FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:Crystal Sylver Chief Creative Director Phone: 415.335.0495 Email:
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Web: www.funkdivine.com What the Well-Dressed Visionary is wearing this Year.
San Francisco, CA -- March 27, 2007 -- Crystal Sylver has Hemp-related visions and no, it’s not what you think. The 28-year old artist doesn’t care if you smoke weed. She wants you to wear it. She makes a good case why one of the oldest fabrics on the planet is suddenly fashionable again. She’s so passionate about it that she’ll use anything—even your interest in strippers—to push the point that hemp is hip. (See http://www.myspace.com/funkdivine for more on those strippers) “Hemp is an amazing fiber”, she explains about her decision to create an entire clothing line from the material. “It’s stronger, more absorbent, and more insulating than cotton. It resists mold, insects, heat, and UV rays naturally. It’s stronger than any other natural fiber on earth.” What about its rep as a hippie-dippy granola fabric that feels like burlap against your skin?
“Hemp history”, she explains. “Today’s hemp is as soft as any other fabric. And don’t get me started on its advantages from an eco-sustainability perspective.”
But it’s too late. The spirited clothing designer, an alumnus of San Francisco’s Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, is off on the astounding advantages of hemp, and not just for clothing. It’s naturally resistant to most pests. No need for pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides. Its hydrocarbons can be processed into a wide range of renewable low-polluting fuels. It’s twice as strong as wood fiber. So it makes better fiberboard, particleboard, plywood, and dry wall. Its seeds are unsurpassed in nutritional value. They contain all eight essential amino acids, have more essential fatty acids than any other source and are second only to soybeans for complete vegetable protein.
“Every single part of the hemp plant can be used commercially. Paper, for example, made with hemp doesn’t yellow with age like paper made with tree pulp. Bet you didn’t know that.”
The woman is passionate about her hemp. Which leads you to suspect there’s more to the story than a simple exegesis on textiles. “I must admit I have an agenda when it comes to hemp,” Sylver explains. “Hemp farming is illegal in america. It’s the result of antiquated laws and makes no sense from any perspective whatsoever. I’m hoping that by letting the market speak, the demand for high-quality, well-designed, hemp fashions will overcome the inane hemp morality play which hurts American farmers more than anybody.” The hemp used in The Funk Divine line of clothing products is all grown in China. All clothing, however, is made in the San Francisco Bay Area. “I’m a firm believer in the power of ‘We the people’,” she adds. “We can make changes for the better in the world. My vision is to legalize hemp farming in the United States by creating a groundswell of demand for the product. Funk Divine is just the start.”
The “vision thing”, the ability to see how parts fit together to affect the larger world, comes naturally to Ms. Sylver, whose father was once one of the nation’s leading Atomic physicists.
“My father is a genius. He used to build bombs at the Lawrence Livermore Lab. One day he woke up and realized what he was doing to the earth. He moved to Big Sur and lived with the Esselan Indians for 11 years in a teepee.”
Today, he’s an activist whose primary focus is the causes and effects of September 11. “It wasn’t easy when he left,” she explains with the tone of someone who’s long come to terms with the spiritual twists and turns any individual life may take. “We had to go on Welfare. I moved out when I was 18, and worked my way through college, design school, apprenticeships, and The International School of Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture in Umbria, Italy. I’ve studied art my entire life—drawing, painting, sculpture, fashion design, jewelry design, illustration, stained glass, blown glass.”
But enough about things that have nothing to do with hemp. Ms. Sylver’s artistry with the wonder fiber can be viewed at www.funkdivine.com. Click on a v-neck sweater, a hoodie, or a zip-up jacket with their distinctive Egyptian Scarab designs. The clothing is beautiful. You may also pick up an interesting thing or two along the way about the oldest industry in the world. (Hint: it’s hemp).
For Information: www.funkdivine.com or Contact- Crystal Sylver:
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Phone: 415.335.0495 # # # |
