The Wakarusa Music Festival is a grassroots festival nestled in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas where the beauty of nature synchronizes with the euphoric sounds of live music.

Wakarusa started in 2004 in Kansas, and has been in Arkansas for the past 5 years. Every year, more than 100 world-class artists come and perform in front of a beautiful backdrop provided by Mother Nature.

Many of our vendors will be there, including Grassroots California.

Find out more about Wakarusa by clicking on the image below. Let us know if you are planning to attend!

What do California, Colorado, Medical Marijuana, hats, hard work, and giving back to the community all have in common? The answer is a little company who thinks big: Grassroots California.

This is a company that literally started from a backpack and has grown into their own flagship store in downtown Denver, with their products now being carried in more than 180 stores worldwide. They have released their first exclusive clothing line, are coordinating their own 710 Cup, and have more than 46,000 Facebook fans, all in a measly four years.

Ryan Connolly aka Ruga Cons. Photo courtesy "An Interview With Grassroots California" on Vimeo by Zachary Walker.

The Man

It all began with this guy: Ryan a.k.a. Ruga Connolly, who started out in real estate finance and ended up as one of cannabis culture’s most unassuming heroes.

Ryan has lived in many different places throughout his life – DC, Michigan, Florida, Colorado, and California – but now calls Denver, Colorado, home. He graduated from the University of Colorado and then worked for three years in real estate finance, where he noticed an unsettling trend – people profiting from the new legalization of marijuana by leasing buildings or selling buildings for dispensaries and grow houses, but having nothing to do with marijuana itself. For Ryan, it was personal, as he was an MMJ patient himself after suffering pain from a traumatic surfing injury. How can you profit from MMJ without appreciating its benefits?

This question prompted Ryan’s vision to grow – a vision that involved spreading the word about the cannabis culture in California (where he lived at the time) through a documentary film. To help fund the film, Ryan and JP – GRC’s art director – designed a hat to sell. Ryan sold these hats out of his backpack on the Venice Beach boardwalk and to local dispensaries in the LA area. The hats sold out in two weeks.

After filming was underway, the cameraman was attacked and the camera was destroyed. Ryan was faced with a decision – buy a new camera or keep designing and selling hats. Since he had such an overwhelming response to the first hat, he chose hats.

Even though the documentary was never completed, it led to what is now an ever-expanding business that continually gives back to the community. From day one, GRC has donated back part of the proceeds of its sales to medical marijuana law reform (http://www.grassrootscalifornia.com/v1/FAQ_Index.html).

There’s really no telling how far this business will grow, with Ryan at the helm. His soft-spoken demeanor belies a sharp and no bullshit business acumen.  He essentially started a successful company in the marijuana industry without selling marijuana. Nothing stops him. When he wanted to sell hats, he asked for help. No one would make him a hat. So he said, “I’ll make my own.” When he wanted to get GRC into certain events, he was turned away because of their affiliation with marijuana. So he said, “We’ll start our own.” Read more about GRC’s next endeavor, The 710 Cup, below.

When asked, “Where do you want to go?” He responds, “This is just the starting point.”

Grassroots California's flagship store in Denver. Photo courtesy grassrootscalifornia.com.

The Shop

This is where all the magic happens: 2209 Larimer St, in the heart of Downtown Denver. The store opened officially to the public on 4/20/12, but there is way more to this space than a retail storefront.

This is truly a place where community blossoms. The large, lofty-feeling unit also includes living quarters for four people, GRC’s design studio, photography studio, shipping facility, inventory, and naturally, a “grilling and chilling station” out back. It is a fun place to visit, reminiscent of a co-op, but not in a granola-all-the-women-wear-skirts kind of way.

Up to the design studio. Photo courtesy Ruga Cons' Facebook profile.

The Hats

Now on to the hats. The essence of GRC can be found in their hats. All of their hats are collaborations with different artists, and tell stories through their designs, special liners, and sometimes even hidden messages. The team at GRC produced 300 new hats last year – that’s 300 NEW designs – and they are on track to produce about the same number this year.

It seems like they might run out of ideas eventually, but they keep cranking them out – colorful graphics including everything from scenes from nature, sports, every variation of the marijuana leaf imaginable, and state icons, to favorite food items like bacon and donuts.

shop.grassrootscalifornia.com

The Official 710 Cup poster. Courtesy The 710 Cup Facebook page.

The Cup

With 7/10 being the new secondary stoner holiday (if you turn the number 710 upside down, the word OIL is spelled out. Where 4/20 is a day to celebrate weed, 7/20 is a day to celebrate oils and concentrates), GRC felt it was only fitting to throw their own party. And this is not just any party, it is a grand event spanning three days and featuring 40+ bands and 10+ glass artists. Encompassing both entertainment and education, The 710 Cup – “A place and time where the glass and music scene unwind” – will take place in Denver, Colorado this summer from July 12-14, 2013.

The Film

While the film about California’s cannabis scene that spawned all of this has all but been abandoned, there could be a new one in the works (or at least the idea of it is percolating in Ryan’s head). He is thinking about making a film about The 710 Cup.

