420 Warrior
Well-Known Member
The night is cold and the wind is on the soft side of ferocious outside of America's Best Coffee in south Arlington. A young man sits at a table by the parking lot braiding together a bracelet made with burgundy and blue hemp strings. His long and wavy hair is pulled back and covered by a black beanie. His light blue jeans are tattered and several old pieces of thermal clothing are sewn over the holes. He wears a heavy winter coat and beneath it, a shirt that reads, "Free My Church."
The man's name is Dean Berman and he's the owner of Hemply Accessories, a local handmade jewelry company.
The smell of caffeine from inside the shop seeps through to the patio area along with a steady stream of music played live by local musicians. As guests come or go, the man stands up to hug and talk to each one of them. As the night continues, he winds the two strands of colorful hemp until only a green strand is left and then places a tiny charm with the word 'Hemply' at the end.
Dean Berman and his wife Alicia Berman create all of the company's products out of a high-quality hemp, sell it and give the proceeds to a charitable cause.
Creating jewelry was never a passion of the young artist, but instead, he said it was a calling from God. It all began one night when he felt a need to keep his hands busy and joined his wife in learning how to make textiles by knotting yarn together.
"It was therapy at first, making the jewelry, and we'd hang out at the coffee shop so much that we decided to bring yarn and different beads," Dean Berman said. "For the longest time we were just making the jewelry and giving it away and people began to insist on paying for it."
After a recent job loss, Dean Berman looked into turning his newfound hobby into something beneficial for his family.
"Everything that I do, I've always wanted to tie in something," he said. "So I just said to my wife, 'Let's make jewelry, let's sell it, let's come up with a cool name, let's have a charitable cause and lets create something unique.' "
His wife thought it was a great idea too.
"The whole time I just wanted to give away what we're making for no charge, but when Dean told me that we could give back in a bigger way, I thought it was a great idea," Alicia Berman said.
The urge to give back comes from a dark time in Dean Berman's life. He said his journey began when he was working toward sobriety from a heroin addiction and was very ill. As a teenager, Arlington was his stomping grounds and he calls it a city he did a lot of damage to.
"Hemply represents two things: It's a way for me to give back in a city where I use to rebel in and giving hemp a good name," he said. Dean Berman explained hemp is sometimes associated with marijuana and he wants to let people know that's not the case. He uses hemp because it's an easy and natural product that can be used for many things and he wants to just be part of using hemp in a good way.
Today, Arlington is the place where he said he has found a lot of help. One day, the artist got into his car and said, "God, lead me somewhere I can be surrounded by good people."
As he drove, he said God led him to America's Best Coffee shop where Lori Mosley, who is in charge of the open mic night, greeted him.
"I've been doing the open mic at the coffee shop for a long time and Dean happened to walk in one day, and we became good friends," Mosley said.
Mosley said Berman is setting an example of what others should do for the community.
The coffee shop also holds church service Sunday mornings for Horizon Community Church, which Dean Berman and his family attend.
Pastor David Rhea has known Dean Berman for a long time and considers him a brother.
"I think it's great what he's doing, it embodies our community of faith and I think that this type of jewelry shows the type of diversity in our community," Rhea said.
Rhea said the company represents a message of caring, each piece is symbolic either a message of faith, love or simply just showing the person they care about their situation.
"From what I've seen, people think it's a great idea that someone is taking the time to make something handmade and at the same time the money is going to a humanitarian cause," Rhea said.
Arlington resident Dean Berman creates a one of a kind hemp bracelet outside of America's Best Coffee shop. Berman originally started his business when he lost his job and felt the need to create something with his hands. (The Shorthorn: Bianca Montes)
News Hawk - 420 Warrior 420 MAGAZINE
Location: Arlington, TX
Source: The Shorthorn
Author: Nicole Luna
Contact: www.theshorthorn.com
Copyright: Copyright © 2012 The Shorthorn
Website: www.theshorthorn.com
The man's name is Dean Berman and he's the owner of Hemply Accessories, a local handmade jewelry company.
The smell of caffeine from inside the shop seeps through to the patio area along with a steady stream of music played live by local musicians. As guests come or go, the man stands up to hug and talk to each one of them. As the night continues, he winds the two strands of colorful hemp until only a green strand is left and then places a tiny charm with the word 'Hemply' at the end.
Dean Berman and his wife Alicia Berman create all of the company's products out of a high-quality hemp, sell it and give the proceeds to a charitable cause.
Creating jewelry was never a passion of the young artist, but instead, he said it was a calling from God. It all began one night when he felt a need to keep his hands busy and joined his wife in learning how to make textiles by knotting yarn together.
"It was therapy at first, making the jewelry, and we'd hang out at the coffee shop so much that we decided to bring yarn and different beads," Dean Berman said. "For the longest time we were just making the jewelry and giving it away and people began to insist on paying for it."
After a recent job loss, Dean Berman looked into turning his newfound hobby into something beneficial for his family.
"Everything that I do, I've always wanted to tie in something," he said. "So I just said to my wife, 'Let's make jewelry, let's sell it, let's come up with a cool name, let's have a charitable cause and lets create something unique.' "
His wife thought it was a great idea too.
"The whole time I just wanted to give away what we're making for no charge, but when Dean told me that we could give back in a bigger way, I thought it was a great idea," Alicia Berman said.
The urge to give back comes from a dark time in Dean Berman's life. He said his journey began when he was working toward sobriety from a heroin addiction and was very ill. As a teenager, Arlington was his stomping grounds and he calls it a city he did a lot of damage to.
"Hemply represents two things: It's a way for me to give back in a city where I use to rebel in and giving hemp a good name," he said. Dean Berman explained hemp is sometimes associated with marijuana and he wants to let people know that's not the case. He uses hemp because it's an easy and natural product that can be used for many things and he wants to just be part of using hemp in a good way.
Today, Arlington is the place where he said he has found a lot of help. One day, the artist got into his car and said, "God, lead me somewhere I can be surrounded by good people."
As he drove, he said God led him to America's Best Coffee shop where Lori Mosley, who is in charge of the open mic night, greeted him.
"I've been doing the open mic at the coffee shop for a long time and Dean happened to walk in one day, and we became good friends," Mosley said.
Mosley said Berman is setting an example of what others should do for the community.
The coffee shop also holds church service Sunday mornings for Horizon Community Church, which Dean Berman and his family attend.
Pastor David Rhea has known Dean Berman for a long time and considers him a brother.
"I think it's great what he's doing, it embodies our community of faith and I think that this type of jewelry shows the type of diversity in our community," Rhea said.
Rhea said the company represents a message of caring, each piece is symbolic either a message of faith, love or simply just showing the person they care about their situation.
"From what I've seen, people think it's a great idea that someone is taking the time to make something handmade and at the same time the money is going to a humanitarian cause," Rhea said.
Arlington resident Dean Berman creates a one of a kind hemp bracelet outside of America's Best Coffee shop. Berman originally started his business when he lost his job and felt the need to create something with his hands. (The Shorthorn: Bianca Montes)
News Hawk - 420 Warrior 420 MAGAZINE
Location: Arlington, TX
Source: The Shorthorn
Author: Nicole Luna
Contact: www.theshorthorn.com
Copyright: Copyright © 2012 The Shorthorn
Website: www.theshorthorn.com
