HIGH FASHION
Weed’s mid-century makeover
NEO-RENAISSANCE
Rube Zilla’s post-Covid vision
CART NOUVEAU
Bong carts > beer carts
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SPARK JOY Introducing House of Saka’s newest cannabisinfused beverage
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FEATURES
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28
Welcome to the Renaissance
Artist Rube Zilla is on a mission to show us hope in the ashes of the pandemic.
Raise a Glass
Infused beverages offer all the benefits of cannabis without the smoke—or the stigma.
DEPARTMENTS
15 EDITOR’S NOTE 31 LOCAL Regional editor Jenny Willden outlines the 18 THE BUZZ whos, wheres, and News, tips, and tidbits
whens of California. EXPLORE Farm-to-fork and Oktoberfest EXPERIENCE Redwoods and moonbeams MEET Farewell Frenchie CANNABIS’ COOL KIDS Cannoli Pay attention to these SHOP Better sleep and brands on the rise. CBD mocktails SENSIBILITIES Our editor TASTE Rare wines and shares her thoughts and—surprise, surprise— weed cakes bong carts are high on her list. THE SCENE HIGH 5 A fistful of stuff Have you heard? The bong you need to have. cart is the new bar cart— but better. Here’s why you have to have one.
to keep you in the loop PRETTY AND HAPPY Edie Parker is the first brand to fully merge the worlds of fashion and flower.
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ON THE COVER
House of Saka uplifts the infused beverage market. PHOTO COURTESY OF HOUSE OF SAKA
50 THE END A yoga teacher tells how her tattoos helped her feel right in her body.
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EDITORIAL
Stephanie Wilson Co-Founder + Editor in Chief stephanie.wilson@sensimag.com Doug Schnitzspahn Executive Editor Tracy Ross Managing Editor, Michigan Emilie-Noelle Provost Managing Editor, New England Debbie Hall Managing Editor, Nevada Jenny Willden Managing Editor, California Robyn Griggs Lawrence Editor at Large Will Brendza Contributor, Colorado Radha Marcum Copy Editor Bevin Wallace Copy Editor DESIGN
Jamie Ezra Mark Creative Director jamie@emagency.com Rheya Tanner Art Director Wendy Mak Designer Josh Clark Designer BRAND DEVELOPMENT
Richard Guerra Director of Global Reach Amanda Patrizi Director of Marketing Neil Willis Production Director MEDIA PARTNERS
Marijuana Business Daily Minority Cannabis Business Association National Cannabis Industry Association Students for Sensible Drug Policy
EXECUTIVE
Ron Kolb Founder ron@sensimag.com Stephanie Graziano CEO stephanie.graziano@sensimag.com Jade Kolb Director Global Recruiting ADVERTISING
Nancy Reid Director, Team Building, Sensi East PUBLISHING
Jamie Cooper Market Director, Michigan Abi Wright Market Director, Nevada Richard Guerra Market Director, New England Nancy Birnbaum Market Director, NorCal Diana Ramos Market Director, Oklahoma Rob Ball Market Director, S. California Angelique Kiss Market Director, S. California
MEDIA SALES
COLORADO Liana Cameris Media Sales Executive Amanda Patrizi Media Sales Executive Tyler Tarr Media Sales Executive FLORIDA Anthony Mckenzie Media Sales Executive NEVADA Pam Hewitt Media Sales Executive NEW ENGLAND Jake Boynton Media Sales Executive MICHIGAN Kyle Miller Media Sales Executive Leah Stephens Media Sales Executive
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EDITOR’S NOTE
Magazine published monthly by Sensi Media Group LLC.
© 2021 Sensi Media Group. All rights reserved.
After more than a year
without printed issues of
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Sensi magazine, we’re celebrating our return to print this fall with a new design we know you’ll love. Emphasizing news bites, product highlights, and cannabis culture, we hope this redesign gives you even more to make you want to our magazine home and use it as your guide to a brave new world. September also marks a big change for Sensi in the Golden State. This month we’ll be fusing Sensi NorCal and Sensi SoCal into one big issue that covers cannabis news, people, culture, travel, and much more across the entire state. To celebrate the occasion, we’re kicking off this issue with a feature that raises a glass to the new category of cannabis beverages in California on page 28. This growing market accounted for over $17.4 million in sales in California at the end of May 2021, and in all legal states the category has continued to grow in recent years. Flip through this new issue in print (or online) and let us know what you think we should feature in upcoming issues of Sensi California. Here’s to a beautiful fall in the Golden State,
We’re celebrating our return to print this fall with a new design we know you’ll love.
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TWITTER Follow @sensimag for need-to-know news and views from Sensi headquarters.
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I N S TAG R A M Pretty things, pretty places, pretty awesome people: find it all on @sensimagazine
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Pretty Things to Make You Happy
The first brand to fully merge the worlds of fashion and flower, Flower by Edie Parker is the line of cannabis and smoking accessories that portray the same clever, fashion-forward wit as its namesake, Edie Parker—the accessories brand known for its signature acrylic clutch handbags. (We’re partial to a pink one emblazoned with a cursive “weed” in big, bold letters—subtlety is overrated.) “Edie Parker is all about surprising and delighting and displaying your accessories— showing them off, whether it’s a handbag or an ashtray,” says the brand’s founder Brett Heyman. Under her direction, Edie Parker launched Flower by Edie Parker in early 2019, not just as a cannabis-adjacent accessories line but as an actual cannabis line with Edie Parker Flower THC products available in California and Colorado (Michigan and Massachusetts on the way). The progression into cannabis came naturally for the Edie Parker team. Riding the high of the successful launch of its home collection in 2016, the small, all-female group knew there was still so much more they could do. The fashionable women with refined-yet-playful sensibilities began talking about “the lack of considered—and frankly pretty—cannabis accessories,” Heyman shares. “Everything in our experience has been either something you buy in a 18
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PHOTO COURTESY OF EDIE PARKER
Flower by Edie Parker’s colorful mid-century-inspired collectibles are made for friends in high places.
