Hey there! My name is Hannah Gumbo. I’m a full-time muralist and illustrator creating work that embraces color, positivity and joy from my home in the Cajun Prairies of Eunice, Louisiana. I’ll be sharing my latest outdoor art adventure with you over the next few issues of Lola! My project the“PopDrop Booth,” is a rentable mobile backdrop that showcases my original paintings while providing an immersive art encounter that can take place anywhere. Through ArtSpark, I partnered with local photographers to create a series of portraits celebrating Louisiana women of small business. These photos highlight PopDrop’s possibilities while showcasing these incredible ladies and their unique career paths. The booth was repainted or redesigned with each portrait session, allowing me to use various mediums and techniques to bring each story to life.
Meet Kristy Hebert
Kristy Hebert is an engineer, hemp farmer and cannabis advocate. It all began in 2012, when Kristy was run over 7 times back and forth by a drunk driver, shattering her pelvis and leaving her unable to walk for over a year. During rehabilitation, she discovered she had a chemical sensitivity to opioids. Unable to keep food down, she searched for holistic alternatives and discovered CBD. She went on to graduate in Biological and Agricultural Engineering so that she could help bring more science and research to this industry. She has worked in every aspect of the hemp industry, from processing hemp grain and lab testing products for purity to building the first-ever US-grown hempcrete home. In 2017, she founded Cypress Hemp, a Louisiana-based cannabis company with a mission to revitalize the American hemp industry through education and sustainable practices.
A Typical Day in Kristy’s Life
Running a farm and small business alone makes for a wild ride, but being a cannabis business makes things even less predictable! I hop around between government committee meetings, product design, harvesting hemp and groovy dance parties in the field! Expressions of gratitude and overflowing joy are constant. Life couldn’t be better!
Values she brings to her work: I believe if you lead through LOVE that life will always guide you in the right direction.
The Best Part of Running Your Own Small Business
Getting to personally connect with the people whose lives have changed due to the holistic benefit of the plant and our products. It feels inspiring to know that we are able to bring happiness and create a little less suffering in the world.
The Most Challenging Part of Running Your Own Small Business
Navigating an unprecedented industry with an ever-changing legal landscape is a challenge. We have to constantly adjust to newly implemented laws and regulations, and now being a regional business, we have to keep up with multiple states’ laws and regulations! The biggest challenges though, often feel the best when accomplished.
Where Can We Buy From You?
Where Can We Buy From You?Find us at CypressHemp.com
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Location: Baton Rouge, LA
For Kristy’s PopDrop portrait, we chose the River Center Branch Library in Downtown Baton Rouge, LA. This location faces the old state capital, combining new and old architecture to tell a continued story of both where Louisiana has been but also where it’s going. Along with running “Cypress Hemp,” Kristy also spends much of her time at the State Capital in Baton Rouge educating legislators on hemp to help create change within Louisiana’s cannabis industry through her appointed position on the Industrial Hemp Advisory Committee. This fulfilling work allows her to take in feedback from universities and advocate for citizens, businesses, and farmers in order to channel that into direct regulations that help all industry participants have a better chance at thriving and succeeding.
Creative Direction: Hannah Gumbo
The inspiration for this shoot came from Kristy’s love of all things groovy. By starting with the color palette and branding of Cypress Hemp, which is really just an extension of Kristy as a person, we brought her inner world to life. But what is a hemp advocate without plants?! Rather than bring the photo booth out into a field, we brought the field to the booth. Dried hemp leaf samples from Virginia along with local blooms were artfully arranged from the PopDrop Booth flowing onto the cement by Sharime Kayla to further demonstrate Kristy’s career brought to life.
Photography by:
Sharime Kayla Jobe is a floral designer and photographer based in New Orleans. Her passion for flowers and photography come together to produce arrangements for events and weddings, styled photo shoots and still life art prints. She loves collaborating with other creatives and believes the community is where the real magic happens.
Funded by:
ArtSpark, an individual artist stipend supported by LEDA (Lafayette Economic Development Authority) and administered by the AcA (Acadiana Center for the Arts).
Social Handles:
Hannah Gumbo: @hannahgumbo
PopDrop: @popdropbooth
Kristy Hebert: @cypresshemp / @hempgineer
Sharime Kayla: @sharime_kayla