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This is a story of a pig and a pipe dream.
Joey's the pig, and Tim Robinson is the guy who imagined that one day he might have a future in products he made from hemp. With Joey as inspiration, Robinson is realizing his entrepreneurial vision. Working out of a rented house in Woodfin, Robinson, his girlfriend and another friend design, sew and sell everything from headbands and guitar straps to drum bags and T-shirts made from hemp and organic fabric. The name of Robinson's company is Legalize Pot Belly Pigs Co., and an image of bushy-headed Joey looks out from the center of the company's circular logo.
"Their slogan gets a lot of chuckles," said Eleni Nicholson, store manager at The Circle gift shop on Haywood Road in West Asheville.
"Their lighter holders are popular. Their T-shirts do pretty well. And we carry their headbands and guitar straps," Nicholson said.
That's music to the ears of the dreadlocked Robinson, himself a musician who plays solo singer-songerwriter gigs as Tim Alimena as well as with the band Turnip Truck, a roots-reggae outfit. Robinson is just now getting organized to begin pushing his brand. Last week, he got a break when the company that supplies him with his hemp fabric, Glenwood Springs, Colo.,-based EnviroTextiles, invited him to send some in some of his products to be part of the "Hempalicious" fashion show at the 2013 Winter X Games. The show was Thursday, and Robinson said he's hoping the exposure will help boost his burgeoning business.
It's a business that Robinson said wouldn't exist without Joey.
"The story of Joey inspires the company," Robinson said. "The business has sort of built itself. It's nothing I could have planned out."
Taking on city hall, one pig at a time
In 2008, Robinson was living in Morganton when he met Joey and took him in as a pet. Robinson was living outside the town when he first adopted Joey but ended up moving inside city limits. And that's when the trouble started.
"I had no idea it would stir up any kind of commotion, but a neighbor complained and animal control came knocking on my door and said I had to get rid of him," Robinson said.
"I refused to conform. I said, 'What do I have to do?' They said you have to show up at a City Council meeting, so that's what I did," he said.
Robinson wrote up a presentation explaining the pleasures of owning a potbellied pig as a pet. He handed the City Council members a 10-page document aimed at deconstructing stereotypes about pigs.
"For me, it was a moral thing. There were all kinds of messages about acceptance and tolerance, and everybody could interpret it in their own way, down to how the government tends to push people around. This is just a small example of that," he said.
It was about that time that Robinson hit upon the idea for a T-shirt design to promote his cause. The T-shirt would feature an image of Joey, with the words "Legalize Pot Belly Pigs." The T-shirts were a hit, and Robinson made a splash with his fight against City Hall.
"I liked the double entendre. It was a simple phrase, and if you look at the similarities of people fighting for the legalization of marijuana, it made sense. I'm not out there fighting for the legalization of marijuana, but I'm making a statement with my company.
In the end, though, city officials wouldn't budge, and Robinson ended up having to move Joey to his mother's home outside Morganton. Robinson also moved on, relocating to Woodfin and starting in earnest on his vision to make gear from hemp.
A future in hemp
Robinson avoids the debate around marijuana legalization but is more than happy to debate the merits of hemp. He also understands how the issues are intertwined.
In last November's elections, voters in Washington and Colorado approved measures that legalized the recreational use of marijuana. In Colorado, the new law allows adults over 21 to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana, or six marijuana plants, for personal use. The measure allows commercial sales of the drug starting this year, though cities would be free to prohibit commercial pot businesses. The Colorado move comes 12 years after the state legalized marijuana for people with certain medical conditions.
The Colorado law also allows the production of industrial hemp, a less potent cousin of marijuana that can be used for fiber and fuel. Nine states – Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont and West Virginia – have laws allowing hemp cultivation or research.
Still, federal drug law prohibits hemp production (and the marijuana remains illegal according to federal law), so industrial hemp used in products from granolas to soaps is imported. Robinson buys his hemp from EnviroTextiles, the Colorado-based supplier.
"We're promoting hemp. That's the big thing. That's where I feel like my fight is coming," Robinson said, adding that he's already seeing the effect of the law changes in Colorado and Washington – orders from buyers there are increasing.
"We're only shooting ourselves in the foot by not legalizing hemp. Our economy is crumbling. We're still at war. I feel like we could literally save the planet with legalizing hemp, and maybe marijuana, too, as far as stimulating the economy," he said.
"Every day, we're getting further and further into this national debt. Just the legalization would raise so much money that I feel like we would have a shot at coming out of it. I know it seems farfetched, but we need to raise people's awareness. That's our mission along the way," Robinson said.
For now, Robinson, his girlfriend, Kelly Hartmann, and friend Neil McDavid will continue to crank out headbands, drumstick bags and lighter cases on a couple of small sewing machines in the Woodfin house they all share. Hartmann handles marketing and sales while McDavid and Robinson sew.
"We're actually starting to seek out people to work for us, but we're also just trying to be patient and watch our overhead," Robinson said.
"It's exciting. We're just trying to get the best quality products we can out there and put Asheville on the map."