PHOTOS (FROM TOP): COURTESY OF SUPERETTE, EDIE PARKER
headshop or something extremely masculine, or something that felt very medicinal or like things you hide away in your drawer.” The line is cheeky in the best of ways, with nary a fan leaf marring any of the offerings. “We’re accessory designers,” Heyman laughs. “We would never do something that obvious. We are used to marketing products that can infer something. You know what it’s for—you know it’s end use— but it doesn’t have to be hitting you over the head.” (The limited-edition “This is How I Roll” t-shirt collection that dropped earlier this year exemplifies this sentiment. See the one picturing two fried eggs and the phrase “these are your boobs on drugs” for proof.) Elsewhere in the very giftable Flower by Edie Parker line are stash jars, hard-edge lighters, grinders, rolling trays, joint clips, doob tubes (“supHerb storage containers”), “Weedie Parker” smell-proof stash bags, and a bunch of other colorful covetables. But what we covet the most is the tabletop lighters, which start at $450 and come nestled inside their own ashtrays—because that’s how they roll.
BY THE NUMBERS Sup reWork Sweet Nature Crewneck ($120), Superette & 4ye Vintage garments made modern with handdrawn illustrations depicting cannabis culture make every item in the Superette + 4ye collab a win.
15
MARKETS The number of markets across the U.S. about to publish print issues of Sensi in April 2020. Then COVID-19 hit
∞ LOVE For everyone who kept the faith and kept us going—yes, you included. We couldn’t have done it without you: our team, our clients, our friends, our families, our readers, our cannabis community.
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MAGAZINES The number of digital-only Sensi magazines we’ve made since April 2020. No, really! You can read them all at sensimag.com. So. Much. Good. Content.
[HIGH] FASHIONFORWARD While we were away, we kept our eyes on these brands—the coolest kids in cannabis right now. Except for the grannies. They’re the hippest grannies in the game. Fleur Marché is the one-stop-shop for rigorously vetted, top-tier CBD products and brands. Tokyo Smoke, the hip Canadian shop for the sophisticated and curious cannabis explorer, is for “those who embrace high design and alternative states of mind.” Mister Green is a lifestyle brand and retailer that distinguishes itself through “a minimalist design sensibility and dedication to a new cultural perspective.” Miss Grass is a brand on a mission to make the world good at weed. (We’re obsessed with the “Good at Weed” sweatpants.) Designer Adam Lippes is a partner in the LGBTQ-owned and led Farnsworth Fine Cannabis in the Berkshires, where the luxury dispensary is stocked with vintage accessories, including an old lighter of Jack Kerouac. Sundae School is where cannabis meets casual streetwear collections. House of Puff makes luxury smoking accessories for the modern woman and was founded by a former art mag editor—and we're obsessed. Superette is a retail brand dedicated to “creating moments of delight” and making buying cannabis and accessories as enjoyable as consuming it. S E P T E M B E R 2021
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BILITIES BY STEPHANIE WILSON, EDITOR IN CHIEF
1 BONG CARTS ARE THE NEW BAR CARTS. It’s gonna be the hottest home decor trend of 2022, just you wait...as long as we can get people over their hang-up about the word bong. The whole bong cart concept: fire. Getting people to call their newly transformed bar cart into a holder of bubblers and bud by its obviously awesome name, the bong cart: not so fire. Let’s troubleshoot. My Insta DMs are open, @stephwilll. 2 POSHMARK TIP: Never buy an item outright. Hit the heart, like the item, and sit back and let patience be a virtue. Typically within 24 hours, the seller will offer you a discounted price and boom! You’ve saved money and you are a proud consumer supporting the circular fashion movement, breathing new life into a used item. Everybody wins.
High 5
After a full year of enduring the same old, plain old things day after day, we all deserve a break from the ordinary. These items elevate your consumption ritual to an art. 1
2
3
3 APPARENTLY THERE’S A POSHMARK FOR GEN Z and it’s called depop, but I cannot confirm or deny whether there’s a heart for you to like to potentially save money because I’m the most elder of the millennials and only just learned about depop via New York mag earlier today. 4 PELOTON’S GOT NOTHING ON SOULCYCLE, and this is a stance I will ride until I die. Sure, I’ll be riding a Peloton, but I’ll be doing it to the beat of the music playing from my iPad where I’m streaming one of Ross’s motivational movement therapy classes from the Equinox app.
Products 1. Crack is Wack Rolling Tray ($60) by K. Haring Glass Collection D.A.R.E. was right in this case: crack is wack indeed. 2. Cookies X Stündenglass Gravity Hookah ($600) A work of engineering art in a sleek design that can send you to the moon: this thing offers a full 360° of “woah.” 3. Nude With Attitude Matches (three for $12) by Higher Standards x Rogue Paq These retro matches will quite literally charm your pants off. 4. Gucci Swirls Resort Collection Rolling Papers ($28 for the kit) by Papers + Ink Spark an abstract ode to the cruise collection with these customprinted organic papers 5. CBD Ritual Wild Berry Gumdrops ($45) by Lord Jones Hand-crafted confections with natural fruit essences and 20 mg hemp-derived CBD in each must-taste morsel. Gwenyth Paltrow and Oprah Winfrey approved.
4
5 BUT THE EQUINOX APP has absolutely nothing on any class taken at any studio IRL. Real humans bring real energy into a room that can’t be replicated even in the best virtual setting. There’s no digital substitute that measures up to the human connection. 6 “TIE-DYING” IS NOT A EUPHEMISM for recreational drug use. Long story, but a funny one. I’ll tell you it the next time I see you in real life.
