When longtime Hollywood employees Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg launched their cannabis brand Houseplant in March 2021, it could have been just another well-known weed brand that used the resemblance of a famous smoker to sell a small range. goods – some contain THC and some do not.
However, a year later the houseplant seems to have become that little hustle and bustle that could bloom from three varieties of weeds and three household items (ceramic ashtray, a set of music from a vinyl box from three albums and a table lighter). into a full-scale lifestyle that includes 14 strains and enough well-designed weed-free goods to stylishly furnish a small home.
And that’s almost what the duo did by furnishing a small cottage-style house near Hollywood’s main street (they’d rather not divulge a specific location, but it’s close to their manufacturing company’s offices) in parts of their ever-expanding merchandise world, which is now includes table lamps, gravity bongs, tray kits and grinders, a lighter caddy in the shape of a dog by Rogen Zelda and a few shots from the ashtray. The space, which they dubbed the House of Houseplants, serves as a showcase for home goods and a combined area for parties and VIP space for events.
On the eve of the official opening last month, Goldberg and Rogen gave me a tour of the space and then sat down to talk about cannabis and creativity, the first year of their brand in the US (Houseplant first launched in Canada, where both men came from in 2019) and what lessons they endured along the way. The highlights of this conversation are below, and the full “Green Room” video can be viewed above.
What they learned over the last year
“We have new jars that are a little easier to open,” Rogen says when he removed the top from the metal canister during our conversation. “We learned one thing: it was a little harder to open our cans than people liked. … Almost every week we call the dispensaries that actually sell our weeds – Evan and I will join the builders and the people who work there, and we encourage them to give us feedback. They said a lot, “People love weeds. They are thrilled with it. But it’s a little harder to open than they prefer. ” And so we did it. “
The ashtray set, designed by Seth Rogen ($ 95), includes a bud vase on the left, a deep, cup-like ashtray and saucer, right in the foreground. Goldberg and Rogen believe this is one of the proposals that defines the brand of houseplants.
(Cody Long / Los Angeles Times)
On what their creation will stand the test of time
Goldberg and Rogen singled out Rogen’s three-part ceramic ashtray set, which includes a deep, cup-like ashtray with a mouth for resting the joint, a saucer and a bud vase. “This ashtray design is already strangely connected to me and our company,” Rogen says. “I think it will be close. And it’s amazing we’ve been making movies for 15 years and there’s nothing in it [those] movies where people are like, “It’s like Seth and Evan,” but this ashtray … I think will associate with us. And I think it’s a durable design that we really created. ”
About whether they are still having fun
“We’re having a lot of fun,” Goldberg says, pointing to the brand’s recent expansion into previous commercials, which eventually had to be folded by hand to meet their stringent standards. “Our big goal was to get to the pre-rolled seams,” he says.
“Now there are these pre-rolled joints,” Rogen adds. “And it kind of shows that we can do and plan things at the same time, that’s good to know – what you can do [that]. The fact that we are still here is incredibly encouraging for me. “
I do real things that people want in their homes. It’s an amazing, wonderful and new feeling.
“Seth Rogen.”
About the evolution of the brand
“It’s incredibly exciting,” Goldberg says. “It just keeps evolving. Like these pre-rolled joints are incredible. Then there are the drinks, and there are so many other things that will obviously come after those things. And so we are slowly but steadily expanding. It’s fun because there’s plenty of time to truly drown our teeth in everything, step by step without [going] too fast. I like the pace at which it is going. ”
“I do the real things people want in their homes,” Rogen adds. “It’s an amazing, wonderful and new feeling.”
About hemp and creativity
“We may be crazy thinking about what we smoke and when we smoke because we love to smoke weed. It helps us do our job. It helps us live our lives, ”Goldberg said. “And if we don’t work out the right strategy, it’s like going to Disneyland with a bad plan. Everything goes to hell and everyone cries. You might love Disneyland, but have a bad time, but if you really think about it and choose the right stamp at the right time, it makes a big difference, I think. ”
About what they could smoke while working on the Pineapple Express Stoner classic
“Back then, we didn’t live the enchanted life of cannabis,” Goldberg says, “so [it was] anything a dealer would sell us. ” He noted that the Northern Lights strain was popular at the time, making it a viable candidate. “There was also a Gold Champagne variety at the time,” Rogen adds. “And maybe Juicy Fruit too. There was a lot of Juicy Fruit. ”
About being a famous weed brand
“Any celebrity-based weed company has kind of higher standards that it has to meet in all respects because it’s being studied more carefully,” Rogen says. “And I think that’s what we really understand. And our grass should be phenomenal – better than you hope, and our joints should be better than you hope they will be. … If you order one of our products, it must be better than you hope, otherwise it will play into your fear of this company ”.
On what the cannabis brand and landscape will look like in a year
“We’re just starting to know what works and what we like to focus on,” Goldberg says. “We’re just starting the journey, so I say [it will look like] this house, but more developed.
“I think so too,” Rogen adds. “And hopefully the climate in America will be different then. I think we may be moving towards federal legalization. But as long as the climate is as it is, it’s an incredibly horrific and racist drug war in half the country, it will never be where it should be. “
On the responsibility of covering issues of social justice
“Because of ‘Responsibility’ we don’t think we want it, you know what I mean?” Says Rogen. “It’s part of our beliefs. It was part of the structure of the company when we created it. That was one of the things we talked about a lot. And when I came from Canada to America, I think we have a bit of an outsider’s view of how horribly unfair the climate around weeds is. And we feel able to help and possibly move the needle. We take it seriously. ”
