Our Story

I’LL BE SHARING PART OF OUR STORY HERE. IT’S UP TO EACH PERSON TO BELIEVE IT OR NOT, AND THIS ISN’T MEANT TO SEEK SYMPATHY. MORE THAN ANYTHING, IT’S A REMINDER TO SHOW LOVE AND KINDNESS TO EVERYONE AROUND US, BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT SOMEONE ELSE MIGHT BE GOING THROUGH. AS I SOMETIMES SAY, YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN IT MIGHT BE SOMEONE’S LAST DAY ON EARTH—OR EVEN YOUR OWN. THERE’S NO GOOD THAT COMES FROM SPREADING NEGATIVITY, EVEN TOWARDS A STRANGER.

OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, I’VE ATTENDED ABOUT A DOZEN FUNERALS. SOME MIGHT THINK THAT’S NOT A LOT, BUT I BELIEVE EVEN ONE FUNERAL IS MORE THAN ENOUGH FOR ANYONE TO ENDURE. LAST YEAR, I ATTENDED TWO FUNERALS BACK-TO-BACK ON THE SAME DAY. WITH THEM, WHEN WE WERE YOUNGER, WE WERE ALL PART OF THE SAME BREAKDANCING CREW, AND LATER WE BUILT A BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP IN THIS INDUSTRY. JUST LAST WEEK, A CLOSE RELATIVE PASSED AWAY IN HIS SLEEP FROM NATURAL CAUSES. SOME PEOPLE MIGHT SAY, “WELL, WE ARE ABOUT THAT AGE, RIGHT?” BUT IN MY OPINION, ALL OF THEM WERE IN THEIR MID 40S, AND I HONESTLY FEEL LIKE THAT IS STILL PRETTY YOUNG.

AS FOR THE STORY BEHIND HANDCRAFTED FARMERS… EARLY 2022, ONE OF MY PARTNERS WAS DIAGNOSED WITH COLORECTAL CANCER AND SADLY PASSED AWAY THE FOLLOWING YEAR ON FATHER’S DAY. LAST YEAR, I LOST MY REMAINING PARTNER AS WELL, WHICH SOME OF YOU MAY REMEMBER WHEN OUR WEBSITE TEMPORARILY SHUT DOWN DURING THAT TIME AND THAT WAS THE REASON BEHIND IT. THEY WEREN’T JUST BUSINESS PARTNERS — THEY WERE MY BROTHERS THAT I HAD KNOWN FOR ABOUT 40 YEARS.

BEFORE HANDCRAFTED FARMERS, ALL THREE OF US RAN OUR OWN SMALLER GROW SPACES. WE TALKED ALMOST EVERY DAY, CONSTANTLY SHARING TECHNIQUES, IDEAS, NUTRIENTS, AND EVERYTHING RELATED TO GROWING. SOMETIMES WE’D MEET FOR A FEW BEERS AND TALK SHOP FOR HOURS. GROWING WAS SOMETHING WE TRULY LOVED.

DURING COVID, WE DECIDED TO JOIN FORCES AND BUILD ONE COMPANY TOGETHER. THE MARKET WAS BOOMING, DEMAND WAS HIGH, AND WE SHARED A DREAM OF SCALING INTO A LARGER COMMERCIAL FACILITY. THINGS WENT WELL FOR A WHILE, BUT EVENTUALLY THE INDUSTRY GOT TOUGH. THE MARKET BECAME OVERSATURATED, FLOWER PRICES DROPPED HEAVILY, AND MANY PEOPLE IN THE BUSINESS WERE STRUGGLING TO STAY AFLOAT. WE ALSO HAD TO DOWNSIZED OUR GROW FACILITY JUST TO KEEP UP WITH EVERYTHING AND NEARLY CLOSED OUR DOORS. 

THEN BY PURE CHANCE, I CAME ACROSS THE THCA FLOWER MARKET WHILE SHOPPING FOR SEEDS ONLINE. I WAS CURIOUS, PLACED AN ORDER, AND WAS SURPRISED BY WHAT I RECEIVED. I BROUGHT IT TO MY PARTNERS ABOUT TAPPING INTO THIS MARKET AND WE ALL AGREED MOVING FORWARD WITH IT. WE STARTED RESEARCHING NONSTOP, TESTING NOT ONLY OUR OWN FLOWERS, BUT FROM OTHER SOURCES AS WELL, DIALING IN METHODS, AND FIGURING OUT HOW TO GET OUR FLOWERS TO STAY COMPLIANT. AFTER A LOT OF TRIAL AND ERROR, EVERYTHING FINALLY STARTED CLICKING — AND THAT’S HOW OUR ONLINE BUSINESS WAS BORN.

THIS WHOLE JOURNEY, FROM OUR EARLY GROWING DAYS WHICH RANGE ANYWHERE FROM 10-20+ YEARS AGO TO WHERE HANDCRAFTED FARMERS IS TODAY, IS SOMETHING I’LL NEVER FORGET. THE LONG NIGHTS, THE FAILURES, THE WINS, THE HARVESTS, AND LEARNING THROUGH EVERY STAGE OF IT ALL. IT WAS CHALLENGING, EXHAUSTING, AND AMAZING AT THE SAME TIME.