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AFTER THE PLAGUE CAME
THE RENAISSANCE Even if you haven’t heard of him, Rube Zilla is already watching you through his ubiquitous art in the cannabis space and beyond. And the Scorpio is on a mission to show us hope in the ashes of the pandemic. TEXT STEPHANIE WILSON PHOTOS MARIO MASITTI
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A
even notice them in New York at a Buffalo Bills game, in Miami at Art Basel, in Los Angeles at the LA Art Show, in a still-in-development-andso-cool immersive space planned for Las Vegas. You’ll see the eyes on public artworks commissioned by the city of Denver and even on the walls of a Colorado middle school. You’ll see the cannabis artist’s unmistakable style everywhere...but you won’t see a fan leaf in any of it. “I don’t have cannabis motifs in any of my work,” Rube explains when asked what makes him a cannabis artist. “But I feel like at this point in my career, I’ve made my faces synonymous with cannabis culture.” And what lies within that association of art and cannabis is the power to propel the societal rebirth Rube believes art can drive. A former marine with Puerto Rican roots and a Buffalo, New York, upbringing, Rube is a bit of a dichotomy—but he’s not a Gemini. He’s a Scorpio, which means according IT’S ALL IN THE EYES Look around, and you’ll notice Rube to astrology.com that he travels in a world that is black and white with litZilla eyes staring at you from all tle use for gray. The black and white sorts of places—from large-scale that covers most surfaces in Rube’s murals in cities across the country, world represents the illusion that we from Timbuk2 bags, from custom-commissioned shoes. They look are individuals separate from others. The straight lines and the compleout from the Zilla Charter tour bus in Denver, in which top street artists menting curves stand for a necessary balance in structure and creativity, like Dinkc lead cannabis-friendly male-female energy, and emotion. tours to discuss their works around “Since the beginning, black and the city. You’ll find those eyes on a white has always represented the tin of full-spectrum rosin gummies duality and polarity of reality,” by Dialed In, in his coloring book he says as he sketches the first by High Times, and on carb caps, faces on what becomes the zodibangers, rolling trays, and pipes. Rube’s illustrations cover dispen- ac-themed canvas. It’s late July sary waiting rooms across Colorado 2021, and we’re at his friend Jereand adorn the Buddy Buddy Indoor my’s place in downtown Denver. Jerm, as he’s known, was the first Natural in San Francisco (the Calperson to ever buy one of Rube’s ifornia cannabis producer has even pieces, cementing a friendship and created a Rube.Zilla Kush). You’ll ccording to astrology, rebirth and revival are written in the stars. According to Ruben Del Cabrera (Rube for short), they are also written in Spirit of the Zodiac, the artwork he and Sensi created for this magazine. The piece (see page 25) invites viewers to get lost in a solar system of faces while trying to discover and interpret the 12 signs of the zodiac illustrated among the astral elements—subtle details depict the completion of a cycle, a return to our societal roots. Hidden amid a black-and-white maze of emotions depicted in Rube Zilla’s signature style are symbols representing a restart. A slogan of hope is becoming popular as so many try to make it through COVID-19: After the plague came the Renaissance. Looking at the world with Rube's vision, you see a modern renaissance has already begun.
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kicking off a collaboration/representation relationship between the two. Rube’s son, Remy, watches his father work intently. “There’s always someone watching,” says Rube, who laughs as he draws another face. The eyes specifically are inspired by a recurring scene in Scooby Doo, one of his favorite cartoons growing up, when the only things seen on an otherwise dark screen were sets of glowing eyes peering out from the dark. “It was the creepiest thing in the world!” Rube laughs. “Just knowing that people in the dark are watching.” WHAT DO YOU SEE WHEN YOU REALLY LOOK? It’s fun to watch Rube work. He doesn’t plan out his pieces; he just picks up the pen (or marker or can of spray paint, depending on the project) and gets started. He’s a
thinker, a dreamer, as well as a makeshit-happen doer. It’s easy to like him; it’s easier still to see why people like to be around him. He’s got the best interests of his communities in mind. He has been envisioning a more utopian future for quite a while now, and he’s doing what he can to make it happen. Make no mistake: Rube is a badass on his way to being the badass, the guy who doodled his way into the zeitgeist and then sketched out the defining spirit and mood from within. He’s expressing himself through a defined visual identity that’s a relatively recent development. (Scroll back to the start of his @rube.zilla Instagram page for the visual proof.) What’s surprising is that he’s relatively new to the whole art thing. After spending 10 years in the military, he settled in Denver and began working in finance. He was bored
out of his mind. He had been doodling since he was a child, and he made the risky decision to pursue art full time rather than stay miserable in a more stable career. He took a job at a hotel in downtown Denver, “just working overnight security, hours to burn,” he says, “and I would doodle, I would draw.” The position afforded him the opportunity to just create, to see where his mind took his markers on the paper. Rube Zilla's now-signature style soon began showing up—the faces—in his drawings. The motifs struck him as “hauntingly beautiful,” so he began working on their structure and form. He had only been at it for a few days when one night as he was arriving for work, he had the traumatic experience of witnessing a man jumping to his death. “A moment like that will change you,” Rube says.
