An Edmonton business is garnering international attention and aiming to shatter any remaining stigma of using cannabis with its fresh take on smoking pot: ceramic bongs that can double as art pieces.
Brnt Designs, which was started by a group of University of Alberta students trying to capitalize on Canadaâs legal recreational marijuana industry, is shattering its sales goals and rapidly expanding its business.
âWe were actually just working out of my parentâs house,â Andrew Feltham, Brntâs chief design officer, told CTV Edmonton. âWe kind of took over the den. It was a bit of a disaster. We had so much stuff in there.â
The ceramic bongs feature a hexagonal top and base and are meant to be functional art.
âYou can actually leave it out on your table and you donât have to be embarrassed and hide it as soon as someoneâs coming over,â Paige Hodgins, Brntâs chief development officer, said.
One year after Brntâs founding, its products have gone from turning heads at trade shows to garnering international recognition â even being featured in Rolling Stone magazineâs 2018 cannabis gift guide.
âWhen the in-laws come over, you can pass it off as a vase,â wrote Rolling Stone, adding, âbut honestly, arenât we a little past hiding?â
Feltham said the international acknowledgement is a âcool feeling.â
Brntâs products are now in 60 stores across Canada, with sales eclipsing $500,000. It is expanding, hiring more people and opening a second office in Toronto.
âNever in a million years did any of us think this bong wouldâve done what it has done,â Feltham said.