TO BE HONEST, WHEN I HAVE A MOMENT TO MYSELF TO THINK, THE THOUGHT OF LOSING BOTH OF MY PARTNERS WOULD COME ABOUT STILL AFFECTS ME DEEPLY. WHILE MY LAST PARTNER WAS STILL AROUND, WE OFTEN TALKED ABOUT EVENTUALLY CLOSING DOWN, FOCUSING MORE ON LIFE, SPENDING TIME WITH FAMILY, AND NO LONGER OVERWORKING OURSELVES. WE ALL HAD/HAVE FULL-TIME JOBS ON TOP OF THIS BUSINESS, AND THERE WERE TIMES WE BARELY SLEPT. THIS WAS NEVER ABOUT FLASHY LIFESTYLES OR CHASING MONEY LIKE SOME MAY ASSUME. THAT WAS NEVER US.

THE MAIN REASON WE KEPT GOING WAS BECAUSE OF THE LOVE AND SUPPORT FROM OUR CUSTOMERS. ANOTHER REASON WAS BECAUSE IT ALSO HELPED SUPPORT GROWERS AND FARMERS CLOSE TO US. MANY PEOPLE WE KNOW IN THIS INDUSTRY HAD TO DOWNSIZE, AND RELOCATE TO REDUCED OVERHEAD COSTS OR SOMETIMES THEY DIDN'T HAVE AN OUTLET TO MOVE THEIR PRODUCTS OR THEY WERE CONSTANTLY GETTING LOW BALLED FROM OTHERS WHICH FINANCIALLY SET THEM BACK. AND EVEN IN SOME RARE UNFORTUNATE EVENTS, ONE SMALL ISSUE IN A GROW CAN CREATE MASSIVE LOSSES OVERNIGHT, AND THE FARM WOULD HAVE TO SHUT DOWN COMPLETELY. WE’VE SEEN FIRST HAND HOW HARD IT CAN GET. BECAUSE WE UNDERSTOOD THAT STRUGGLE, WE TRY OUR BEST TO DO OUR PART TO KEEP PEOPLE AROUND US GOING. 

AS FOR WHY WE KEEP THINGS SIMPLE AND DON’T CARRY ENDLESS PRODUCTS — HONESTLY, WE’RE CONTENT WITH HOW THE BUSINESS FLOWS. AT ONE POINT WE WANTED TO EXPAND BIGGER AND GAIN MORE TRAFFIC, BUT THERE CAME A TIME WHEN WE WERE OVERWHELMED TRYING TO BALANCE OUR GROW, FULL-TIME JOBS, FAMILY, AND LIFE. SOME DAYS TURNED INTO 20-HOUR WORKDAYS FOR WEEKS STRAIGHT — ESPECIALLY AFTER HARVEST, WHEN WE STILL HAD TO TRIM FLOWER, RESET ROOMS, MOVE PLANTS FROM CLONES TO VEG, VEG TO FLOWER, AND KEEP THE ENTIRE CYCLE MOVING WHILE ALSO WORKING OUR REGULAR JOBS. WE LIVED IN WORK MODE CONSTANTLY AND MISSED OUR FAMILY, SO THAT’S WHY WE DECIDED TO JUST KEEP THINGS SIMPLE AS HOW YOU SEE HOW THINGS ARE NOW. 

AS MUCH AS WE LOVED GROWING, WE HAVE NO REGRETS STEPPING BACK FROM THAT SIDE OF THINGS BECAUSE IT GAVE US TIME TO BREATHE, REST, AND BE PRESENT WITH FAMILY AGAIN.

WE’VE ALWAYS HAD DEEP RESPECT FOR THIS PLANT AND FOR THE INDUSTRY. WHEN WE HARVESTED, WE’D EVEN SAY A SMALL PRAYER AND THANK THE PLANTS. TO SOME THAT MAY SOUND STRANGE, BUT TO US IT CAME FROM GRATITUDE AND RESPECT FOR LIFE IN ALL FORMS.

AGAIN, THIS MESSAGE ISN’T ABOUT SYMPATHY NOR TO SEEK SOME TYPE OF ATTENTION. IT’S SIMPLY TO SHARE OUR STORY AND EXPLAIN THE REASON FOR THIS BREAK. DURING THIS TIME, I PLAN TO VISIT MY PARTNERS’ FAMILIES AND THE GROWERS AND FRIENDS WE’VE WORKED WITH, TO SHOW LOVE AND APPRECIATION — WHILE ALSO TAKING A MENTAL RESET.

AND TO EVERYONE WHO HAS SUPPORTED HANDCRAFTED FARMERS, WHETHER FOR A LONG TIME OR JUST RECENTLY: THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS. YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT HAS MEANT MORE THAN YOU KNOW.

WITH LOVE AND GRATITUDE,
DAVID FROM HANDCRAFTED FARMERS FAMILY