In honour of Canada Day, we are highlighting some talented Canadians in the Cannabis industry for the month of July. We appreciate all of what these artists, advocates, and innovators have contributed to cannabis culture, and we think you will too!
STUDIO BRIAR
I am a pyrography artist that has been focusing on this art form for over three years now. I have tried many different mediums and have found my love in pyrography; this is a process of creating art using heat and at times fire.
My work is all done freehand with no use of stencils or lasers so each piece is unique. My style is different to classic pyrography as I love high contrast pieces that is not seen as much in this medium. I consider my style a more modern version of pyrography that is atypical to the classic style most people use.
I have always found extra beauty in functional art which is why I have loved extending my product line with a variety of smoking accessories such as pipes, grinders and dugouts. Being able to display your accessory has always been important to me so creating a line of smoking accessories that people display with pride has been a dream come true.



Futo
Doug McGregor is the owner of a woodworking shop called Futo Manufacturing est. 2012, based in Brandon, Manitoba. Futo was started as a hobby in one corner of the garage. Working with wood was therapeutic, and was reminiscent of growing up around the family owned machine shop in the 80s.
Futo slowly grew every year. Live edge was a big deal, there was a lost art to wanting to make something from wood, and starting with an actual log. Learning how to mill raw material into usable boards took some practice, and led to unique and novel creations. Wild cherry and applewood were collected to create pipes, and live edge dugouts were made from last year's oak Logs.
Today the new Futo shop is 4000sq ft and located on the family owned 50 acre property, surrounded by nature in an aspen forest.. Everything made in the Candian shop starts from raw materials like exotic wood and involves some level cnc machining - and various skilled steps like fine finish sanding - and products include vaporizer cases, one hitter boxes/dugouts, rolling trays and all wood grinders.



Hi Guy Glass
Hi Guy Glass was founded in 1998 by Natalie and Guy Thomas but the story begins long before with Natalie’s Father Josef and his twin brother glassblowing in Europe. Working for UBC at the time, Josef transitioned to producing smoking pipes and hookahs and eventually left his position at UBC to open a retail store on Granville Island, Vancouver selling his art glass.
At the age of 15 , Natalie flew to Germany and completed a one year glass blowing apprenticeship with her uncle. After returning to Canada, Natalie continued working with her father creating art glass pieces and in 1987, she met Guy Thomas, who took a great interest in art glass. Within a few years of working alongside Josef for his family business, Guy was looking to expand his abilities. Guy discovered his true passion and began producing an array of art glass pieces and also experimenting in the creation of pipes and bongs.
Natalie and Guy married in 1996 and went on to establish Hi Guy Glass in 1998. Together they have been producing original, high quality, Canadian made glass pieces for the past 22 years.




Shenika Hamilton
Shenika Hamilton aka Sad Black Girl, is a self taught artist based in Toronto, Canada. Her purpose is to shed light on how crippling the societal and cultural expectations of being a black female are.
Mediums Sad Black Girl typically uses would be acrylic paint on any surface it’ll adhere to. She thoroughly enjoys using bright colors to tell dark stories, illustrating 2-dimensional cartoonish looking characters to express the emotional spectrum of her world.
All of her work is created with the intent of being received with light. In addition to her beautiful artwork, Shenika is also a valued member of the Friendly Stranger family.
Her Instagram handle is @_sadblackgirl_




Jonathan Hirsh
Jonathan's journey with recreational cannabis began in Toronto while studying improv at Second City as a teenager, but his medical journey started in 2005 in California while studying at California Institute of the Arts.
Jonathan has been a medical cannabis patient for well over a decade. Best known for his work @weedstagram416 on Instagram, he has been nominated for two Canadian Cannabis Awards- 'Influencer' of the Year and 'Cannabis Crusader'. As @Weedstagram416, Jonathan has been featured on LIFT’s list of top Instagram 'Influencers.'
Jonathan operates The Education Station, a company dedicated to spreading awareness of and information on safe cannabis use. From growing practices to making extracts and edibles, The Education Station covers every aspect of cannabis so that your first time consuming is as good as our instructor’s most recent. And finally Jonathan is currently part of the faculty at Centennial College where he teaches Cannabis in Society.
"Please check out weedstagram416.com for all my super fun merchandise! And I have art joint rolling kits launching very shortly and folks can always reach out at @weedstagram416 with any cannabis questions for the cannabis professor."


