How Did We Get Here?

Our story of how we found ourselves in retail cannabis design is probably a lot like yours. I love hearing why you got into the industry while on our design map sessions. More often than not, you or someone you love battled a condition and couldn’t find relief through the standard pharma out there. Maybe you helped them, did the all research, advocated for their health and eventually guided them through their journey with cannabis- and then your lightbulb fired on. You knew you could help other people and wanted to create a safe and trusted place where people can manage pain, reduce anxiety, get a good night sleep or simply just feel good again.

We feel exactly the same way.

We aren’t experts in cannabis products or pain management, that’s you. We are experts in interior design. Luxury interiors, high-end finishes, a perfect traffic pattern through your space. Merchandising for profit and shoppability and how to give your customers that WOW factor which keeps them coming back. Our team has been at the front lines of luxury residential interior design for decades. Press, awards, showcases, all of it. And we do love it.

We also love taking our expertise and applying it somewhere new that we can see needs a little love.

How Did We Get Here?

Sungrown Studio was actually born during Melanie’s, founder of Sungrown Studio, uneventful return flight from Boston to San Francisco after a long photoshoot at a residential client’s property. Often the best ideas don’t come from a boardroom. She was thinking about this giant gaping hole in the market. At the time, most dispensaries were the kind of place you want to get in and out of fast. Dark. Unsafe. Not customer focused and definitely not customer friendly. She knew she could take her love of design, color and art and apply it to a niche that could seriously use the help. Melanie’s values aligned perfectly with what she saw lacking in the industry. During that flight she created a beta website, a business plan in draft form and a growing excitement about what she would bring to the table in the cannabis industry. When you have something to say to the world there is no reason to wait.

A few years later, Melinda joined the Sungrown team. She comes from the Chicago area where cannabis was freshly legalized. She had lackluster shopping experiences as well and wanted to apply her critical design eye and project management skills. She saw how dispensary owners were trying to elevate their brand on their own, but had a hard time going up against the big players without a clear brand voice and plan. Melinda loves helping focus that voice through meticulously designed spaces.

Our team believes that retail cannabis interior design doesn’t have to kill your budget, can be done beautifully and within a reasonable timeline and serve the little guys going against the big guys. To be clear and upfront in everything we do was exactly what we wanted to create. These are still the main ingredients of our process today.

You may notice that we keep adding services, resources and additional support groups to our menu. This leads us to the “where will we be in 5 years” question.

Where Are We Going?

To really answer that, we need to think about the big question on everyone’s mind- What do we think the cannabis industry will be up to in the next 5 yrs. I really believe that when all states legalize (fingers crossed) , the stigma will shrink away and the industry will grow to areas we haven’t even seen yet. Sungrown Studio will excel in helping new license applicants secure their place in the industry through services that support their journey.

We want to be the go-to design firm for anyone opening a dispensary. Sungrown Studio will continue to flex and bend with the industry, learning from our clients as we go and leading the way in great design. Part of our joy is finding those niche voids and using our talents and creativity to serve our clients better. We are currently adding consumption lounge design to our menu. And we can see expanding globally in the next five years.

We frequently hear from people breaking into the industry that they don’t have the little black book of contacts they need, aren’t even sure where to go to find the answers they’re looking for when it comes to “the next step”. Currently we are working on ways to expand our resources past design and load our contact list with valuable partners who share our vision and goals and share them with you.