Rube Zilla Spirit of the Zodiac, 2021 24" x 36" Acrylic on canvas
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“I relived that moment every day for a year,” Rube says, feeling trapped in the trauma—and it was through drawing mazes of augural faces depicted by the stark black lines and curves of a Sharpie that he mapped his way out. The night of the incident, he stayed at the hotel. “I just grabbed a stack of computer paper and a box of Sharpies and I just kept drawing faces over and over,” he says. “In a way it was to just process emotion—just to find a way to move through it. It’s funny how if you follow these patterns—follow grooves and stay the course—it’s like seeking a new plan, finding your weed and holy shit you talk to god, you go paint on walls. Now they call flow. And it ends up creating these it hieroglyphics—cave dwellings once-in-a-lifetime moments.” and whatnot.” Rube feels that we are at the start of a second renaisBRINGING EVERYTHING TOGETHER sance. “Real talk though: ‘After the Cannabis has been a part of the healing process as well. The night of plague came the Renaissance.’ It was the artists who gave life back to the incident, Rube smoked a joint the world. People came out to see with “the valet kid,” a young guy named Jerm (see above). Jerm now the murals, they couldn’t wait until Michelangelo was done with the runs Enigma Projects, representSistine Chapel.” ing a community of artists, includRube is a walking, talking art hising Rube Zilla. “We went from this tory lesson, focusing on the Medici thing that happened—the birth of these emotions—and we were able family, which first attained wealth and political power in Florence in to ride that energetic transition to the 13th century. It was the family’s the light in a sense.” support of the arts and humanities Jerm commissioned a custom in the 1400s that made Florence the piece by Rube, asking him to deck cradle of the Renaissance, accordout a Timbuk2 bag with his illusing to History Channel editors. trations. While in San Francisco a Rube’s lesson is a little less forshort time later, Rube wore the bag to an event attended by the brand’s mal: “There was a family that was CEO, and it caught her eye. “Shout- like, ‘Yo, we got all the gold and jewels on this side of the world. out Patti Cazzato!” Rube says. We got money. So, we control now. “That night, she said to me, ‘I’m We want to control then and the going to change your life tonight, future.’ So how do you control hisyoung man.’ And she didn’t lie.” tory? You tell the story. The Medici Rube seeks a communal relationship between art and cannabis. family understood that they needed to tell the story, so they asked “Cannabis and art have always had themselves, ‘How do we support a connection,” Rube says. “Smoke
Rube with his son Remy
the people who will carry on for the next generation?’ So they supported the artists.” In the renaissance we are entering now, Rube suggests that the arts can be supported not by a single family but by an entire industry that’s already focused on changing the world. “The cannabis industry can be the Medici family,” Rube says. What if we’re able to support and uplift the people who are telling the story about why cannabis is important? Then we control the history of it.” A successful cannabis industry “can’t be why we have more space billionaires,” he says. “It needs to be why we have more community sustainability. It’s all about passing the joint, passing the kinetic energy, the success, and bringing it back to our circles at the end of the day.” We’re collectively hungry for art, culture, and connection. Rube cites Crush Walls’ urban art event that took place September 2020 amid COVID-19. “What did people do? They pulled up to the streets, smoked weed, and looked at art. That didn’t stop. That happened in the renaissance.” S E P T E M B E R 2021
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RAISE A GLASS Californians are embracing infused beverages because they offer all the benefits of cannabis without the smoke—or the stigma. TEXT ROBYN GRIGGS LAWRENCE
In the same way everyone brings a bottle of wine to a special occasion, cannabis lovers dream about bringing a Blue Dream bud or THC-laced cheesecake to share with cannabis-curious friends and loved ones during holiday dinners. While Californians have the means to make this vision a reality, a lot of people still aren’t comfortable stepping out back to smoke a bowl with Aunt Betty and not everyone wants to be responsible for edibles’ unpredictable 28
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onset time and effects. Toasting the occasion with a bottle of cannabis-infused non-alcoholic wine, on the other hand, feels 100 percent normal, and the effects come on quickly, so it’s easy to gauge how much to drink (or not drink) throughout dinner. And even if Aunt Betty overindulges, she’ll likely laugh really hard and sleep it off on the sofa— so much nicer than getting into a booze-fueled argument with your cousin’s new girlfriend.
This is how Californians— whether they’re new to contemporary cannabis or seasoned legacy consumers—are integrating House of Saka’s alcohol-free, cannabis-infused wines into their repertoire. “The feedback we’re getting is, ‘Finally, I can go to my parents’ for Thanksgiving, and I not only have something I can bring to drink, myself, but they’re interested in trying it,’” says House of Saka CEO Tracey Mason.
PHOTO BY VICTORIA KONDYSENKO, ADOBE STOCK
of cannabis-infused beverages and looks to move into Canada and Michigan. At the end of May 2021, $17.4 million worth of cannabis beverages were sold in California. That’s nearly six times more than the $2.7 million sold in January 2018, the first month of recreational sales in the state, according to analytics firm Headset. Though beverages are still a tiny fraction of the $4.4 billion California cannabis market, Headset’s data is pointing to a sales bonanza for cannabis beverages as pandemic restrictions lift. In all legal states, cannabis-infused beverage sales increased 40.3 percent in 2020 compared to 2019, slightly outperforming the growth of the overall cannabis market, which grew at about 39.4 percent. Industry data-tracking firm Brightfield Group projects sales will hit $421 million this year, and Fortune Business Insights predicts canna-beverages will be an $8 billion industry by 2027.
Launched in 2018, House of Saka is a Napa Valley-based, women- and LBGTQ-run winery that offers Spark Mimosa (sparkling chardonnay), Pink (pinot noir), and White (chardonnay) options, blended with a proprietary formulation of tasteless, odorless water-soluble THC and CBD from organic craft cannabis. House of Saka sales exploded last year— from 530 cases in 2020 to 7,500 cases projected in 2021—as the company rides the meteoric rise
Alcohol-Free Whee Alcohol is so 2016. Millennials and Gen Zs are saying no to booze and yes to cannabis. (Gen Z consumers upped their cannabis use during the pandemic more than any other generational cohort, Headset found.) “People still want to be intoxicated, if you will, but they’re seeking alternative means of doing so,” Mason says. Combine alcohol aversion with the medical community’s and the media’s constant vilification of smoking and vaping and you have what Mason calls “a perfect storm” blowing up the cannabis beverage industry.
