About Orchard & Hive

About Orchard & Hive

children’s creative studio

Orchard & Hive is a creative studio dedicated to storytelling, teaching, and design. We create meaningful, childhood‑inspired products for kids of all ages, all rooted in the belief that creativity grows when it’s tended with care. From curriculum design to surface pattern design, stories shape everything we make. They connect us, teach us, and spark imagination, creativity, and wonder.

We imagine Orchard & Hive as a little world of its own, where creativity lives in every corner. Through our reader’s theater scripts, STEAM stories, creative paper crafts, and original art and pattern designs, we delight in helping you bring your own stories to life.

This studio is our orchard – our creative home – where ideas are nurtured and shared. Whether you’re a teacher, parent, fellow maker, or creative beginner, you are welcome here.

Fictional illustrated map of Orchard & Hive Co. featuring an apple orchard, beehive, red schoolhouse, blue steamboat, hive-themed design studio, and library.
where imaginations grow

Who We Create For

Orchard & Hive isn’t just a business – it’s a place where imaginations grow and ideas take root. Our illustrated teaching resources, creative projects, and children’s patterns are crafted to nurture curious classrooms and creative homes. Whether you teach, make, or explore, there’s a path in the orchard waiting for you.

Illustrated children's schoolhouse icon representing creative classroom and educational resources for children.

Teachers

  • Printable Paper Crafts
  • Reader’s Theater scripts
  • Read Aloud crafts + activities
  • STEAM stories + experiments
  • Idea Journals for creative thinking
  • Explorer Scrapbook creative research projects
  • Project-based learning activities
Honeycomb pattern illustration icon with a paintbrush and bee for children's surface design and pattern art projects.

Makers & Designers

  • Children’s illustrations
  • Surface pattern designs
  • Fabric + wallpaper collections
  • Seasonal pattern capsules
  • Licensing-ready artwork
  • Pattern Play projects
  • Creative activities
  • Projects for little makers
Whimsical paper crafts icon showing scissors and an Orchard & Hive honeybee illustration for kids' classroom art projects.

Creative Kids & Families

  • Interactive activities
  • At-home crafts + STEM experiments
  • Storytime
  • Nature-inspired activities
  • Everyday exploration
  • Holiday magic
  • Seasonal celebrations
  • Community + kindness projects

See How We’ve Grown!

Orchard & Hive began with the belief that childhood should be filled with creativity, imagination, and just a little bit of magic. In 2012, that belief was planted in a teacher shop on Teachers Pay Teachers, where our Mz Applebee brand began publishing literacy materials, interactive activities, and creative digital products for teachers, parents, and students.

As the years passed, our company kept growing. What started as a small children’s studio slowly expanded into a creative world – one rooted in a simple mission: to create spaces where children can learn and grow.

Today, Orchard & Hive is a place where you’ll find stories, characters, patterns, and hands-on learning experiences. A place where children can plant their own ideas and discover adventures that spark curiosity.

Minimalist brown apple seeds graphic illustration for Orchard & Hive Co.

SEEDS

In 2012, the Mz Applebee teacher shop opens, publishing interactive learning activities, reader’s theater scripts, and crafts.

Apple Seeds blog sprout logo graphic featuring a green seedling growing in soil.

SPROUT

The teacher shop keeps growing. Mz Applebee celebrates ten years of publishing creative educational resources for kids.

Apple tree graphic illustration with red apples for the Apple Seeds blog.

TREE

In 2023, the Mz Applebee brand begins to branch out, blossoming into today’s Orchard & Hive creative studio.

our roots

An illustration of bees flying near a blue mailbox containing an envelope for Orchard and Hive.

A Note from Our Founder

“At its core, Orchard & Hive is about nurturing the creativity, curiosity, and wonder in all of us. I’ve always believed that anyone can be creative with a little time, a little tending, and a space that feels welcoming enough to explore. Orchard & Hive was created to be that space – a storied world where creativity is planted and imaginations grow. If you’d like to wander a little deeper into the orchard, you can explore the Founder Q&A for a behind‑the‑scenes look at how everything here is made.”

Read the Founder Q&A ➜

read the blog

Browse Our Creative Library

Explore our growing library of creative activities, projects, stories, and resources designed to support curious classrooms and creative homes. Whether you’re looking for storytime inspiration, hands‑on science experiments, nature crafts, or seasonal projects, our blog offers inspiration for makers of all ages.

Cute illustration of bees pouring seeds into a notebook to grow a sprout, for Orchard & Hive blog header.