ISSUES:
Zia and Tamu Stolbie grew up inside the film industry, first as young performers and now as savvy business women running a creative agency rooted firmly in the cannabis industry. They also produce small- and large-scale events, run an infused dinner series, and drive social media engagement and activations for new and legacy brands.
Zia and Tamu Stolbie grew up inside the film industry, first as young performers and now as savvy business women running a creative agency rooted firmly in the cannabis industry. They also produce small- and large-scale events, run an infused dinner series, and drive social media engagement and activations for new and legacy brands.
How did you become entrepreneurs in the cannabis space?
Zia: We’ve been in Vancouver for 11 years now and there’s a big film industry here, so that was our entry point. Tam was on an early cannabis show, before legalization, and that introduced us to a lot of who was behind the scenes in the community. One of our business partners now went on the show to talk about legalization—she’s a criminal defense lawyer—and what was about to happen from a legal standpoint. That got the conversation started and the cannabis industry in BC was so much more developed than anywhere else in Canada. The world we live in now came from all that. It was organic at first.
What kinds of stories are you looking to tell?
Tamu: Our main focus has been on showing the diversity and finding the full spectrum of individuals that can show cannabis and its possibilities to the public, whether that’s moms who consume, or people in our parent’s age bracket. We want to show cannabis culture through a different lens. Whatever we’re doing, our goal is to show the truth of the diversity. The lane shown through media before was such a narrow one.
Zia: For myself, I always look at the things I’m attracted to and the stuff that brings me resonance, then I think about what brings resonance to others. Seeing examples of lifestyles and things you want to see happen for yourself, but you couldn’t imagine it before or you didn’t know how to achieve it. Cannabis is so multifaceted and people are coming to it for a variety of reasons. We’ve been fed this idea of “stoner culture” but it’s such a small part of it all. So I look for that resonance and we try to tell stories that are authentic to those reasons and those people.
What are the challenges in telling those stories?Tamu: The regulations are a problem. It’s pretty challenging to sell anything, but especially cannabis, without showing or evoking a positive emotion. For a lot of people, that’s exactly what cannabis does for them. If you ask people, the answers they give you are, “it makes me feel good,” and “it makes me enjoy life more” and all these positive thing, but you aren’t allowed to show it. We love to translate that into the marketing we do, but it has to be creative.
Zia: It’s a battle between creative and compliance and still connecting with people on a level where they can really understand this plant and the uses for it. We’ve had to figure out how to actually do this within the framework—not just us, but as an industry. It’s not easy.
How has legalization affected the cannabis community where you are?Tamu: Our bubble in Vancouver is like a small town. A lot of these people have known each other, worked together and supported each other for decades. But there are a lot of new faces, like us—we came in later. And there are people on both the legacy and the legal side. It’s an interesting mix and it’s very unique in the world, because of how advanced the market has been here. For the first year, we would get told you have to pick a side and there was no way we’d be able to bridge the two. We didn’t see it that way and we’ve stayed in between. I’m happy to see that several years in, things have become more open. There’s less resistance to opening up the legal framework in BC, everyone just wants to see it done right. They are excited to move forward. They are excited for the possibilities. They are excited for craft and being able to visit grows. It just takes time.
How did you become entrepreneurs in the cannabis space?Zia: We’ve been in Vancouver for 11 years now and there’s a big film industry here, so that was our entry point. Tam was on an early cannabis show, before legalization, and that introduced us to a lot of who was behind the scenes in the community. One of our business partners now went on the show to talk about legalization—she’s a criminal defense lawyer—and what was about to happen from a legal standpoint. That got the conversation started and the cannabis industry in BC was so much more developed than anywhere else in Canada. The world we live in now came from all that. It was organic at first.
What kinds of stories are you looking to tell?Tamu: Our main focus has been on showing the diversity and finding the full spectrum of individuals that can show cannabis and its possibilities to the public, whether that’s moms who consume, or people in our parent’s age bracket. We want to show cannabis culture through a different lens. Whatever we’re doing, our goal is to show the truth of the diversity. The lane shown through media before was such a narrow one.
Zia: For myself, I always look at the things I’m attracted to and the stuff that brings me resonance, then I think about what brings resonance to others. Seeing examples of lifestyles and things you want to see happen for yourself, but you couldn’t imagine it before or you didn’t know how to achieve it. Cannabis is so multifaceted and people are coming to it for a variety of reasons. We’ve been fed this idea of “stoner culture” but it’s such a small part of it all. So I look for that resonance and we try to tell stories that are authentic to those reasons and those people.
What are the challenges in telling those stories?Tamu: The regulations are a problem. It’s pretty challenging to sell anything, but especially cannabis, without showing or evoking a positive emotion. For a lot of people, that’s exactly what cannabis does for them. If you ask people, the answers they give you are, “it makes me feel good,” and “it makes me enjoy life more” and all these positive thing, but you aren’t allowed to show it. We love to translate that into the marketing we do, but it has to be creative.
Zia: It’s a battle between creative and compliance and still connecting with people on a level where they can really understand this plant and the uses for it. We’ve had to figure out how to actually do this within the framework—not just us, but as an industry. It’s not easy.
How has legalization affected the cannabis community where you are?Tamu: Our bubble in Vancouver is like a small town. A lot of these people have known each other, worked together and supported each other for decades. But there are a lot of new faces, like us—we came in later. And there are people on both the legacy and the legal side. It’s an interesting mix and it’s very unique in the world, because of how advanced the market has been here. For the first year, we would get told you have to pick a side and there was no way we’d be able to bridge the two. We didn’t see it that way and we’ve stayed in between. I’m happy to see that several years in, things have become more open. There’s less resistance to opening up the legal framework in BC, everyone just wants to see it done right. They are excited to move forward. They are excited for the possibilities. They are excited for craft and being able to visit grows. It just takes time.