Microencapsulation, a relatively new technology, has changed the game by speeding up how quickly beverages take effect. “Cannabis beverages have a rapid onset due to how they are absorbed by the body versus edibles that need to be digested and processed through the liver,” says Cannabis Beverage Association board member Evan Eneman, founder and CEO of cannabis brand incubator Sands Lane Ventures. “This creates a more controllable experience and one that many consumers can enjoy more.” One of the biggest impediments for the industry has been its reliance on data “based on a relatively new and nascent supply chain for beverages and limited retail exposure,” Eneman says—but this won’t be a problem for long. “We’ll see growth rates increase consistently and better data over the coming years,” he predicts. According to Mason, the clunky dispensary infrastructure that emerged out of California’s medical and black markets has also been a problem, as retailers struggle to accommodate a consumable category—requiring refrigeration—that didn’t even exist five years ago. That, too, will become a non-issue as the cannabis industry blossoms around the world, however. “New Jersey and New York— huge consumer markets—are coming online with a different perspective: the market as it sits now, not 15 years ago,” Mason says. “Dispensaries are allocating space for packaged beverages, because when you look at broader packaged goods, it’s what people want.” S E P T E M B E R 2021
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explore
experience
meet
shop
taste
Farm-to-fork and Oktoberfest
Redwoods and moonbeams
Farewell Frenchie Cannoli
Better sleep and CBD mocktails
Rare wines and weed cakes
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local
explore
EAT, DRINK, &
Rock On Experience the best of California’s food, fun, and live music at these festivals.
SEPT. 9-11
SEPT. 11–NOV. 7
Long Beach, CA / originallobsterfest.com You don’t have to travel to Maine for world-class lobster. This long-running event features arts and crafts booths, a VIP lounge, karaoke, live music, a live sports tent, and drink specialties like the “Screaming Lobster.’’ If you bring kids along, the magic shows, face painting, and inflatable bounce house keep them entertained.
Big Bear, CA / bigbearevents.com Hoist a stein and celebrate Oktoberfest in the mountains at this 50-year-old event. This year’s Oktoberfest will be held outdoors amidst evergreen trees with tables spaced for restaurant-style socializing with friends and family. Expect Bavarian tunes and hits of today, plus German beer, dances, storytelling, and more.
Long Beach Original Lobster Fest
Big Bear Oktoberfest
SEPT. 17-18
Farm-to-Fork Festival
Sacramento, CA / farmtofork.com Celebrate harvest season in America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital at this Sacramento food and music festival which takes place on the city’s Capitol Mall. Top music artists will perform at the two-day event and visitors can amble through the festival to sample local food, beer, regional wines, and to watch cooking demonstrations. Admission is free.
Paradise Chocolate Fest
Sept. 18 / Paradise, CA / chocolatefest.us Indulge in all things chocolate in Paradise, a town nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. This event features a Chocolate Candy Land where you can dip treats in a chocolate fountain, chocolate booths selling confections and desserts, and special events like chocolate pie– eating and cookie-stacking competitions. Take in music on two stages and enjoy the adults-only Chocolate, Wine, and Brew Tasting Garden. The event raises funds for nonprofit organizations that provide educational, recreational and leadership opportunities to Paradise Ridge youth. 32
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local
explore
Same Same But Different Festival Sept. 9-12 / Lake Perris State Park, CA / ssbdfest.com Music festivals are back, and you don’t want to miss this one. This lakeside festival mixes genres with acoustic sets, electronic sessions, beach music parties, and more. It will also include yoga, meditation, dancing, crafting, camping, and swimming. Bring a floatie or buy one at the festival to listen to beach music sets while you float with a spiked coconut in hand.
SEPT. 18
Sample the Sierra
South Lake Tahoe, CA / samplethesierra.com Celebrate the cuisine, beer, wine, and spirits of the Sierra Nevada at this farm-to-table festival. Expect local wine and beer tastings, live music, art, and shopping at a makers mart full of locally crafted items. The afternoon event will be smaller than in previous years but will continue until sundown with art, music, and celebration by beautiful Lake Tahoe. SEPT. 24-26
Monterey Jazz Festival
Monterey, CA / montereyjazzfestival.com The legendary Jazz Fest returns, hosting acclaimed artists and rising stars at the Monterey County Fairgrounds. Expect a smaller event than in years past, with performances held only on the Jimmy Lyons and Courtyard stages. Enjoy classic jazz and modern takes on the genre with performances from Herbie Hancock, George Benson, Terri Lyne Carrington + Social Science, and other legendary names.
SEPT. 25
Surf City Surf Dog
Huntington Beach, CA / surfdog.com Watch pups catch a wave at this world-famous dog surfing event held in Surf City USA. Register your “SurFUR” dog to compete or just attend and watch pooches fetch waves at Huntington Dog Beach. Pets can compete as dog/dog teams or dog/human teams. The whole event is a fundraiser for pet-centric charity partners. S E P T E M B E R 2021
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local
experience
MOON STRUCK REDWOODS retreat
Join cannabis advocates and enthusiasts for a redwood retreat at Camp Navarro this September 30 to October 3. Meadowlands is designed to connect and build California’s entire cannabis community with dispensary and cannabis business owners coming together to share knowledge, build relationships, and enjoy cannabis together in a majestic outdoor space. The event is hosted by Meadow, a team of cannabis advocates on a mission to build the best dispensary management software for the entire cannabis industry. getmeadow.com
The Autumn Moon Festival, a 1,000-year-old tradition, is celebrated in San Francisco’s Chinatown this year on September 11 and 12. The free festivities include a parade, arts and crafts, lion dances, mooncakes, live entertainment, and delicious food. Event held along Grant Avenue between California and Broadway in the heart of Chinatown. moonfestival.org
learn & grow Boutique Beauty
Explore Silicon Valley’s Santa Cruz Mountains while staying at the new Ameswell Hotel, a luxury lodge set on 11 acres and inspired by Northern California’s wilds. It features outdoorsy additions like fire pits, access to a private hiking trail, and a retrofitted vintage Airstream serving California cuisine outdoors. The Ameswell also features two more dining and drinking options: Roger, an indoor/outdoor bar with craft cocktails, wine and Mediterranean-inspired fare, and Flyby, a casual all-day lobby café. The 225 comfortable guest rooms showcase California poppies and West Coast style. theameswellhotel.com
Share your knowledge and learn about CBD laws, regulations, marketing, holistic medicine, medical trends, and technology at CBD Expo West from September 30 to October 1. Connect in person with industry experts, professionals, consumers, and market leaders to inform and empower your canna-business. Held at the Los Angeles Airport Hilton hotel. cbdexpo.net
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meet
Homegrown
Heroes
Honor the life o influencers, a f a pioneer, meet women n cannabis farm d learn about sustainable ing.
