There’s a fundamental paradox at the center of cannabis culture. I call it: the Grateful Dead problem. Allow me to explain.
In my formative years as a young cannabis enjoyer, I loved lighting up but balked at a lot of the aesthetic touchstones of cannabis culture. Swirly, colorful glassware, psychedelic tapestries, and hideous Grateful Dead merch were visually criminal and totally antithetical to the vibe I was trying to cultivate. I might even go so far as to say that I delayed trying weed due to its association with what I considered a very uncool aesthetic. (The paradox? The higher I get, the more weirded out I am by the 90s-head-shop aesthetic.) pen kits
The revelation that the Grateful Dead’s music was, in fact, a shockingly un-psychedelic homebrew of Americana traditions—and actually QUITE compatible with my sensibilities—would not come for years. The hippie hordes had obscured its merits.
I guess what I’m saying is that questionable aesthetics aren’t helping the cannabis cause. In 2024, people need better options when it comes to smokeware.
Enter NWTN, a company dedicated to “revolutionizing what function and form could mean to every smoke-friendly space.” NWTN combines an “evergreen passion for cannabis” with an “enduring admiration for classic houseware design,” and the results are fucking fantastique, if you’ll pardon my French.
Take the Deco gravity bong. Made of handblown borosilicate glass and available in amber, charcoal, emerald, or clear, this gorgeous piece evokes the “flawless feel of old-world opulence” (it’s giving Baccarat). Or the Vesper, which has a more modern, Tom Dixon vibe. Both gravity bongs come in four easy-to-clean pieces and, like all great works of design, are as functional as they are beautiful. (Side note: Gravity bongs will get you higher than hell. Did I get higher than I have ever been in my life off a gravity bong fashioned from a Gatorade bottle in college? Yes, yes I did.)
Besides glassware, NWTN also offers other tabletop accessories, like the Roseland Set. A gorgeous poured marble concrete ashtray complete with a brass rolling tool and a melamine rolling tray, this 2024 Global Innovation Awards finalist is the perfect smoke station to top your Japandi coffee table. It’s time to relegate your old In-N-Out tray to the car where it belongs.
In fact, scratch that—the Beacon Ashtray is your portable smoking solution now. A deep, portable ashtray with a stash spot for your lighter in the lid, this beaut is made to live permanently in your car’s cupholder. Stop ashing in your old Starby’s cold brew cups, you’re grossing us out.
Finally, adorn your trusty Bic with NWTN’s Old Pal Lighter Holder. Nothing classes up the joint like a dedicated lighter holder. Cast from marbled concrete in a sturdy, refined minimalist design that’s stable on your table and comfortable to use, the Old Pal will allow you to light up in style (without the hassle of fluid refills).
You’ve ditched the tapestries for better art. You’ve swapped the tie-dye for swaggier threads. You aren’t decorating your living room like a dorm room anymore—shouldn’t your choice of smoking accessories reflect that?
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