How did you become entrepreneurs in the cannabis space?Zia: We’ve been in Vancouver for 11 years now and there’s a big film industry here, so that was our entry point. Tam was on an early cannabis show, before legalization, and that introduced us to a lot of who was behind the scenes in the community. One of our business partners now went on the show to talk about legalization—she’s a criminal defense lawyer—and what was about to happen from a legal standpoint. That got the conversation started and the cannabis industry in BC was so much more developed than anywhere else in Canada. The world we live in now came from all that. It was organic at first.
What kinds of stories are you looking to tell?Tamu: Our main focus has been on showing the diversity and finding the full spectrum of individuals that can show cannabis and its possibilities to the public, whether that’s moms who consume, or people in our parent’s age bracket. We want to show cannabis culture through a different lens. Whatever we’re doing, our goal is to show the truth of the diversity. The lane shown through media before was such a narrow one.
Zia: For myself, I always look at the things I’m attracted to and the stuff that brings me resonance, then I think about what brings resonance to others. Seeing examples of lifestyles and things you want to see happen for yourself, but you couldn’t imagine it before or you didn’t know how to achieve it. Cannabis is so multifaceted and people are coming to it for a variety of reasons. We’ve been fed this idea of “stoner culture” but it’s such a small part of it all. So I look for that resonance and we try to tell stories that are authentic to those reasons and those people.
What are the challenges in telling those stories?Tamu: The regulations are a problem. It’s pretty challenging to sell anything, but especially cannabis, without showing or evoking a positive emotion. For a lot of people, that’s exactly what cannabis does for them. If you ask people, the answers they give you are, “it makes me feel good,” and “it makes me enjoy life more” and all these positive thing, but you aren’t allowed to show it. We love to translate that into the marketing we do, but it has to be creative.
Zia: It’s a battle between creative and compliance and still connecting with people on a level where they can really understand this plant and the uses for it. We’ve had to figure out how to actually do this within the framework—not just us, but as an industry. It’s not easy.
How has legalization affected the cannabis community where you are?Tamu: Our bubble in Vancouver is like a small town. A lot of these people have known each other, worked together and supported each other for decades. But there are a lot of new faces, like us—we came in later. And there are people on both the legacy and the legal side. It’s an interesting mix and it’s very unique in the world, because of how advanced the market has been here. For the first year, we would get told you have to pick a side and there was no way we’d be able to bridge the two. We didn’t see it that way and we’ve stayed in between. I’m happy to see that several years in, things have become more open. There’s less resistance to opening up the legal framework in BC, everyone just wants to see it done right. They are excited to move forward. They are excited for the possibilities. They are excited for craft and being able to visit grows. It just takes time.
Where do you want the industry to go?
Tamu: I’m hoping that, especially after COVID and the need for economic recovery, that lounges will be possible. That’s what a lot of people are looking for—the ability to actually have community-built spaces to consume. Not necessarily smoking lounges, but CBD lounges or other kinds of cannabis-friendly spaces. You can do those in different styles and ways that reflect different types of consumers, like we see in coffee shop culture or craft beer. That lifestyle component is so important.
Zia: I think the tourism landscape is going to explode. Things like consumption lounges and farmgates, which is basically the grow with a retail store at the front, like a winery. People can interact with the plant and the grows and the places where all of this is happening. Things like that will be a big game changer, especially in BC. It’s already starting and will keep evolving in a really beautiful way. And there are storytelling pieces there that haven’t been able to be prevalent. The more we can show that, the more understanding people will have and the more they’ll want to indulge a little.
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Where do you want the industry to go?
Tamu: I’m hoping that, especially after COVID and the need for economic recovery, that lounges will be possible. That’s what a lot of people are looking for—the ability to actually have community-built spaces to consume. Not necessarily smoking lounges, but CBD lounges or other kinds of cannabis-friendly spaces. You can do those in different styles and ways that reflect different types of consumers, like we see in coffee shop culture or craft beer. That lifestyle component is so important.
Zia: I think the tourism landscape is going to explode. Things like consumption lounges and farmgates, which is basically the grow with a retail store at the front, like a winery. People can interact with the plant and the grows and the places where all of this is happening. Things like that will be a big game changer, especially in BC. It’s already starting and will keep evolving in a really beautiful way. And there are storytelling pieces there that haven’t been able to be prevalent. The more we can show that, the more understanding people will have and the more they’ll want to indulge a little.
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Where do you want the industry to go?Tamu: I’m hoping that, especially after COVID and the need for economic recovery, that lounges will be possible. That’s what a lot of people are looking for—the ability to actually have community-built spaces to consume. Not necessarily smoking lounges, but CBD lounges or other kinds of cannabis-friendly spaces. You can do those in different styles and ways that reflect different types of consumers, like we see in coffee shop culture or craft beer. That lifestyle component is so important.
Zia: I think the tourism landscape is going to explode. Things like consumption lounges and farmgates, which is basically the grow with a retail store at the front, like a winery. People can interact with the plant and the grows and the places where all of this is happening. Things like that will be a big game changer, especially in BC. It’s already starting and will keep evolving in a really beautiful way. And there are storytelling pieces there that haven’t been able to be prevalent. The more we can show that, the more understanding people will have and the more they’ll want to indulge a little.
Stay in touch by subscribing to our newsletter:
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