Upper Playground Stoked
How do you introduce a renowned streetwear label into the cannabis market while retaining it’s unique brand perception?
When the co-owner of Upper Playground approached me about starting a cannabis line under their house brand, it was an opportunity I couldn't refuse.
Since the late 1990s, the Bay Area streetwear brand has occupied an important place in the local culture and has successfully collaborated with numerous artists in the region, including Jeremy Fish, Estevan Oriol, and Sam Flores.
The vision for Upper Playground’s new “Stoked” line stays true to celebrating the artist by showcasing their work as part of its brand. And the aura of this streetwear label has always been about offering a premium product for those who wish to play on a higher ground. So collaborating with the finest cannabis growers from California with top Upper Playground artists was a natural extension to Upper Playground's offering.
Working closely together with the co-owner, we made every decision together, defining the overall look, to seasonal roll-out plans, to the packaging experience, to the late nights of putting marketing decks together. And we loved sweating over every little detail.
A slight modification to the iconic Walrus logo.
Upper Playground’s Select strain includes a limited-edition baseball card bearing the art of each artist as a collector’s item. Each seasonal release conveys a theme that the artist interprets as the key art for the packaging and baseball card. Sam Flores was invited to be our first artist.
