Paulie “Litt” Litowsky was chatting with a friend in New York City about high-end clothing and the quality of yarn required to make such garments. The friend told Litowsky, a former childhood actor and long-time producer, that no American-owned yarn company could compete with other garment producing countries such as China.

Litowsky, known for his roles in the movies “Speed Racer,” “Doubt,” “Jersey Girl,” and hit shows such as “Hope & Faith” and “Wizards of Waverly Place,” couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Soon after, he contacted another college-age friend, Robert Rinearson, and the two decided to start their own high-end yarn producing company, Harvest Produce Retail (HPR).

Litowsky, 25 years old and no longer acting, told Talk Business & Politics it has taken more than two years to get HPR up and producing at its facility in the Craighead Technology and Industrial Park. Yarn production began at the same time as the pandemic started to grip the world in March 2020, but Litowsky and Rinearson both said the co-owners were undeterred.

“We didn’t just talk about it … we did it,” Litowsky said.

A New Jersey native, Litowsky had never been to Jonesboro before he found the building for his business. He visited Rinearson, 23, to discuss his business idea.