The Hemp Road

About The Logo

The Hemp Road logo is an actual Japanese crest for hemp(taima). Hemp has been an important part of the Japanese culture for centuries. An important element in the Shinto religion and rites. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art Costume Curators' exhibit in 2002 called Miracles and Mischief:Noh and Kyogen Theater included delightful hemp costumes worn in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Biography

The person behind the curtain at The Hemp Road, pulling the levers and pushing the machines, is Gay Crusius. I have had lots of support from friends and family as I've explored the possibilities of industrial hemp textiles over the last 3 years. I have fallen in love with its beauty and temperament, comfort and dyeability. I also have great concerns for the future of our earth and enjoy using my past skills and experience to try and make a wee difference by introducing the value of hemp to anyone interested. Your choice of clothing can make a difference! A degree in costume design from the Goodman School of Drama of the Art Institute of Chicago has been the strong foundation for years of working professionally in theatre, film and fashion. Studying tailoring under the head production tailor for Hart, Schaffner & Marx ,when the company was still manufacturing in Chicago, gave an added understanding of construction and clothing as sculpture. For 20 years, I taught tailoring, historical patternmaking, bias draping and costume history at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in the Theatre School's BFA and MFA Costume Design Program. Wanting "to do" rather than teach, I have free-lanced the last 5 years, costuming for Disneyland, AZ Theatre Co., Pasadena & Geffen Playhouses as well as film, TV and designing custom evening gowns. A portfolio of work will be coming soon to the Gallery section of this site.

Why Hemp?

Hemp grows like a weed, requires no fertilizer and pesticides (truly organic), reduces the use of our forests--the lungs of our planet---, replenishes rather than depletes the soil and its fiber is strong and beautiful. The new hemp particle boards are rock solid. The French build entire houses out of hemp!

Industrial hemp/cannabis sativa has been an important element in cultures around the world for thousands of years. The first paper was made of hemp. Levi Strauss made the first jeans in hemp. Our ancestors crossed the frontier in wagons covered in hemp canvas. My grandfather, John G. Crusius, and my father, Lowell Crusius, were "Hemp for Victory" farmers during World War II. After the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act was passed, the US Navy stopped using industrial hemp for its rope source and began importing manila hemp(musa textilis) from the Philippines. An odd concept, if you think about it, because the US govt. classifies cannabis sativa as the only' true hemp'. The manila version has few of the outstanding qualities of industrial hemp--not resistant to sea salt(!) or mildew as true hemp naturally is. When the Japanese invaded the Philippines in 1941, the US Navy began to worry about its source of rope. The United States Dept. of Agriculture War Board asked American farmers to grow hemp once again. My father remembers their hemp was harvested in 1943, delivered, stored in a govt. warehouse, never used and finally, burned. In the Spring of 1944, my grandparents retired to a house in town, my father married and took over the family farm. My mother, Joy, was an avid gardener and my father remembers how proud she was of those big, tall plants she was nurturing in the backyard that summer. Cannabis sativa, of course! He wasn't happy since permits were required for hemp, the program had ended and she was an illegal grower. The plant I knew as "ditchweed", wild hemp, was to haunt my father for the next 40 years of farming. The USDA and the DEA wanted it out. I want it back! The resource library will be up soon for you to do your own research.

Made to Order Hemp Clothing

There will be a few ready made items available on this site but my main focus is made-to-order hemp clothing. There are already many wonderful companies offering hemp ready to wear. I love to create one of a kind clothes on a more personal one to one basis. I live and work in the little community of Green Valley which is an hour from Los Angeles. But the combination of technical gadgets (computer, digital camera, scanner, fax, email) along with FedEX and UPS, allows easy access and communication with clients almost anywhere. Where to begin? Do you have a favorite piece of clothing which fits well and you enjoy wearing? You can send me a photo of the garment, we'll discuss any design-fit adjustments, fabric possibilities and colors and price. Ship the garment to me--always insure it. I will make a pattern of the garment and return the original within 2 weeks. Your clothes will not be cut or taken apart. It is okay if the original is worn or old. I use Procion(fiber reactive dyes) if you would like a color, not the natural hemp color. I work in hemp and hemp blends. There are hemp-cotton corduroys & knits as well as hemp-silk satins. Construction techniques will be specified in the initial discussion. I always leave extra hems and seam allowances wherever possible. The construction , interfacings and notions will be of the highest quality. Since hemp has its idiosyncrasies, I use lots of topstitching on tailored garments. And if you like the first garment? The pattern can be kept on file for future garments.

Gallery

A portfolio of hemp designs

Hemp Research Reference Library

A coming feature, the library will contain a list of reference books and web links organized by category, author and topic. Notes on the books and where to purchase them will be included.

Questions or Comments

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