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Weed, but make it high fashion: These $450 lighters and $955 stash bags are part of handbag brand Edie Parker’s new cannabis-focused venture.

This fashion house is spinning off a cannabis brand, and its first collection is wild

[Photo: courtesy Edie Parker]

BY Elizabeth Segran4 minute read

For years, cannabis was contraband. Supplies were kept hidden away in dark drawers, and bongs stored out of sight. But now that states are quickly legalizing the plant, more people can display their weed openly. This raises some important interior decorating questions. What’s the most aesthetically pleasing way to present your stash? Where can you get a pipe that matches your coffee table?

Brett Heyman, founder and creative director of luxury handbag brand Edie Parker, is here for you.

[Photo: courtesy Edie Parker]

She just launched an entire collection of cannabis accessories, along with her own strains of flower, through a new brand called Edie Parker Flower. It’s the first high-end fashion brand that has entered the cannabis market, which is currently valued at around $6 billion, but is expected to reach $146.4 billion by 2024 as more states move to legalize it.

Brett Heyman [Photo: courtesy Edie Parker]
The legalization of cannabis has been a slow process. Many activists point out that the criminalization of the drug had a devastating effect on many communities, since nearly600,000people across the country have been arrested for possessing the drug. (Most happen to be minorities.) In 1996, California decriminalized cannabis for medical purposes, then in 2012, Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize the recreational use of cannabis, paving the way for others to follow suit.

Now legalization is driving a slew of new cannabis-focused startups, many of which are throwing themselves into rebranding weed–giving its tie-dyed stoner culture associations a more sophisticated edge. For one thing, they are using the term cannabis, which tends to be less laden with negative associations than “weed” or “marijuana.” They’re also elevating the design: Cannabis brand Beboe creates $65 half-ounce vape pens that contain cannabis oil and the Beverly Hills Cannabis Club sells cannabis strains wrapped in gold foil for $700 per ounce. Other brands like Roam Escapes, Sunday Goods, and Besito focus on the wellness benefits of cannabis to relieve pain, increase focus, or increase sex drive.

[Photo: courtesy Edie Parker]

Heyman brings her own take to cannabis, one that is shaped from her years in the fashion industry. She’s best known for creating acrylic clutches and handbags that cost between $800 and $1,800, and are all the rage with celebrities, who regularly carry them on the red carpet. Her bags are colorful and fun, often adorned with marble patterns, glitter, or fruit motifs. She brings the same ebullience to her Flower line. “Yes, cannabis holds plenty of medicinal properties,” says Heyman. “But the world feels kind of dark right now, and I really want to just have a good time. My brand is about entertaining and having fun.”

Much like her handbag collection, the Flower line is inspired by vintage fashion. Heyman likes to pull from different reference points in the past, calling to mind moments in history when drinking and smoking were celebrated, rather than frowned upon. (Think: Coco Chanel or Audrey Hepburn taking a leisurely smoke with a cigarette holder.) Accessories include $95 glass-blown pipes in the shape of bananas, peaches, and strawberries; $95 glass cigarette holders that come in purple, pink, and orange; $65 matchstick cases that are color-coordinated with the other items; and $450 tabletop lighters that look good as centerpieces on a coffee table. “I wanted to create things that you want to look at, and talk about,” she says.

[Photo: courtesy Edie Parker]
Heyman has also designed plenty of home decor items to store and display your cannabis. She offers $395 acrylic “stash boxes” that look similar to her clutch bags; $295 vanity trays and $150 tray inserts to roll your cigarettes in style; and an assortment of clear, airtight jars to display your weed. If you’re not smoking at home, but want to go out on the town, Heyman has thought about that too. Why not bring your weed to go in a $955 acrylic “Go Go Bag” featuring special compartments for weed or a $295 mini-cig case designed to fit a single pack of cigarettes?  The glass pipes are hand-blown by a woman in Oregon, while the acrylic items are hand-dyed and poured into a mold in New Jersey. Then, craftspeople in Illinois and Italy cut out the different inlays and put the pieces together like a puzzle before polishing them off.

[Photo: courtesy Edie Parker]

Flower’s private-label strains of cannabis are also made in small batches. Heyman partnered with Flow Kana, a cannabis brand that partners with family-owned farms in Northern California, to create organic cannabis. The brand is launching with three flavors: Cherry Cheesecake, Pineapple Rising, and Banana Jam, which each cost $25 per gram. These are currently only available in Northern California, and are delivered through the luxury cannabis delivery service Emjay.

Heyman debuted these products on the Flower website last week, and is also featuring them in the Edie Parker boutique on Madison Avenue in New York, next to brands like Chanel, Kate Spade, Oscar de la Renta, and Tory Burch. In other words, Heyman was keen not just to rebrand cannabis as a high-end product, but also as a fashionable one. She believes that many of her customers already enjoy cannabis, so why wouldn’t they want a specially designed purse for their stash or a lighter that looks perfect perched on their coffee-table books?

“As I was designing, I thought, ‘What beautiful smoking accessories could I bring to the market for my smart, sophisticated customers?'” she says.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Elizabeth Segran, Ph.D., is a senior staff writer at Fast Company. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts More


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