TreeHawk Farms is a small cannabis farm located in Chimacum, a tiny rural community on the Olympic Peninsula. Chimacum is still full of the dairy farming spirit that founded the community and TreeHawk Farms carries that legacy through small batches of handcrafted cannabis. TreeHawk is owned by Jason and Sam Olsen, and have now partnered with Belmar to bring Chimacum’s finest cannabis to Bellevue.
Their exclusive strains like Candy Apple, Magnum P.I., Black Afghan, Island Poison, Skywalker OG, Sunset Fire and the cult-classic Candyland Cookies can all be found on Belmar shelves. We spoke with Belmar employee Morgan Boyle about her role at the store, why she likes working in cannabis retail, why Belmar is special and why she’s excited to show customers TreeHawk Farms.
Boyle has been in the cannabis industry for about five years and started in the medical marijuana industry. She transferred into the recreational industry shortly after turning 21. After starting as a budtender, Morgan is now the Belmar Store Manager.
Boyle loves this retail environment because it’s unlike any other retail atmosphere she’s been in. Not only are you marketing and selling products, but the relationships you build while working and growing in a brand new industry are priceless.
“It’s amazing in the sense that there’s nothing else like it,” Boyle said.
Staying within I-502 compliance creates some difficulties but for the most part, Boyle experiences creative and individual freedom while working in the cannabis industry. The industry isn’t stuck on superficial values and is much more accepting. Qualified people can get jobs in the industry right away when they struggle to find employment in more traditional industries.
Boyle finds her niche within the industry changing with the ever-transforming product development landscape. She is currently deep inside a cannabis concentrate rabbit hole, trying to keep up with one of the fastest changing subcultures in the cannabis industry. New extraction methods are popping up all the time, but used to be just BHO or rosin has now become live resin cake icing, diamonds and sauce, dry sift rosin, and countless other variations of cannabis concentrates.
She wants to compliment her vast retail knowledge with more producer and processing information. She believes that being able to relay information to the consumer about how the products she’s selling are grown and taken care of will go a long way to build stronger relationships with customers and sell more products.
Belmar just opened a brand new location that features a 2500 square feet sales floor. They carry over 45 different brands to expand selection for more consumers.
Since opening up the new location, there’s been more of an emphasis put on team and employee development. Many cannabis retailers just throw hiree’s on the floor with little or no formal training or cannabis education. Belmar wants to be one of the retailers that take the time to educate their staff so they know how to correctly sell every brand on their distinct differences.
“We hire people who really wanna be here and have a long-term passion for this and stand behind what we do here,” Boyle said.
Listening to the customer is the most important part of selling, whether the customer is a first-time cannabis user or has been chiefing for longer than you’ve been alive. Even if the shop is upselling certain brands, the goal is to make sure they leave with something they want rather than something that needs to be moved to clear shelf space.
Morgan bases her flower recommendations on brand reliability, overall quality, and terpene education/knowledge. She says in the future, she hopes brands don’t even include THC information on the label because it misrepresents the true factors consumers should be basing their purchase decisions around.
When talking about TreeHawk Farms, she was quick to point out her excitement over the Candyland Cookies.
Candyland Cookies is a rare sativa-leaning Candyland phenotype. If you’ve tried Candyland before, it’s not quite like TreeHawks. Candyland Cookies has powerful relaxing and creatively stimulating qualities to it.
Another sativa-hybrid she pointed to was the Island Poison, which is a special cross of Durban, Trainwreck, and Afghan. The Afghan blocks a lot of racy effects that would normally come about from this genetics and allows this strain to be more productive and less paranoia-inducing than other sativas on the market. “It’s {Island Poison} perfect after-work weed,” Boyle said.
If you’re looking for something heavier from TreeHawk, their cut of Snoop’s Dream won’t disappoint. A common strain that is made by breeding Master Kush with Blueberry and is one of TreeHawk’s genesis strains, one of the original five strains THF entered the recreational market with. Learning how TreeHawk handles their products and meeting the people on the team has gone a long way and one of the reasons Boyle can recommend TreeHawk Farms with confidence.
When Boyle is settling in to enjoy some cannabis, her preferred method is rolling or burning bowls of flower, there’s something spiritual about smoking the flower itself. She was a long time indica user, but lately, she does more due-diligence about selecting a strain or product for use. Hybrids that make her euphoric and giggly are a common choice nowadays.
If she isn’t smoking she enjoys eating one-half a gram of fully activated distillate. Eating distillate gives users higher edible dosing options. The standard 10-milligram dose for an edible isn’t strong enough for experienced recreational users or medical users.
Be sure to ask Morgan about TreeHawk at Belmar the next time you’re in Bellevue and you can attend a TreeHawk Farms vendor day at Belmar, Thursday, June 28 from 4 pm to 7 pm.
Find TreeHawk Farms At Belmar!
