February, and Denmark’s still shivering. Whilst the bees remain huddled inside their hives, slowly eating their provisions and patiently waiting for the first signs of spring, this beekeeper is spending February travelling the length and breadth of Denmark, explaining to everyone he meets how wonderful the honey is that his bees make.
February is a month of trade fairs and food festivals. These arrangements give businesses like ours the chance to show off our products to people who own small independent stores, or wholesale businesses, in the hope that some of them will buy our products and sell it in their stores. These trade fairs are a totally new experience for Helt, the first time we’ve crept out from behind our hives and exhibited our honey. I personally didn’t really know what to expect at these fairs, but I’m happy to report that we’ve been having a wonderful time. As well as receiving lots of orders from stores, I’ve heard so many nice things said about our honey, our package design, and our overall concept. These kind words have come both from customers and from people who were exhibiting at the fair. It’s given us such a boost to hear that so many people share our enthusiasm for what we do. We are now very busy packing and sending honey out to all our new customers, before we head off excitedly for the Copenhagen Food Fair next weekend.
I also want to share with you a quite unexpected, personal and humbling experience I had at the first fair in Herning. The fair lasted for four days, and during this time I got the chance to meet many of the other people who were exhibiting their products. It was fascinating to meet these people and hear their story about what they make and how they started their business. Everyone is very passionate about what they do, and you can’t help but get caught up in their enthusiasm. I took a walk around the many halls, wandering amongst the trade stands, trying to take in all that was on offer. All the ideas, all the effort, all the love and tears and countless hours involved in making an idea into a business, it was all here, laid bare for all to see and scrutinize. I soon realised that each stand represented someone’s dream, and that as I was moving around the hall I was walking through dreams. It was a humbling experience, because my dream was back there down the corridor, all alone, and I knew how much I care for my dream and what it means to me. This quite powerful feeling of solidarity brought to mind a poem by W.B. Yeats, which seemed to capture the feeling of being surrounded by all these dreams, and which reminds us of their significance and fragility. It’s called He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven.
Had I the heaven’s embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.