Opening the Doors: A Look Back at Made In Hemp Long Jetty in 2013

Some moments become more meaningful with time.

In July 2013, Made In Hemp opened the doors to our Long Jetty store. Looking back at these photos now, it is impossible not to smile at the bright green signage, the early hemp seed displays, the wall of skincare jars, the bamboo socks, the fitting rooms, the first customers, and the sheer amount of belief sitting behind one little shopfront.

This was four years before hemp seed foods were legally permitted for sale as food in Australia. So much of the work back then was education. Customers were curious, confused, excited, cautious and full of questions.

Could you eat hemp? Was hemp seed oil the same as CBD oil? Why was hemp used in clothing? What made hemp skincare different? Was it legal? Was it sustainable? Was it actually useful?

Made In Hemp was built around answering those questions face to face.

So, for a little walk down memory lane, here is a photo board from our first week of opening the Long Jetty store in July 2013.

The Original Long Jetty Shopfront

There it is: the big green sign, the pink and green bunting, the “Now Open 7 days” window writing and the original Made In Hemp shopfront on The Entrance Road, Long Jetty.

Before Made In Hemp grew into the business it is today, this was the place where many customers first discovered hemp clothing, hemp seed oil, hemp skincare, bamboo socks, natural bedding and the bigger story behind the plant.

A Store Built Around Hemp Education

One of our favourite details in these photos is the old hemp seed display signage.

At the time, hemp seed oil, hulled hemp seed and hemp protein powder were still surrounded by regulatory confusion in Australia. Customers wanted to know what hemp seed products were, how they were different from cannabis, and why they were already accepted in so many other parts of the world.

The old display says so much about that time. It was bright, direct and very Made In Hemp: here is the product, here are the facts, here is why it matters, and yes, we know the rules are strange.

The First Store Fit-Out

The first Long Jetty store had such a strong personality. Timber floors, soft green walls, natural textures, old-style fitting rooms, hemp and bamboo clothing racks, skincare shelves and product displays tucked into every corner.

It was not a sterile retail space. It felt handmade, practical and personal — which is probably why these photos still feel so warm all these years later.

The Green Jars That Started So Many Conversations

Long before hemp skincare became a familiar idea to many Australians, Made In Hemp was already making and selling hemp seed oil-based body care.

These little green jars are such a strong part of the early Made In Hemp story. They represent the practical side of hemp: not just theory, not just industry potential, but real products people could take home, use and come back to talk about.

Skincare has remained one of the most important parts of Made In Hemp. The range has changed, grown and been refined over the years, but the core idea is still the same: hemp seed oil is a beautiful ingredient, and simple, useful products can make a real difference in people’s everyday routines.

Customers, Questions and Real Conversations

A physical store gave Made In Hemp something an online shop never could on its own: conversation.

People could walk in, touch hemp fabrics, smell skincare, ask about hemp seed oil, compare socks, learn about bamboo and hemp clothing, and talk through the questions they were too unsure to ask elsewhere.

That has always been one of the strengths of the business. Made In Hemp has never just been about putting products on shelves. It has been about helping people understand what they are looking at.

Darius Behind the Counter

This photo of Darius behind the counter feels like a perfect snapshot of the early days.

The shelves are full, the signage is handmade and hopeful, the skincare is lined up, the hemp food education is right above the doorway, and the whole space feels like it is quietly saying: we are here, we believe in this, and we are ready to talk about hemp.

Darius and Karen at the Store Opening

And finally, this beautiful photo of Darius and Karen at the store opening.

Every small business has photos like this somewhere in the archives. The kind that capture not just a day, but the amount of work, risk, hope and love that went into opening the doors in the first place.

For Made In Hemp, the Long Jetty store was more than a shopfront. It was a place to gather the many uses of hemp under one roof: clothing, skincare, body care, bedding, foods, fibre, education and advocacy.

Still Here, Still Hemp

So much has changed since these photos were taken.

Hemp seed foods became legal for sale as food in Australia. Hemp clothing became easier for customers to understand. Natural fibre socks and basics became everyday staples. The skincare range evolved. The questions around CBD, medicinal cannabis and hemp seed oil became more nuanced. Made In Hemp grew beyond one little opening week and into a business with stores, online retail, in-house skincare manufacturing and licensed industrial hemp growing.

But in many ways, the heart of the business is still the same.

We are still here helping Australians understand hemp. We are still answering questions. We are still working with natural fibres, hemp seed oil, hemp foods and hemp education. We are still proudly based in Long Jetty.

And every now and then, it is worth looking back and saying:

Look how far we have come.