Remembering a Legend
Legendary hashish producer and California cannabis pioneer Frenchy Cannoli passed away unexpectedly at age 64 on July 18 due to surgery complications. He was known as a “Master Hashishin” and equated the hashish-making process to wine-making. A teacher and producer, Cannoli traveled the world, once living in caves and harvesting resin before settling in the Golden State where he began producing legal cannabis concentrates under California’s early adoption of medical cannabis laws. He was an instructor at Ganjier and spent recent years traveling to give seminars on hash production, including making a documentary called French Dreams of Hashish. He is survived by his wife Kimberly and will be deeply missed by the California cannabis community. frenchycannoli.com
Leading Ladies
The cannabis market’s “boys club” is fast changing as more and more women join the cannabis industry. Alicia Brockwell, CMO of California’s Good Stuff Beverages, says if you’re a woman looking to work in cannabis, it’s important to showcase your unique talents and skills through cannabis recruiting sites, to update your LinkedIn profile, and stay several steps ahead to rise above the “brotastic” culture. Janet Matula, an executive at California cannabis company Platinum recommends women find a mentor to learn about cannabis consumers and products. goodstuffbeverageco.com / houseofcannabis.com
Growing Responsibly
Darryl Cotton founded 151 Farms in California to expand urban farming opportunities, especially in economically distressed areas, and to improve access to locally grown fresh foods and medicinal crops while creating new jobs. The “151” in the name stands for the farm’s commitment to grow one pound of cannabis for every five pounds of food it grows for one community. Today there are many 151 Farms franchisee locations. All are soil-less, set up on top of concrete or asphalt and can be moved and relocated as needed. 151 Farmers build these 151 Farms and focus on ecologically sustainable cultivation practices for local communities’ food and medical cannabis needs. 151farmers.org S E P T E M B E R 2021
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DRIP local
shop
STOREFRONT
Canna Connection
The nation’s largest cannabis complex and consumption lounge, Cannafornia Connection, is now open at the intersection of Highway 111 and Heber Road in Imperial County. The location was chosen to catch travelers between Arizona, California, and Mexico with the goal to offer quality cannabis at affordable prices. The 100-acre complex includes a 5,000-square-foot consumption lounge and two retail stores. Special events and tasting demos of leading California brands are in the works. cannafornia.world
collect the dream
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The National Institutes of Health reports that more people than ever are struggling with anxiety, insomnia, and exhaustion. If you’re in the sheep-counting camp, try Pure Craft’s Nano CBD Water Soluble + Melatonin tincture. It’s one of the most absorbable tinctures on the market and helps work with your natural sleep cycle to promote restful sleep. purecraftcbd.com
Mix up your next mocktail with 22Red’s new CBD tincture. Using highly concentrated CBD extracted from premium, US-grown hemp, it’s mixed with MCT oil for sublingual application and easy absorption. Each bottle is blacked out to prevent degradation from light exposure and contains 3,000 mg of CBD. Available in unflavored, watermelon, and mint flavors. 22redhemp.com
CATCHER
booze
THE entourage EFFECT
Looking to access the therapeutic and synergistic effects of the cannabis plant without THC? It’s possible by infusing terpenes with CBD isolate, often referred to as terpsolates. One terpene, beta-caryophyllene, actually acts as a cannabinoid once consumed. Its ability to reduce pain and inflammation makes it a viable treatment option for gastrointestinal conditions and autoimmune disorders. Try the combo in Elevated Wellness Terpsolate, an Organic CBD isolate (99-plus% pure) infused with natural kosher cannabis terpenes. Available in blends for energy, focus, and relaxation. elevatedwellness.com S E P T E M B E R 2021
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dispensary grade Beyond Full S pectrum
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local
taste
WEEDED BLISS
Looking to infuse your nuptials with cannabis? Order a custom cannabis wedding cake, cupcakes, or cinnamon rolls made with your preferred cannabis strain from Chronic Desserts. Founded by pastry chef and edible fan Leilani Kaloha, this southern California company can customize your order to your dietary needs with vegan and gluten-free options. chronicdesserts.com
Exclusive Sips
Nighttime
Foodies
Enjoy delicious Asian-inspired cuisine at the Foodieland Night Market at Sacramento’s Cal Expo Center from September 3-6. This experience features great live music and entertainment, not to mention over 150 different food vendors. Maximize your eating enjoyment by bringing friends, splitting up to select food, and regrouping to share your finds tapas-style. Expect live music, crafts, and games for the family paired with the Asian-inspired eats. sacramento365.com
better
bubbly
Fancy up your brunch with Saka Spark Mimosas, an alcohol-removed sparkling Chardonnay with Mimosa strain-specific live resin emulsion and natural essences of orange blossom and tangerine. House of Saka sources Chardonnay from California’s cool coastal vineyards. Find it at dispensaries and consumption lounges throughout California. houseofsaka.com
For those interested in rare wines, the Sunset Rare and Reserve Tasting at the Chase Palm Park Carousel House in Santa Barbara on September 24 provides a unique opportunity to taste reserve wines paired with cheese and gourmet appetizers. And once you’ve whet your palate, enjoy the Beachside Wine Festival on the following day. Discover a vast array of wines and local craft brews while enjoying the beautiful Santa Barbara beach. californiawinefestival.com
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Heart the Cart Bong carts are the new bar carts—you need one. PHOTOS & TEXT STEPHANIE WILSON
