As cannabis slowly comes out of the shadows and legalization continues sweeping the nation, more and more brands are doing their part in changing the negative stigma surrounding the plant. The stereotypical stoner-hippie cliche is, well, just that, and like others, we at The Hemponair pride ourselves on pointing this out and showing the world that cannabis can be enjoyed in a positive, tasteful, and yes, even sophisticated manner.
We pride ourselves on being able to elevate the conversation around cannabis and how it’s consumed and are always delighted to come across others that are doing the same. And speaking of pride, one of those people is April Pride, founder of the Seattle-based women’s cannabis lifestyle brand Van der Pop. We had a chance recently to sit down with April and discuss all things cannabis, luxury, and, of course, women.
Tell us a bit about yourself and Van der Pop—Who are you? What is Van der Pop?
I’m April Pride, founder of Van der Pop and Chief Creative Officer overseeing Van der Pop and Tokyo Smoke. Van der Pop is the cannabis industry’s premier female-focused lifestyle brand. We design stunning wares and offer poignant and playful advice plus schooling with girl-to-girl pro-tips. We also run SESSION, a Seattle-based immersive shopping experience that offers discretion where guests sample and shop the best accessories to store, smoke, and share cannabis.
So kind of like what The Hemponair is to guys, but for the opposite sex?
Exactly. Very little of today’s cannabis-related merchandise reflects a woman’s style or speaks to needs specific to women and how cannabis addresses these needs in a uniquely positive way. And women are responsible for 85% of consumer spending!
Hmmm, that’s some stat. Maybe we should think about pivoting our business model… but seriously, I think it’s great that you guys are focusing on the female market and I’m sure a lot of our male readers certainly appreciate getting a female’s perspective on cannabis, not to mention a place where they can purchase a ton of high-end female-centric cannabis gifts for their significant others. Speaking of which, do you design all of these gorgeous looking products yourself?
Not all. We feature both in-house designs and thoughtfully curated products by other designers, all of which are carefully vetted by us.
And what do some of those products entail?
Stash jars, lockable stash bags, grinder cards and rolling papers—pretty much high-minded products that create an experience to smoke, store, and share “recreational unmentionables” in a manner that respects the style and discretion to which women are accustomed to. Through thoughtful design, our brand is trying to change the perception of high jinks.
“High jinks”—love it! So where does all that thoughtful design come from? Where does Van der Pop get its inspiration from?
Well to start, we place an equal importance on both form and function as we expect all of our products to perform well. Personally, I’m painfully aware of the turn for worse a poorly produced or poorly functioning product can have on someone, both alone and with friends. I was originally trained in architecture so I look at the experience of using the product first, then creating from there. What do I want the final product to evoke to its user? How will this feel in their hand? And as it pertains to cannabis consumption, how will the product and packaging look on a table after the user is stoned? It’s all part of the experience and that’s what I strive to design for—the experience.
You mentioned you were trained in architecture? Is that what you were doing before moving over to the cannabis space?
My education, career, and pursuits have always been focused on design. I attended University of Virginia Architecture School, did a stint at a top San Francisco interiors firm, then attended and graduated school at Parsons, which is where my obsession with textiles became an academic pursuit. The historical motifs I studied at Parsons influenced my first product line kaarskoker, my first product-based company. I sold the company in 2013 and that same year I introduced my fashion label and its signature piece THE DRESS. A client eventually approached me to develop a “luxury cannabis lifestyle” brand, and as a confident ambassador of all cannabis can bring to one’s life, I happily took the high road. Wink.
Wow, that’s quite a trajectory. I’m always amazed at the backgrounds of many of the folks I come across in the cannabis space. A lot of them, especially in the “luxury cannabis lifestyle” arena you just mentioned, always seem to have such a fascinating story of who they are and how they got here. What about you? How did you eventually arrive at Van der Pop?
Well as I mentioned earlier, very little of today’s cannabis scene focuses on women, and I wanted to address that. In January of 2016, I created Van der Pop, and then followed it up later in the year with “SESSION,” a female-focused experience that reflects modern cannabis culture. An experience that offers discretion, education, and style, and things kind of took off from there.
And why “Van der Pop”? Where does the name come from?
The famous architect Mies van der Rohe’s mantra “less is more” makes for great design and a guaranteed positive experience with cannabis. And Pop, well… when a cork pops, smiles abound and “to be popped” is slang for being, ahem, over served. Plus, every time I say ‘Van der Pop’ or hear others repeat the name, I can’t help but smile. It just sounds happy—like a great time is on the horizon.
Indeed it is, especially for the cannabis industry and all the exciting brands and products like yours entering the space. Speaking of which, your products are obviously beautiful, but what do you think it is beyond the design that sets Van der Pop apart from the others?
As a woman, a mother, and a partner, I understand why cannabis and its necessary accoutrement require thoughtful education around every facet of the experience. I also get stoned for fun, to relax, to have sex, to be present with my kids, and to create. People who use cannabis know the difference when they come to Van der Pop’s site, hold our goods, and attend SESSION. They know we get it. It’s intuitive and only possible if it’s coming from a genuine fan of the plant and all it offers. The cannabis industry is lacking sophisticated products for female connoisseurs. Current solutions are dominated by products inspired by gadgets and/or intended for the male consumer, and we’re trying to change that.
Yeah, it’s always surprising to hear people’s reactions when they find out that certain women use cannabis, or that almost half (if not more) of cannabis consumers in the country are comprised of women.