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: citizen-times.com
Author: Jason Sandford
Joey's the pig, and Tim Robinson is the guy who imagined that one day he might have a future in products he made from hemp. With Joey as inspiration, Robinson is realizing his entrepreneurial vision. Working out of a rented house in Woodfin, Robinson, his girlfriend and another friend design, sew and sell everything from headbands and guitar straps to drum bags and T-shirts made from hemp and organic fabric. The name of Robinson's company is Legalize Pot Belly Pigs Co., and an image of bushy-headed Joey looks out from the center of the company's circular logo.
"Their slogan gets a lot of chuckles," said Eleni Nicholson, store manager at The Circle gift shop on Haywood Road in West Asheville.
"Their lighter holders are popular. Their T-shirts do pretty well. And we carry their headbands and guitar straps," Nicholson said.
That's music to the ears of the dreadlocked Robinson, himself a musician who plays solo singer-songerwriter gigs as Tim Alimena as well as with the band Turnip Truck, a roots-reggae outfit. Robinson is just now getting organized to begin pushing his brand. Last week, he got a break when the company that supplies him with his hemp fabric, Glenwood Springs, Colo.,-based EnviroTextiles, invited him to send some in some of his products to be part of the "Hempalicious" fashion show at the 2013 Winter X Games. The show was Thursday, and Robinson said he's hoping the exposure will help boost his burgeoning business.
It's a business that Robinson said wouldn't exist without Joey.
"The story of Joey inspires the company," Robinson said. "The business has sort of built itself. It's nothing I could have planned out."
Taking on city hall, one pig at a time
In 2008, Robinson was living in Morganton when he met Joey and took him in as a pet. Robinson was living outside the town when he first adopted Joey but ended up moving inside city limits. And that's when the trouble started.
"I had no idea it would stir up any kind of commotion, but a neighbor complained and animal control came knocking on my door and said I had to get rid of him," Robinson said.
"I refused to conform. I said, 'What do I have to do?' They said you have to show up at a City Council meeting, so that's what I did," he said.
Robinson wrote up a presentation explaining the pleasures of owning a potbellied pig as a pet. He handed the City Council members a 10-page document aimed at deconstructing stereotypes about pigs.
"For me, it was a moral thing. There were all kinds of messages about acceptance and tolerance, and everybody could interpret it in their own way, down to how the government tends to push people around. This is just a small example of that," he said.
It was about that time that Robinson hit upon the idea for a T-shirt design to promote his cause. The T-shirt would feature an image of Joey, with the words "Legalize Pot Belly Pigs." The T-shirts were a hit, and Robinson made a splash with his fight against City Hall.
"I liked the double entendre. It was a simple phrase, and if you look at the similarities of people fighting for the legalization of marijuana, it made sense. I'm not out there fighting for the legalization of marijuana, but I'm making a statement with my company.
In the end, though, city officials wouldn't budge, and Robinson ended up having to move Joey to his mother's home outside Morganton. Robinson also moved on, relocating to Woodfin and starting in earnest on his vision to make gear from hemp.
A future in hemp
Robinson avoids the debate around marijuana legalization but is more than happy to debate the merits of hemp. He also understands how the issues are intertwined.
In last November's elections, voters in Washington and Colorado approved measures that legalized the recreational use of marijuana. In Colorado, the new law allows adults over 21 to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana, or six marijuana plants, for personal use. The measure allows commercial sales of the drug starting this year, though cities would be free to prohibit commercial pot businesses. The Colorado move comes 12 years after the state legalized marijuana for people with certain medical conditions.
The Colorado law also allows the production of industrial hemp, a less potent cousin of marijuana that can be used for fiber and fuel. Nine states – Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont and West Virginia – have laws allowing hemp cultivation or research.
Still, federal drug law prohibits hemp production (and the marijuana remains illegal according to federal law), so industrial hemp used in products from granolas to soaps is imported. Robinson buys his hemp from EnviroTextiles, the Colorado-based supplier.
"We're promoting hemp. That's the big thing. That's where I feel like my fight is coming," Robinson said, adding that he's already seeing the effect of the law changes in Colorado and Washington – orders from buyers there are increasing.
"We're only shooting ourselves in the foot by not legalizing hemp. Our economy is crumbling. We're still at war. I feel like we could literally save the planet with legalizing hemp, and maybe marijuana, too, as far as stimulating the economy," he said.
"Every day, we're getting further and further into this national debt. Just the legalization would raise so much money that I feel like we would have a shot at coming out of it. I know it seems farfetched, but we need to raise people's awareness. That's our mission along the way," Robinson said.
For now, Robinson, his girlfriend, Kelly Hartmann, and friend Neil McDavid will continue to crank out headbands, drumstick bags and lighter cases on a couple of small sewing machines in the Woodfin house they all share. Hartmann handles marketing and sales while McDavid and Robinson sew.
"We're actually starting to seek out people to work for us, but we're also just trying to be patient and watch our overhead," Robinson said.
"It's exciting. We're just trying to get the best quality products we can out there and put Asheville on the map."
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: citizen-times.com
Author: Jason Sandford
