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April 2016 newsletter
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Vital Ones, April is the month we celebrate the Earth. And this Earth Day, Vital Hemp also celebrates our 13th Anniversary!!! It’s a Vital Bar Mitzvah of sorts…. To celebrate, we’re hosting a party at the store, and invite you all to raise a glass of organic wine, hemp ale or tulsi tea with us. We’ll share great company & conversation, live music, hemp treats, and more. Bring your favorite friend, Thursday, April 21st from 7-11 pm.
Other events this month: This Saturday, April 9th, from 12-5 pm, you can find us at The Green Venice Expo, sponsored by the Surfrider Foundation, Whole Foods, Venice Community Council & Kids Zone. With many guest speakers, including Robert Scheer from KCRW. https://www.facebook.com/events/1573226946321026/ April 16th and 17th find the Vital Hemp booth at the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival, one of our faves. Tuesday April 19th from 6-9 pm, come to the Sustainable Business Council’s Awards Ceremony at the Lexus Santa Monica. Vital Hemp has again been selected as a finalist, and even if we don’t win, it’s always great to be around such a happy, healthy, committed group of people. The sustainable beverages, appetizers and music don’t hurt. https://www.facebook.com/events/207016522983776/ Finally, after many, many journeys, we decided to retire the 1993 Vital Blue EuroVan. With 200,000 miles, she needed a break. One day, while picking up some hemp tees from our sewer, he said, “Hey Ron, I’m selling the Sprinter. Do you want to buy it?” “What year?” I asked.“2006” “How many miles?” “I don’t know, around 55,000. It needs some work.” For a modest sum and some money for the work, we bought and fixed up the van. Now, we are happy to announce the debut of our Vital Currently-White Sprinter. Geoff and our newest hemper, Joel, had the good fortune of taking her on her maiden voyage to the NOCO Hemp Expo in Loveland Colorado last weekend, where they introduced Vital Hemp clothing to another gathering of hemp-lovers. Thankfully, the VCWS performed admirably in the altitude, even forging on through a snow flurry. In looking through pictures to find one of the Vital Blue Van, I noticed that I hadn’t taken many. Like a humble sherpa, it carried us to so many places, usually without complaint, and always brought us safely home. Of course, we kept her watered and well-oiled and changed some spark plugs, disks and tires when required…. And though we didn’t often take pics of her, she was there, a loyal servant to our vital cause. And so, with some sadness and a good deal of gratitude, we say farewell to our Vital Blue Van. The process of replacing something after its useful life inspires some thoughts around quality and our disposable culture. In the midst of a consumption-driven society that practically requires a new phone with every other software upgrade, I value things that are well-made and last. In the corner of my shop sits a 1955 Gilbert electric fan, made for keeping labs cool. It blows as strong as the day it left the factory, and looks more beautiful to me than any fan on the market today. We aspire to make clothes that way--clothes that last for years and still look good, still feel great on your body. So many times, we’ve heard customers tell us, “I bought this shirt [or hoodie] from you, maybe seven years ago, and I still wear it, and it still looks good! These stories always make us smile and motivate us to keep going. As ever, Ron Alcalay |
Founder/CEO/Hemperdasher