In May, dining website-meets-community Food52 asked the question that’s been on interior stylists’ minds for a while now: Are bar carts on their way out? To which I say, um, do you really have to ask? If there’s a question about the continued longevity of any trend’s lifespan, it’s safe to assume that it’s on its way out. Sure, the author posed a question to her Instagram crowd about whether bar carts were “out” or “still cool,” and 84 percent of the responses came back in favor of the bar-on-wheels-as-openstorage, but that’s not surprising. Lots of people thought hanging wooden carvings of “live laugh love” on their walls would be the writing on the wall that told the world just how deep and spiritually sound they are. They 42
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lived. They laughed. They loved. And to this day, some of them keep right on loving. Side story: During the early days of the pandemic lockdown, memes kept my spirit alive. You could say that because of memes, I lived. I certainly laughed. And, my god, some of them I loved—especially the one that just showed a wooden carving of the word “gather”
hung on a beige-gray wall. The simple caption: “That’s illegal, Karen.” I died. I lived. Laughed. Loved. I still do. Perhaps I am the lowest common denominator? Either way, I’ve never had a bar cart. I did purchase a wheeled two-shelf unit in a mid-century modern style that could to the untrained eye be confused for a bar cart, but it’s not a bar cart. No,
no, no. Bar carts are out even if home decor sites are hesitant to declare the trend dead quite yet. Perhaps there’s been enough death this past year, or perhaps they worry that the plebes who embarked on home improvements while spending so much time in said homes would revolt if they read that one of the trendy, musthave pieces they just incorporated into their
got my Jane West Beaker on my bong cart, too! #twinning. And if you’re somewhere in between, I encourage you to take your smoking accoutrements out of whatever hiding place they’re stashed. Bong carts aren’t just for bongs, you know. Pipes, stash jars, grinders, rolling trays, dab rigs, and all of the other objets d’art cannabis accessories can live on the cart, too—just as long as they’re nice and clean. Put them on display unless you’re living with rambunctious kids, or decor was suddenly as that says “humble & kind” jumpy cats, or any other taboo as gathering with hanging on the door creature that could knock unvaccinated strangers in above my home office. them over. Then proceed close quarters while not I picked it up one day at with caution. Always keep wearing a mask. a Home Goods where it the stuff you put into the Let them revolt, I say. was on clearance for $10. Or let them in on the Although the message secret that surely isn’t made me shudder, I going to be a big secret for thought I could use the much longer because— canvas and turn it into you heard it here first, something cool. I never folks—it’s going to be the got around to attacking it hottest home decor trend with some paint, but I did of 2022. Whether you’re tack two oversized Postgetting one brand new or Its on either side of the updating your existing message. The first reads, bar cart into one of the “If you think you’re,” and bong varieties, you too the latter wraps it up with will get to say you helped “you’re confused.” It’s spark the latest rage in now perfect.) interior styles. But if you’re like, omg, If you’re wondering I’ve already been storing my smoking devices secured why you would want a Jane West Beaker on my old safely away from any bong cart, maybe it isn’t bar cart but hadn’t realized minors or pilfering roomfor you. Keep gathering. I should stop calling it my mates who shouldn’t have Keep on living, laughing, old bar cart yet! Well, access to your stash. and loving. (Confession: now you know! You and If you consume canI do have a wooden sign I should be friends, I’ve nabis, there’s no need to
hide it away in a cabinet or drawer as if it’s something you’re ashamed of, no matter what you may have been told in D.A.R.E. But there’s still a whole lot of stigma surrounding it today, even as more Americans than ever are in favor of its legalization. After legalization comes normalization. The bong cart (or bud cart, or cannabis cart if you must, but I like bong cart because it’s a better play on the “bar cart” phrase— that’s what we’re going for here) is a statement. If you’re not quite ready to admit that bongs—with water filtration and the ability to deliver a cool, smooth hit—are a superior way of consumption,
that’s OK. You’ll get there. And when you do, I’ll have tons of recommendations for products that will look right at home on the bong cart in your home. S E P T E M B E R 2021
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P R O M OT I O N A L F E AT U R E SANDS LANE
Creating Harmony Here’s how brand expert and advisor Sands Lane is making a big splash in the cannabis space with infused beverages.
S
ince 2010, Sands Lane has been a venture of positive intention. The multifaceted company is a “purpose-driven brand ecosystem that advises, invests and builds brands in the cannabis, hemp and other emerging markets,” shares founder and CEO Evan Eneman. Through its unique ecosystem structure and mindset, Sands Lane utilizes its three divisions (Incubator: Sands Lane Ventures, Brand Agency: Sands Lane Agency Group / Fiorello Agency, and Investment Firm: Sands Lane Capi-
also serves as a board member of the Cannabis Beverage Association, where it leads strategic initiatives, “We created Harmony Craft Beverages to develop a platform to enable others and give our partners, clients, and consumers an entry point into the cannabis space—through beverages,” says Eneman. Through its various divisions, including Harmony Craft Beverages, the Sands Lane team is helping clients and partners identify market pain points and develop brand-specific community engagement, business, and outreach initiatives to elevate the cannabis beverage category and truly engage communities and culture in a deeper way. When asked why Sands Lane made the jump into beverage, Eneman responds with a simple truth: “beverage and cannabis is not something that detracts from your experience; rather, it helps enable your experience. For us, it’s a harmonious intersection.”