“The meaning of 710 only becomes clear when it’s turned upside down,” Ryan explains. “Well, my life’s turned upside down.” Not only is he managing the tremendous growth of his business, and coordinating an epic event, he is also getting married the same week as the Cup. But this is where Ryan seems most comfortable, where he finds his meaning.

And of course, he owes all of his and GRC’s success to their loyal friends and fans.

“When you start growing and get bigger, and people start seeing your hats everywhere, there are going to be a few haters. People who think you’ve sold out or outgrown the culture we’re representing. That’s not the case. I just wish everyone could come in to our shop and see what we’re all about. We’re still getting paid very minimal, we work hard, we live and work together in community. We are very thankful for all our true fans and friends who know who we are. We couldn’t have done any of this without them.”

Grassroots California hats are available for purchase at The Glass House TX. 

Have you guys seen our Glass Pipes?

We have an awesome selection, and it changes daily. Here is just a teaser:

Glass Pipes at The Glass House

Come visit us at one of our two Texas locations:

DALLAS LOCATION:

15203 Knoll Trail Dr. #119
Dallas, TX 75248
(972) 432-4846

LEWISVILLE LOCATION:

413 E Round Grove Rd. #103
Lewisville, TX 75067
(972) 315-2120

With summer coming swiftly, it’s natural that our attention might be starting to turn more towards our bodies. Yes, there’s the desire to look good in a swimsuit, but then there’s also our body’s natural urge to be healthy and have energy for all the activities that come with the season. Now is the perfect time for a cleanse, or detox.

Did you know that some nutritionists recommend that you cleanse four times a year?

Some benefits of cleansing regularly:

“Detoxifying the organs will prevent a buildup, reducing the chance that they will become sluggish or unable to detoxify the body fully, which may cause you to be more prone to liver ailments, gall or kidney stones and other chronic ailments. Body cleansing also improves the quality of blood, increasing the amount of oxygen and nutrients that are supplied to your organs. Cellulite and fat deposits are reduced because toxins are removed as opposed to being stored in fat cells.” - How Often Should You Use a Body Cleanse? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5434960_should-use-body-cleanse.html#ixzz2SXkHGhDf

At The Glass House TX we have discovered an awesome line of products that help boost the cleansing process: Detoxify. 

The Detoxify brand has a pretty cool line up of drinks for various types of cleanses. They are all all-natural and yes, they work! They each contain vitamins, minerals, and Detoxify’s proprietary blend of cleansing herbs.

“We know the body. We know the herbs that help cleanse the system. We know the cleansing process. And we use that expertise to make sure that every Detoxify Brand product gives you the maximum cleansing benefit.” – Detoxify

We would love to help you out on your path to becoming a cleaner, healthier, happier person. Call us at The Glass House TX with any questions about Detoxify.

Here’s an insurance check you can actually cash!

The ByeBottle is a bottle cap that fits onto pretty much any size or type of water bottle. It contains a proprietary blend of acidic components and enzymes inside the cap, and when you push the button, it liquefies everything in the container. This is the quickest, easiest and safest way to get rid of unwanted/unused pills, powders, plastic bags, etc.

This is an awesome product, not only for the safety of others but for your peace of mind.

Call us if you have any questions!

We all know how hard it is to find a boyfriend or girlfriend with a good personality AND good looks. But thankfully we CAN find both in our hemp bags.

Dime Bags – available at The Glass House – are super good looking and are made out of the highest quality materials, making their “personality” more than agreeable to us.

Dime Bags are made out of three different fabrics:

1. 100% HEMP (used on the exterior)
2. HEMPSTER hemp/polyester blend (also used on the exterior)
3. 100% organic cotton (used for the interior)

These three ingredients combined make Dime Bags one of the most environmentally-friendly bag lines on the market.

Since 2008, Dime Bags’ goal has been to create a fashionable, functional, high quality and eco-friendly HEMP bag line. They are well on their way!

When you hear the word “pulse”, what do you think of?

A pulse is an indicator of life, that a heart is beating.

The word pulse may also make you think about a heart racing. Things that are exciting make our hearts beat faster and blood pressure to rise.

This is the identity of Pulse Glass, a family of artists that create beautiful hand blown glass products that are exciting and may just cause a spike in your blood pressure when you see them and use them.

They say it best themselves: “It is impossible to ignore the gleam and shine of our exclusive real platinum labels, the expert craftsmanship, and the quality of the borosilicate German Schott glass. The percolators in our pipes are hand crafted in pain-staking, immense detail to maximize diffusion and function.”

It’s hard to believe that Pulse Glass started only three years ago in a garage in Southern California. Their innovation, commitment to quality, and their plain old-fashioned spunk are what have led to their continued success. Their line of products have won awards and they are constantly showing new pieces and accessories at events and shows all over the country.

Check out some of Pulse Glass’s work below and then come and visit us at The Glass House TX to get some for yourself.

You’ve got to experience the excitement of Pulse Glass.

Pulse Glass on Instagram – http://statigr.am/pulseglass

Products – Straight Tubes, Vapor Rigs, Double Showerhead Percs, Gridded Tongue Perc, Barrel Stemline Perc, Accessories