The BeeBuilt Father's Day Gift Guide
A gift guide for the dad who keeps a few tools he's proud of.
Who reads slowly and thinks about what he's reading. Who'd rather spend a Saturday working on something than watching someone else do it on TV. These are gifts for dads who take their hobbies seriously, not as a performance of leisure, but because skilled, attentive work is one of the better ways to spend time. A few of these are from the BeeBuilt shop; the rest come from makers we respect, based right here in the Pacific Northwest.
BeeBuilt
If you know your Dad is curious about beekeeping, but you're not sure where he'd want to start, a BeeBuilt gift certificate lets him choose his own entry point. On sale now through June 21.
For the dad who's already keeping bees, the Ultimate Hive Tool is the one piece of equipment he reaches for on every single inspection. Pair it with the European Style Smoker, stainless steel, leather, and wood with a wrap-around heat shield, and he has everything he needs to open a hive with confidence. Made to last, designed for function, not for the shelf.
Not every dad is ready to commit to a honeybee hive, and that's a fine place to be. The Mason Bee Hive is a good starting point: mason bees are solitary, sting-free pollinators that do serious work in the garden, and this one is built from western red cedar to last a long time outdoors.
For the beekeeper who's already in it, our Tool Roll is a collaboration with Loyal Workshop: waxed canvas, thoughtfully organized, made for someone who takes their tools seriously. Built for use, not display.
Bull in China
Bull in China is Portland-based artisanal barware, made the way tools should be made: by hand, from good materials, built to outlast the occasion. BeeBuilt customers get 20% off with code DADBB20.
Bull in China's Rocks Glasses are hand-blown near Seattle and quickly become the kind of thing you want to use every day.
The Black Walnut Muddler is hand-carved from Oregon black walnut. A simple tool made with care.
The Hawthorne Strainer is the first American-made Hawthorne cocktail strainer, available in stainless steel, brass, or copper — a tool that works every day and looks good doing it.
The Neat Pour Glass is hand-blown in the Pacific Northwest — the kind of glass that makes a good pour feel like it deserves the occasion.
Thaan Charcoal
Thaan is built around a simple premise: better charcoal changes how you cook with fire. They make their own, and they make the tools to go with it.
Thaan's Oak Lump Charcoal is clean-burning and consistent.
The Thaan Grill is designed around the charcoal itself.
And the Fatwood Fire Starter makes getting the coals lit straightforward.
The Thaan Jet Fan is a rechargeable fan that gets the coals going faster and gives you on-demand airflow whenever you need it.
El Rancho Supply
El Rancho Supply sources a collection of meaningful home goods with rich stories, including woven textiles and handmade pottery from family workshops in Oaxaca. BeeBuilt customers get 20% off with code ElRancho.
The Painted Hills Handwoven Blanket is the kind of thing that gets used, not folded and put away. Good for the porch, the truck, the fire pit.
The Handmade Oaxacan Carita Face Coffee Cup is barro negro pottery made by a small family workshop in Atzompa, Oaxaca. Every piece comes out a little different. The kind of cup that becomes the one you always reach for.
HAB Sauce
HAB makes small-batch hot sauces for people who actually think about what they're putting on their food. Real sauces with real heat, made with intention. Use code DADSDAY26 for 10% off.
The 4 Pack Sauce Box is a good way to try a few at once and figure out which one becomes a staple.
Their Oregon Seaweed Chili Crisp is HAB's first product in a jar rather than a bottle. A small-batch chili crisp made with Oregon seaweed that's going to end up on everything.
Overland Sauna
Overland builds portable saunas and the tools to go with them, for people who want the ritual without the real estate. There's something we appreciate about a brand that treats recovery the same way we treat work: with purpose and the right equipment. If you're already splitting wood, you might as well have somewhere to recover from it.
The Adler Short Splitter Axe is a serious tool for a specific job.
The Sauna Tent takes the whole ritual somewhere else.
Powell's Books
Powell's is Portland's legendary independent bookstore. From their sizable bee and beekeeping section, we'd recommend the following books for the dad who is as interested in philosophy as bees.
A Book of Bees by Sue Hubbell, a commercial beekeeper in the Ozarks writing about the rhythms of seasonal work, solitude, and what it means to pay close attention to something year after year.
The Life of the Bee by Maurice Maeterlinck, a Nobel laureate's 1901 meditation on bee society as a way of thinking about consciousness and community. More poetic than practical. The kind of book you put down mid-chapter to think.
DrifterEdge
DrifterEdge pretty much makes one thing, done right. Their Xband Wallet, the ultimate wallet for anyone who likes carrying the absolute minimum in their wallet.
The Xband Wallet 2.0 does what a wallet is supposed to do without asking much in return: slim, durable, available in a range of colors and patterns worth actually choosing between.
Pair it with their RFID Guard Card, and it's a complete kit for the dad who wants to carry less and think about it even less.
