Pot brands are failing, but Edie Parker may have the secret to success
Cannabis has always had style, but for some time, lovers of weed felt relegated to tapestries depicting Bob Marley and tie-dye. Those with different aesthetics made due thrifting antique cigarette cases for joints and reappropriating various pouches and boxes for their stash—but those times are in the past.
Now, consumers face a different animal, not knowing how to choose from the growing options. Sometimes, it’s best to look to the veterans, and one woman-owned weed brand has long been infusing the industry with style.
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Enter Edie Parker, a modern accessories brand that has brought the world treasures like a novelty lighter that looks like a Jell-O mold and pre-roll hair barrettes. Most recently, Edie Parker is looking to fill its bowls, officially launching THC products in their home state of New York.
“We are a lifestyle brand—cannabis is a part of the lifestyle the same way a handbag or a tabletop lighter is. We craft pretty items that make people happy, that surprise and delight,” founder Brett Heyman said in an interview with GreenState.
From fashion to flower, Edie Parker wants to embody the chic cannabis consumer. If popularity and growth are any indicators, the mission is proving successful.
Who is Edie Parker?
Edie Parker was founded by Brett Heyman, a New York City-based designer and lover of mid-century style. After a stint running press relations for brands like Gucci and Dolce and Gabbana, Heyman set out to design her own handbag line.
Her love for 1960-70s-era acrylic clutches inspired the first Edie Parker designs. The timeless treasures are increasingly difficult to find at thrift shops and estate sales. While vintage clutches were a focus for some time, cannabis often came up in ideation meetings. After some time, Edie made the jump into weed accessories.
“There were obviously more expected products we could have launched— shoes as an example or women’s clothing. But as a team, we were all very excited about what was happening in cannabis,” Heyman explained. “We kept coming back to it and decided we had something new and different to say in the world of flower and flower accessories. And so we launched Flower by Edie Parker in 2019 with a selection of cannabis accessories and THC products.”
Before introducing the line of cannabis products in 2019, Edie Parker made its name through a series of well-placed, finely timed press coverage. Before bags hit stores, Kate Hudson donned Edie’s Lara on the 2011 Met Gala red carpet.
A few months later, Vogue included an Edie bag in a celeb-style roundup, and PR-gathered contacts proved helpful in securing a Barneys New York order. After that trifecta of success, the rest is history.
Flower by Edie Parker–fashion meets weed
The fashion world opened its arms to Edie Parker bags, and soon, the weed world would do the same. Her bags were often adorned with fruit, glitter, and other fun, femme touches. Heyman brings the same energy to Flower by Edie Parker with green daisy-printed rolling papers and realistic fruit ashtrays. Since the first accessories drop, the lines have only grown, including a range of price points that welcomes all income brackets.
In a volatile space with more luxury cannabis accessories brands entering all the time, expansion like that of Edie Parker is worth celebrating. Heyman attributes it to perseverance in her vision.
“We have been bringing products to market for the most demanding partners for over a decade. We have so much experience, positive and negative, to draw on,” Heyman explained. “I think, across all our categories, what is most important is a clear and consistent vision and knowing that you cannot be everything to everybody. Do what is authentic to you and your brand.”
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The original target Edie customers were stoner women, but has since grown beyond gender, welcoming all “smokers with style.” Now, the brand has grown into entirely new plant-touching categories.
Edie Parker hand-selects trustworthy partners that grow great weed in certain state markets. Obviously, the products are packaged in bright, striped boxes that hold jars of flower, vapes, and pre-rolls.
Curio Wellness manages the brand in Maryland, and Curaleaf serves as the purveyor in New Jersey. However, Heyman is most excited about their most recent market entry, which hits close to home.
“We just launched THC SKUs in our home state of New York, which has been a dream for the past few years. We have plans to enter at least six more states in 2024 and continue to develop new products across all categories,” Heyman noted.
Style meets substance where weed meets fashion
Stylish stoners know Edie Parker, even if the flower hasn’t reached their state yet. Every time a person pulls their lighter off their Burn Clutch and releases it to zoom back to the handbag, ears perk up nearby, waiting to exclaim: “I love your bag!”
From the jump, Heyman has been clear that the Edie Parker pieces are intentionally designed to bring surprise and delight, starting conversations as they enter a room. This vision drew celebrities to her handbags, and now it builds a conversational starting point for fashion-forward cannabis lovers in any room. These accessories are a beacon for like-minded stoners, fostering community. Maybe that is why Edie Parker doesn’t seem to miss.
