We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Arlo Estill a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Arlo , thanks for joining us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
My big brother, Zafer came up with the idea for Hempsmith. He saw the future of hemp textiles and created a clothing brand to promote the benefits of industrial hemp. Zafer died of a heroin overdose in 2016, in that first week I realized I could take Hempsmith and create something that holds Zafer forever. I took his designs and started selling tee shirts by hand. I filled his closet with inventory and learned how to tie dye. My neighbor taught me how to screenprint and the business was born.
I outfitted an old greenhouse as a dyehouse and we started cranking out the tees. Overtime we built out our selection to include hoodies, hats, socks, and other hemp garments. In 2020 we opened up our bricks and mortar, the Hempsmith Atelier at The Plant NC in Pittsboro, NC. Over time we developed our sources and created quite the selection of fine hemp clothing.
We purchased two embroidery machines and we are now doing our dyes, prints, and embroidery in house. This has helped with flexibility and our ability to do custom hemp clothing for local businesses. We are honored to make the clothing for multiple craft breweries, distilleries and small businesses.
This summer we launched our new website and we have been building out our online presence. We have started popping up at local festivals and we’re starting to spread the good word of industrial hemp and all its benefits.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
Hempsmith makes fine hemp clothing. We specialize in hand crafted tie dyes, custom prints, and embroidery on hemp clothing. Industrial Hemp is a super plant with many benefits. It is known to be a low impact, renewable material that can replace petroleum and synthetic fibers.
Hemp grows very quickly and really tall. We can harvest a lot of material from a small plot of land with very little input. Hemp creates a strong, durable fiber that is used to make quality clothing among other things. Hemp is a versatile crop that can produce textiles, building materials, nutrition, medicine, and many other products.
At Hempsmith we are solving the problem of fast fashion, creating a low impact, slow fashion that stays in style.
I am most proud of our mission to Bring Hemp Home and demonstrate a Restorative Economy. We have a vision to source domestically and create clothing from local farmers. I imagine a local supply chain that produces clothing within a few hundred miles. A stark contrast from the extractive global economy that creates clothing that travels 30,000 miles before it reaches the consumer.
I am confident that we can restore this planet with a local economy based on plant materials. Hemp has a deep root system that sequesters carbon as it grows. The more clothing we grow the more carbon we can sink.
I am also very proud of the craft nature of our clothing. We tie dye by hand and screenprint the old fashioned way, by hand. Every piece is unique and crafted with care by our artists.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Clothing is a cluttered market. The culture of clothing sales in this market is a race to the bottom. The lower the price the more you will sell. People are encouraged to cut corners, externalize the cost and produce a cheap product that isn’t quality.
Over time I learned to position high. Our clothing is craft, and hemp, and costs a lot. You get what you pay for, the quality of our clothing speaks for itself. I get excited to produce a garment that will last for years.
Any advice for managing a team?
Emergent Leadership is at the heart of our brand. I resent the hierarchy of most businesses, at Hempsmith we follow the best idea. It often doesn’t come from me. Empowering our team and implementing the best idea has created a cohesive community that feels valued.
We meet regularly and make the moves that will further the brand. I am blessed for a competent staff that has our best interest in mind. We share the spoils and reiterate along the way. Over time we have found what works best. We operate with a framework of abundance and often pump each other up.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hempsmithclothing.com/
- Instagram: Hempsmith
- Facebook: Hempsmith
Image Credits
Photos attributed to Melanie Miller + Hempsmith Photographers