Island Life

Finally made it outside in the sunshine this evening to photograph a new item for the shop that I mentioned in my Market Trifecta post. This is the Cotton and Hemp Zippered Pouch I made in mint coloured cotton and natural hemp after being inspired by the wooden whale I saw in a Cloverdale shop. I'm really happy to be working with hemp. Its durable and soft and requires less pesticides and no herbicides to grow, meaning it makes less environmental impact than traditional crops.

I fell in love with hemp a long time ago on the Gulf Island of Salt Spring here on the West Coast. Each Summer I would get to tag along with my best friend's family to camp by the waterfront for a week. Salt Spring Island is littered with interesting shops and unique people. People that opened my eyes to the fact that it was possible to live life in a way that was different from what was going on in the city. The lifestyle I saw on Salt Spring was more in tune with my interests and I have never felt more at home then I did during those long days of summer when I could go and absorb the island lifestyle for a little while and feel more comfortable in my "hippie" skin.

It was in a tiny shop on the dock of Fulford Harbour that I bought my first piece of hemp clothing. As a teen, I was certain that this hemp shirt was the best way to identify with my new hippie idols. Shortly after returning to Vancouver that summer, I proclaimed myself a Vegan and tried to give myself dreadlocks by convincing my friend to back-comb tiny sections of my frizzy, hay like hair for hours until my head was covered with long finger-like projections of fuzzy knots that stood straight up in the air! The dreadlocks lasted 2 weeks, the Vegan lifestyle lasted only one year, but my inner hippie is still circle dancing in my heart to this day.

Check out the new Hemp Zippered Pouch in the shop. Hemp for all, Hippies and Non-hippies alike.