Hemp jewelry is something that has been around for quite some time, although it started getting popular in the good old 1970s and keeps on trucking even today. The hemp jewelry of today is nothing like the hemp jewelry of the past, of course - the technology and quality of the hemp has advanced until it's near silky smooth, while still retaining that organic look that you know and love.

My name is Tiffany, and I run Phat Hemp Jewelry. I've always loved hemp jewelry, and well - I also love showing that it's more than just hippie jewelry. In fact, with how sustainable hemp is, it is one of the up and coming types of jewelry for everyone from the college student to the fast paced CEO. Hemp can come in countless different colors and styles, from a simple square knot to a masterpiece with countless rows and beauty.

Whether you want to learn how to make hemp jewelry, or you just want to make your jewelry a little more green, I'd love to show you the wide variety of ways that you can make hemp jewelry simply stunning. There are a few examples on this page, or you can go right to the Phat Hemp Jewelry store and see the countless designs there.

With hemp jewelry, the length of time that it takes to make a piece really depends on a few factors - the type of knotting, the amount of beads, and the type of piece. There are four major knots that I use in my hempwork - square knot, half square knot (spiral), alternating square knot, and fishbone knot. There are a ton of little variations off of those, in addition to other knots such as half hitch and the macrame kntos, but for now let's keep them simple. The spiral and square knots take the least amount of time, then the fishbone knot (which is basically a square knot with a lot more strands), and then the alternating square knot, which can be a royal pain in the booty to keep organized.

A bracelet can take me anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour to make, barring any wildly elaborate work, while a necklace can go up to five hours of straight knotting.

The amount of beads can drastically effect the time needed to make the piece, in either a good or a bad way. Adding seed beads to a piece can add quite a bit of time into the creation, since the little buggers can be a pain to manage. However, with normal sized beads they'll actually make you do less knotting, which can give you lots of savings on time.

To make a piece, I pull out a wooden board with cork on it made especially to make hemp jewelry - I'll pin the starting strands in place, and then start the work. It's not really showy or impressive the way metal or lampwork is - you're just getting your knot on. It's certainly relaxing, that's for sure.

Most of the negative experiences that people have with hemp jewelry come from the fact that the hemp they have received is more like hemp jute than hemp twine. Jute is not wound as tightly as twine, so it's scratchy to begin with - and then add on top of that the fact that it's not polished down either. It's no wonder some people are afraid to try out hemp! However, the hemp that I use with my jewelry comes from two sources - Ecolution, imported from Hungaria, and Global Hemp, from the same originating country. Both of these companies make the smoothest hemp that I think I have ever felt - along with the fact that along with polishing, the hemp is then machined waxed for an even smoother feel.

As for the beads I use - they come from all over, because I have a penchant for grabbing at anything shiny. Yes I know, that's a bit of a failing but hey - I can't help it. :P My two favorite types of beads are fiber beads and lampwork beads. Fiber beads are new to me, and as far as I know there's only one person making the type that I fell in love with - and she's at Fiber Beads.com Handmade in the US, from a seller who is not only a great supplier for me, she's also a great friend. Lampwork beads are the other type of handmade bead that I love trying out - these are made over a torch, wound around a mandrel, and come in so many artistic versions that I cannot wrap my head around it. For my lampwork supplies, I mostly buy from small businesses within the US, although I do have a few international artists that I call upon for time to time.

A few other bead types that I enjoy using are polymer beads, which are handmade clay beads, semi precious gemstones of B quality and above (I've been moving into AAA quality, as the clarity in those stones  is simply stunning), czech glass beads (mostly the more unusual types) and well - anything that is sufficiently unusual enough and high quality enough to make it into my designs.