tal) to put community engagement and societal regeneration at the forefront of their efforts. Sands Lane has been busy of late, successfully incubating and launching brands like Love Yer Brain and Hopper Reserve, focusing on the many positive impacts of cannabis. Cue beverages. Sands Lane has been making a big push into the cannabis beverage industry through its launch of Harmony Craft Beverages— and its first brand, Malus—and via its Sands Lane involvement in the launch of brands Purpose-driven brand eocosystem like Herbacée and Klaus. Sands Lane sandslane.com
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Women working in cannabis deserve better, so
WE BUILT BETTER
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P R O M OT I O N A L F E AT U R E HOUSE OF SAKA
Taste the Difference
rose of pinot noir and cabernet and Saka White, made from barrel-aged Napa Valley chardonnay—have already carved out a unique luxury position in the rapidly growing beverage sector. But the innovation doesn’t stop there. In June of this year, the company launched its first single-serve option, Saka Spark Mimosa. By combining premium alcohol-removed sparkling chardonnay with a Mimosa strain-specific live resin emulsion and natural essence of orange blossom and tangerine, the brand is shaking up the and cannabis occasions in an elegant cannabis industry while deliciously way,” says co-founder and CEO, Tracey living up to its namesake. Mason. Mason and her team know that taste and experience matter and House of Saka’s THC:CBD-infused options check both of those boxes. Mason shares that they were intentional with House of Saka, making the decision to enter the cannabis beverage space after decades in the wine industry so they can meet consumers where they are. “If you’re cannabis-curious and want to understand what it’s like, having a form factor that is both discrete and familiar made a lot of sense,” she says. House of Saka The brand’s flagship offerings— Infused Wine Maker Saka Pink, made from Napa Valley houseofsaka.com
Female-founded House of Saka has created the first cannabis-infused elixir featuring Napa Valley Wines—with the alcohol removed.
S
ince 2018, the female-founded House of Saka has dedicated its 70+ collective years of experience in the beverage industry to build the world’s first and only alcohol-removed, cannabis-infused beverage company to feature Napa Valley wines. While the innovation and creativity may be apparent to some, creating a wine-inspired, cannabis-infused elixir without the unwanted impacts of alcohol wasn’t easy. It required a unique blend of knowledge and passion. “We leverage our collective beverage experience, our luxurious Napa Valley provenance and our passion for innovation to create great tasting beverages that can truly bridge wine
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Growin g the Industr y.
Upcoming shows: Chicago, IL August 6-7 Virginia Beach, VA November 19-20 New York, NY January 7-8 Oklahoma City, OK March 31-April 1
Shop, Learn, and Network at the Nations Leading Cannabis Conference and Expo. Tickets at CannaCon.org
P R O M OT I O N A L F E AT U R E BLAZE DELIVERY
Enhanced Experience The delivery-based cannabis market is here to stay—and Blaze is making it all easier.
T
he massive rise in delivery-based business during the pandemic has transformed how customers interact with their favorite brands across the United States and the world. Consumers now expect everything from alcohol to toiletries to be available at their doorstep. As legalization spreads across the country, that expectation of seamless delivery is extending into the cannabis industry. Currently, 14 states permit regulated cannabis deliveries, but that number is expected to rise over the next few years. For most dispensaries, however, the idea of quickly implementing online
Blaze’s software addresses backend logistics and the tracking and managing of drivers. It also creates a delivery service that will pass each state’s regulatory status, avoiding legal headaches. Designed by industry veterans, the delivery software integrates directly with a store’s POS system to allow accurate inventory tracking. It features signature capture and ID verification, and it provides delivery drivers with a complete manifest and inventory ledger. To enhance the consumer’s experience, the Blaze Delivery app easily captures customer signatures, verifies IDs, and tenders orders—customers can even pay ahead. Plus, it offers the ability for drivers to communicate securely with dispatch or with the customer for last minute changes. A recent report from Uber showed that delivery revenue grew 103% in 2020, a number that is expected to continue to rise moving forward. There is no reason why cannabis businesses cannot get in on that trend and expand too. They just need the proper framework in place to make it happen.
purchasing and delivery is daunting, to say the least, if not downright impossible to navigate safely, efficiently, and legally. That’s where Blaze can step in, offering state-of-the-art delivery software and POS systems designed to provide seamless solutions to cannabis purveyors. “We feel that delivery is going to be a key piece for retailers who are looking to grow their businesses,” says Chris Violas, the CEO of Blaze. “We think it’s here to stay and we’re doubling down on that market by continuing to develop new features BLAZE Delivery to streamline and scale delivery Delivery POS Systems operations.” blaze.me S E P T E M B E R 2021
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THE END
Enlightened Ink Colorado yoga teacher and spiritual guide Bri Leonard found a way to love her body through her tattoos.
“I am someone who comes from trauma and humble beginnings,” says Colorado-based yoga teacher and tarot reader Bri Leonard, whose body is a canvas of tattoos: a dagger down her chest, a fortune teller on her arm, a scorpion on her back. “Yoga and occult practices have saved my life and given me tools to face the challenges of this world.” She cultivates a practice that is beautiful and powerful both physically and emotionally. Her classes combine creative, challenging movement on the mat with deep introspection (and the occasional dose of Prince or classic metal in the music mix). Through a podcast and members-only classes with Healing House (healinghousepodcast.com), which she co-founded, Leonard encourages students to dig into the past and shuck off the pain and negativity that keeps them from personal evolution. “Our goal with Healing House is to give back and support anyone on the path to holistic healing— with a little touch of humor and magic,” she says. Leonard’s tattoos are an important part of her identity and ground her in her teaching. “They have helped me love my body,” she says. “Before I started getting tattooed, I never liked what I saw in the mirror. I felt like a visitor in my own body. As my collection of art began to grow, I noticed an evolution in my self-perception. I began to feel strong, confident, like me.”
Leonard swears by the work of her artist Danny Boy at Landmark Tattoo (landmarktattooing.com) in Denver. “He's a kind, warm, talented soul,” she says. “That place feels like home.”
We want to see your tattoos and know the stories and passions behind them. Post them to Instagram and tag us @sensimagazine.
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF BRI LEONARD
TEXT DOUG SCHNITZSPAHN
I N T R O D U C I N G
HOUSE OF SAKA
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