Herbology x Stock Mfg.

Back in the halcyon days of 2019 - May to be exact - Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed the Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, aka the legalization of recreational marijuana in Illinois, to take effect on January 1st, 2020. While the signing of this bill came as no real surprise after years of lobbying and buildup, the quick seven month turnaround turned into a mad dash of planning, execution, hiring and problem solving.

Luckily, David Leung and his team at Grassroots Cannabis had already reached out to us several months earlier to begin the process of designing and creating custom uniforms for the budtenders at their upcoming Herbology dispensaries.

David already knew what I shared in my Sunnyside case study - namely, that there was so much money being poured into cannabis, dispensaries would have to distinguish themselves from the competition. The days of hanging a "dispensary" sign outside and watching the money pour in without resistance were soon to be gone. The major players would have to carve out distinct brand identities for themselves - which is why they reached out to us.

 We worked with the team at Grassroots to design and develop custom uniform pieces that would help elevate their spaces, and boost employee morale across the board. Using a proprietary blend of denim and hemp, we created two workwear-inspired pieces meant to evoke feelings of casualness, while still being very clearly intentional.

The hemp garments we developed were a version of our classic 4 pocket work shirt, as well as a brand-new jumpsuit for the females. A distinctly feminine piece with features meant to reflect the styling of the workshirts (contrast flap pocket beside our signature "workshirt" chest pocket).

We rounded the collection our with a custom illustrated chambray camp shirt. Drawn in house by Mike, our Creative Director, the camp shirt utilizes elements of the Herbology brand assets, thoughtfully arranged in a repeating pattern.

Each garment featured special touches, such as custom engraved buttons, custom labels, and folders tags.

While this uniform program has sadly fallen by by the wayside due to Herbology's acquisition by Curaleaf, this project remains one of our all-time favorites due to the cohesiveness, custom touches, and the rather daring design choices the Grassroots team allowed us to make.