Definitely. Women who elect to consume cannabis face the greatest stigma and, in my opinion, have the most to gain. They rely on trusted girlfriends or other women who know more on a particular subject than they do. Cannabis is no different. Van der Pop aims to prove it can be trusted to bring correct information that is presented in a way specific to their lives: as women, we suffer from monthly hormonal swings; as partners, we wish for stronger intimate and emotional connections in our relationships; and as mothers, we have difficulty slowing down to enjoy our ever growing children.
Well I can tell you that as men, we definitely appreciate that, and the fact that you’re creating a lifestyle brand that focuses its attention towards those needs and experiences—those of a woman’s—is truly something we’re thankful for. After all, many men would love to see the women in their lives enjoy the same connection to cannabis they do, and it’s hard to have that connection when very little out there in the space speaks to it. And to that end, I noticed you speak with many of your customers via an advice column on your site called “Dear Vandy.” Can you tell us a bit more about it?
When Van der Pop launched in January 2016, it became immediately clear that offering stunning products to store, smoke, and share cannabis was simply not going to be enough. Gradually, we’ve provided more and more opportunities to educate consumers on the plant and the products we design and merchandise. Dear Vandy is an advice column that answers cannabis curiosities anonymously submitted, carefully researched, and thoughtfully written to offer correct, practical, hard-earned information. Vandy is Van der Pop personified. Part mentor. Part mascot.
And what are some of the more surprising questions you’ve received? Any worth sharing?
Since we launched, I’ve been inundated with casual questions on the role cannabis plays in the bedroom. It’s been a progression in how we’ve addressed the topic with consumers. Step 1 was a Dear Vandy post, followed by a SESSION sponsorship from an infused sensual oil. It’s a topic that has little dialogue or research. Cannabis and women’s sexual health will be an enormous category in the space. I want Van der Pop to start the dialogue so the information is correct and without stigma. In fact, I’m going to be in New York next week to bring ‘Dear Vandy’ to life through a live Q & A session called Hot Box next Wednesday, April 12th, at the Alchemist’s Kitchen.
Ah, the Alchemist’s Kitchen. Good friends of ours and great people. A worthy plug for sure and a nice segue into our next question—the cannabis space in general. Particularly the luxury lifestyle arena we briefly mentioned earlier. Are there any other brands or companies that you think are really pushing the boundaries and setting the bar in that area? Other names or labels you see trying to elevate the perception and conversation around cannabis and the people who use it?
Definitely. You’ll notice on our site, most of the products are Van der Pop’s design, but some are products we carry from brands or makers we feel are definitely doing it right. We love Stonedware and their gorgeous GeoPipes. We also partnered up with High Society Collection in Portland for an exclusive roach clip collaboration in rose gold. In Seattle, my fave cannabis brands are The Goodship (edibles) and Suncliff (flower, oil). Both have great branding and super quality herb. Definitely vetted by Van der Pop.
The official seal of approval for you guys, right?
Yup, that’s right Before we decide to carry a product or recommend it to our customers, we make sure to user test it, conduct research, and determine if it is up to Vandy’s standards. We like to think of it as the Good Housekeeping Seal for cannabis products.
And we like you’re thinking. We do the same here at The Hemponair with The Shop—all the products are carefully curated and vetted before we offer them to our audience. And speaking of other similarly minded brands in the space, you’ve recently partnered with Toronto-based coffee and cannabis lifestyle brand Tokyo Smoke, correct? Can you tell us a bit more about how that partnership came about and what it is you guys will be doing together?
Yes, I sold Van der Pop earlier this year to Toronto-based Tokyo Smoke and now I serve as Chief Creative Officer overseeing both brands. My partner is CEO Alan Gertner, Founder of Tokyo Smoke. As for our partnership, it’s easy to put both Alan and me in a box: He’s the business. She’s the creative. We respect the equal value of our talents that contribute to our shared purpose of slowly de-stigmatizing cannabis. Most importantly, we value similar priorities in an organization’s culture as evidence in how seamlessly our two exceptional teams have merged. Alan and I agree that it is much more fun to be an entrepreneur when it’s working, and this partnership works beautifully, so we’re having a blast.
It’s so great to see and hear about you guys and others helping to elevate the conversation around cannabis, and not just with talk, but with action, content, and even actual physical products.
For sure. Brands like Van der Pop, Tokyo Smoke, and you guys—The Hemponair—are more than just lifestyle purveyors. We all want to help the global community engage with cannabis for the best possible results. This partnership combines our knowledge of the industry and presents customers with the most considered products and experiences, all while emphasizing design and creativity. And that’s the point.
Well we couldn’t agree more. So what’s the future look like for Van der Pop? Any exciting projects in the works? Perhaps plans for an actual brick and mortar store in the near future?
We have a permanent studio in Seattle where we host SESSION and we were recently approved as the first cannabis company to work with AirBNB to offer an AirBNB Experience. We’ll walk through the offerings at dispensaries so consumers feel empowered when they walk in. We have a concept that is launching in the fall that is like a brick and mortar but much more geared towards the experience the products speak to. And finally, by June of this year, Van der Pop will be the first female-focused brand to launch cannabis in Canada!
Wow, very exciting. Seems like you guys have a lot of great things on the horizon and we look forward to seeing them come to fruition in the near future. Thanks again for taking the time to chat with us and if we have any further questions, we know where to go to ask them.
(Laughs) Dear Vandy?
Exactly.
Photography by Project Girl Crush and Jessa Carter
