Firm creates conservative cannabis accessories

With his startup’s geometric bongs, Simon Grigenas’s target market ranges from “your typical suit wearer” to “moms who want to relax.”

Grigenas, a University of Alberta alumnus, founded BRNT Designs after noticing that discreet cannabis users have few options when it came to accessories. The company makes smoking accessories with minimalistic, geometric designs.

The idea behind the company, which Grigenas developed for one of his business classes, is to make the image of cannabis users “more open.” He decided to act on his business plan and pooled $15,000 with three friends to make the startup’s first prototype.

The stigma that comes with drug use forces users to keep their activities secret, which Grigenas had experienced as a medical cannabis user himself. On top of experiencing a “learning curve” of becoming a medical marijuana patient, he became aware of the negative rumours that can come with being a user.

The typical cannabis user is perceived as lazy or unproductive — an image that’s passed to the consumer, he said.

“We’re trying to open it to your typical suit wearer who comes home and uses cannabis to relax ... to moms who want to relax,” he said.

After funding their own prototype, the BRNT Designs team brought its first product to market using $24,000 raised in a crowdfunding campaign last October. Called the Hexagon, a geometric ceramic-glass bong, it had 35,000 pre-orders in its first month for sale.

“When you look at it, that it’s meant to be a coffee table piece,” Grigenas said. “It’s the kind of thing you’d be proud to put on a shelf ... For cannabis moms it’s something kids wouldn’t ask about.”

Aside from its inaugural bong, BRNT Designs has made a concrete ashtray, a concrete pipe and a wooden rolling tray.