I visited NYC's new luxury head shop that sells upscale cannabis products like $125 mini-bongs and a $450 lighter. It was a firsthand look at how dramatically weed culture is changing.
Edie Parker, a brand known for its handbags and whimsical home décor, has launched a line of upscale cannabis accessories called Flower, sold in its New York City boutique on ritzy Madison Avenue.
The first thing I noticed upon looking in the window was a bong overflowing with a display of faux flowers.
A rather on-the-nose reference to the name of the line, I thought.
Several Flower products were displayed in the front window. Delicate and colorful glass pipes nestled in with coasters, perfume bottles, and other home accessories.
The cannabis accessories seemed to fit right in with the brand's other fanciful products.
An artful display of mini-bongs, glass pipes, and lighters sat alongside an outer space-themed clutch and more faux flower petals.
I was somewhat surprised that the cannabis accessories were so prominently displayed in the front window. It was a stark contrast to the neighboring Chanel and Oscar de la Renta boutiques.
From the inside of the store, the flower display expands dramatically out of the bong to reach up to the ceiling.
The colorful, whimsical boutique was a far cry from other smoke shops I've seen, which are often overcrowded with products and don't seem to give much thought to design.
The front half of the store is primarily devoted to handbags and home accessories.
Anchoring the back section of the store is a table displaying the bulk of the Flower line.
I saw colorful mini-bongs, fruit-shaped pipes, stash jars, rolling trays and papers, glass tips for joints, matchbox covers, lighters, and more.
I immediately noticed there were no price tags on anything. A sales associate told me the tabletop lighter (left) is $450 and the mini-bongs (right) are $125 a piece.
Edie Parker's founder and creative director, Brett Heyman, told me in an email that none of the items in their home collection have price tags.
"It is simply an aesthetic decision, it has nothing to do with price transparency," Heyman said. "All of the handbags have price tags inside."
According to the website, the most expensive Flower product is a $1,095 acrylic "Leaf Go Go Bag," to carry "your not-so-secret stash," which I don't remember seeing in the store.
The Flower line includes hand-blown glass pipes in the shape of various fruits, from strawberries to bananas to a bunch of grapes.
They range in price from $95 to $115.
While the entire collection has a playful vibe, these lighters made me laugh out loud.
Part of me wished they'd named the entire line "Weedie Parker" instead of Flower.
Heyman said she hopes the Flower products will appeal to "women of all ages who want to have a good time. And hopefully some men, too."
I could certainly see how the design-oriented products — which could almost double as interior décor — would appeal to my own friends. But personally, I wouldn't pay $125 for a mini-bong unless I was giving it as a gift.
The line will continue to expand to offer vape pens and other products.
Heyman told me they'll be releasing "an expanded breadth of lifestyle products, and working on a vape pen and pre-rolls which we will launch in the fall."
The pre-rolled joints will not be sold in New York, of course, but only in Los Angeles. Edie Parker has also developed three cannabis strains available in Los Angeles through a delivery service called Emjay.
To me, Flower and other high-end (pun intended) marijuana accessories shops are emblematic of how dramatically weed culture is changing in the US.
In her Wall Street Journal article, Lane Florsheim questioned, "Is stoner culture as we knew it over forever?"
While that question may be up for debate, there seems to be no clearer sign that there's a major cultural shift surrounding recreational marijuana use than that a luxury brand is marketing it to affluent New Yorkers on the Upper East Side.
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