Best Buds For Daze To Come
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooYwghLRa2c[/embedyt]
Meet Doreen Sullivan, the award-winning visionary, and CEO behind My Bud Vase™. As a brand strategist and master product developer, Sullivan has created one of the most respected luxury cannabis brands in the world today.
Sullivan entered the cannabis industry after gaining thirty years of experience as Founder and CEO of Post No Bills, an award-winning creative agency whose client list includes brands such as Disney, Dreamworks, ESPN, and the U.S. Olympic Committee.
After hard work and high success, her products have been featured on Forbes, Newsweek, High Times, and most recently, the T.V. Series Shrill starring Emmy Nominated actress Aidy Bryant. With the new “Friends” reunion around the corner, stock up on her latest pieces named after the infamous trio: Phoebe, Monica, and Rachel. These vases will be your best buds for daze to come.
To be blunt, we are absolutely INLOVE with Sullivan’s passion for authenticity and genuine ability to empower while creating a remarkable new ingenious outlet.
Learn more about Sullivan’s admirable passion for healing using cannabis and how she continues to shatter the grass ceiling with her unapologetic originality and heartfelt business acumen.
We were thrilled to sit down and chat with Doreen about her passions and amazing achievements…
Sydney: You’ve been at this for a while. When is it that you began the company, and what inspired you to start My Bud Vase?
Doreen: My original plan was to have a creative outlet for me. As a lifelong Cannabis consumer, I enjoyed the benefits of this plant and have relied on its ability to enhance my creativity. I started My Bud Vase as an artistic hobby to feed my creative soul and focus on something personal rather than corporate. In my first couple years all of my pieces were antique vases that I turned into one of a kind artisan vase bongs and loved every detail about them. As a woman in business and a woman who consumed cannabis, I felt the need to develop a female targeted lifestyle and consumption brand. My Bud Vase speaks to a higher calling, if you will. We raise the ritual of consuming this beautiful plant and in doing so we are normalizing cannabis in people’s homes and in their lives.
Sydney: How do you stay motivated and come up with new creative ideas in such a saturated industry?
Doreen: I’m a firm believer that there is art in everything and as a designer I can’t help but be inspired by everything around me all day long. However, there is much skill involved in designing products which has to do with creating trends, sourcing materials, and adding value through subtle details and a strong presentation. It’s these things that differentiate our products and make them so personable and memorable.
Sydney: We saw your piece featured on Shrill! Was this a surprise, do you have any big goals for the future?
Doreen: Being featured on the Hulu show, Shrill! was exciting and an unexpected surprise. Our Coyote vase, which won the top bong in Canada, made such a fabulous cameo as just a special vase–wink wink. It’s always rewarding for us to see our products in the hands of celebrities from Miley Cyrus to Martha Stewart. We can’t wait to see where our vases will pop up next. In fact, there are a few celebrities that we know have and love our pieces–now if they would only share one story post we could skyrocket to new highs.
Sydney: What are some challenges that have helped pave the way to such a loyal following (117k on IG)?
Doreen: Our social media presence has grown organically, thankfully. I think our vases speak for themselves. They are beautiful works of art, and they resonate with many different consumers who keep coming back to our Instagram to find which style best suits them. Once they receive our vases, they have so much fun creating content with them and we have so much fun sharing that content, it’s a beautiful thing!
Sydney: What has been the most rewarding part about starting My Bud Vase?
Doreen: The most rewarding part of starting this company in the cannabis space is all the people I’ve met along the way. The cannabis community is tribal, and we are everywhere. Since COVID, not as many people are sharing joints or glass, but for those who still pass the peace pipe, it can be a bonding experience, and that’s what I’ve found with My Bud Vase. A community like no other, bound by the plant and the healing she brings. I’m proud to be a part of that. I’m proud to bring beauty into the home, out of the closet, and onto the coffee table. That’s the only way the negative stigma will go away, to normalize the use of cannabis – and we are doing that through art and the meaningful stories surrounding each piece.
Sydney: One of my first memories of My Bud Vase is the stunning Eiffel Tower piece displayed in a Smoke Shop in Charleston. What are some of your favorite finds and why?
Doreen: The Eiffel Tower was a fun piece. It’s unique but who doesn’t love Paris and who hasn’t come home with a little Eiffel Tower to put on their side table? Ours is the same thing, invoking a memory, while enjoying your favorite flower. When you travel it’s natural to want to bring things home with you. That’s what I’ve done since the inception of the company. In my travels I’m always looking for vases that will have as much meaning for our followers as they do for me when I first see them – when I first fall in love with them. For me it’s the ultimate creating a buzz – in a beautiful way. Let’s just say my vase is half full, not half empty. May your bud vase overflow!
“The most rewarding part of starting this company in the cannabis space is all the people I’ve met along the way. The cannabis community is tribal and can be a bonding experience, and that’s what I’ve found with My Bud Vase. A community like no other, bound by the plant and the healing she brings. I’m proud to be a part of that. I’m proud to bring beauty into the home, out of the closet, and onto the coffee table. That’s the only way the negative stigma will go away, to normalize the use of cannabis – and we are doing that through art and the meaningful stories surrounding each piece.”
With that said, we had so much fun learning about Doreen and her artistry, that we took it a step further and created a gorgeous Editorial Story.
INLOVE creative team organized a photo shoot with gorgeous Jessica Markowski (Fashion Model and Influencer @Jessicamarkowski) who happened to fall in love with My Bud Vase, their artistry and spiritual meaning. The theme of the story took place at the famous and trendy Domino Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. A playground for local artists, photographers, and famous musicians like J. Balvin, El Puente CADRE and many more…
There’s a lot of history behind that location. Domino Park is built on the grounds of the former Domino Sugar Refinery, a site of incredible significance to the growth and development of Williamsburg and the entire Brooklyn waterfront. Dating back to 1856, the Domino Sugar Refinery was once the largest and most productive sugar refinery in the world. Domino Park is a tribute to the story of this site and is dedicated to the diversity and resiliency of generations of Domino workers, their families, and their neighborhood. So, this project is sweet as sugar, but salted with a lot of meaning!
Visit: https://mybudvase.com
IG: @mybudvase
Model : Jessica Markowski @jessicamarkowski
Creative Director/Stylist: Elena Vasilevsky @vasilevsky_elena_official
Photographer/Videographer: Hector Guajiro @photoartography_10
Makeup/Hair: @dinamake_up @disolebeauty
Words: Sydney Friedman
