Hemp is on the move says Sudbury's Will Hall, owner of the Hemp Guy retail store on Durham St.
"Hemp, a crop known for its excellent fibre, is growing on a
global basis. More companies are getting involved with it,
those already on board are seeing major expansion underway into
the global marketplace," said Hall.
Hall himself is back in the hemp business.
"People in Greater Sudbury may recall I had a store in 2003 in
the Rainbow Centre. I decided to close down but now I have
reopened in a better location with a wider range of products.
Because of that history I find I have a solid customer base,"
said Hall.
The Stepping Stone Loan program of GEODE, a community economic
development group, helped get Hall off the ground.
"I was in one of the original peer lending circles of GEODE and
I was able to move through the loan process all the way to
getting financial assistance from initially $1,000 to finally
$3,000. They were a major support for me," he said.
Hall is a recent business graduate of CDI College in Sudbury.
"CDI was an intensive learning situation but I find it has been
very useful in starting this business."
The Hemp Guy has a wide range of products for sale.
"Right now we have clothing, jewelry, toys, custom designed
tables, body lotions and some craft supplies. Most of the
products are mixed-say cotton is mixed with the hemp for the
clothing to keep down the cost. Some clothes are all hemp. They
do cost more but they last much longer (up to ten times as
long), are water resistant, mould resistant and they breathes a
lot better than cotton," says Hall.
"As a historical note when Levis Jeans first made their jeans
they were able to offer a lifetime guarantee because of the
high hemp content. When I was working for a clothing store in
1997 we actually got a pair of 30 year old Levi jeans that
still had the lifetime guarantee on them. The other benefit is
that hemp is a very easy crop to grow-no herbicides or
pesticides are required so it is a green product."
The Hemp Guy is an independent store and not a franchise
operation but Hall has plans to open another store in Timmins
this fall.
"I have to firm things up for a Timmins store by doing more
market research but I expect it to be a go. I sense there is a
lot of support up there for hemp products," said Hall.
The Hemp Guy also intends to move beyond retailing towards the
manufacturer of hemp products says Hall.
"I can get the raw material, the hemp from Romania. It is one
of the biggest producers in the world now besides Russia,
France, China, Hong Kong, Hungary. Canada is slowly producing
more hemp each year. Quite a bit is now grown in Ontario, near
Barrie," he said.
"We hope to making product here in Sudbury for export
elsewhere. I expect to be employing the services of a clothing
designer from Fanshaw College, probably on a placement basis
first and then full time," said Hall.
Hall will even have a line up of hemp foods.
"You can use hemp oil for salads. It has a unique taste but it
does have great nutritional value. We will have a hemp pancake
and brownie mix-they are chock full of vitamins, fatty acids
and proteins. It is not overly expensive either."
Hall has taking advantage of all the local festivals to promote
his business.
"I had a booth at the Northern Lights Festival Boreal in July.
It was good for business. I saw a lot of past customers from my
former store come by. That was fun. Many wanted to know when I
was reopening the store. I will also be set up at Summerfest
next weekend so see you there."
For more information phone 662-2497 or visit
[email protected].
