, artisans, musicians, and food/beverage purveyors, with an emphasis on product diversity and sustainability. Amongst the booths, we offer sponsored booth spaces for aspiring artists under the age of 18 in effort to support young entrepreneurs, as well as set up family activities and a photo prop area to capture memories.
In 2023, Kassie graciously accepted offer to become a board member of Badrock Farmers Market, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation dedicated to connecting and supporting farmers and their communities in the east Flathead Valley to Glacier National Park corridor. As Secretary and social media media manager, as well as participating vendor, she is able to fulfill her dream of nourishing her community through her creative efforts in a more impactful and broader scale. Overall, as active members of our rural community, we are determined to expand our reach by helping bridge the gap between small-scale farms, skilled tradesmen or women, and conscious consumers, which allows us to actively invest in our community on both a social and economical scale.
If you’ve read this far, thank you for following along our journey. We are fortunate to use this platform to serve our community. We humbly invite you to stay connected with updates, workshop and market opportunities, and our current offerings by following our social media pages. As always, we encourage you to shop, share, and support local. If you’ve shopped with us before or attended any of our events, thank you and please write a review to help our slow and steady growth! Your kind words and encouragement never go unnoticed! With gratitude, Kassie and Kyle.
