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Welcome to a new series where we sit down and chat with cool, influential and interesting people who have great taste, to hear about the products they love the most.
Verena von Pfetten wanted to create a platform for people who also smoke weed.
“We looked around and realized so much initially in cannabis was focused on people who defined themselves by the fact that they smoked weed. If you smoke weed, you were a stoner, or it was the most important thing about you,” Pfetten tells InsideHook.
Pfteen, along with her co-founder David Weiner, launched Gossamer in 2018. What started as a bi-annual print magazine has transformed into a cannabis lifestyle brand that sells its own products — including a best-selling CBD tincture for sleep.
“We wanted to really de-stigmatize that conversation and create something that we thought was a little more open-minded and interesting to someone who incorporates cannabis and, increasingly, other substances, whether that’s psychedelics or mushrooms, into their lives. And offer education and quality product and experiences, for that world.”
With 4/20 just around the corner, we chatted with the publication and brand’s co-founder about some of her favorite everyday items, including her must-have sleep aids, favorite chef-approved kitchen tool and — of course — a few very good cannabis-related products.
I have very dry skin and something I’ve realized over the last few years, and certainly as I get a little older, is that an oil cleanser is a must. Anything else is going to strip my skin a bit too much and cause me to break out. I think F. Miller’s products are just really beautifully made. They don’t irritate my skin and in general, I love supporting smaller and female-founded businesses that are making things on their own terms.
And I would say it makes a great gift. Skincare can be a tough thing to buy for people, but I think something like a cleansing oil, you can’t go wrong. It’s okay to pick this and gift it to someone, even if you don’t know what their skincare routine is.
This is the first product we ever launched. I am a terrible sleeper and have always struggled with it. I have no problem falling asleep, but have a tough time staying asleep. So Dusk is a lifesaver. I do not function without it. It is a high CBN sleep tincture. CBN is another cannabinoid. We’re all familiar with CBD and THC and probably kind of sick of them, but there are all these lesser cannabinoids that have different functions. It can impact our systems in different ways depending on the formulations, and CBN is a sedative cannabinoid. Dusk has high levels of CBN and was formulated with our science advisor, Dr. Alex Capano, who held the original and very first doctorate in comprehensive cannabinoid science in the country. So it’s effective, but also non-habit forming, which is an important thing that I like to emphasize, particularly for a sleep product.
I love the Loftie because of its white noise functionality, but also just the way it works as an alarm clock, and its lighting setup. It feels like the perfect mix of analog in terms of not using my phone, but thoughtful design and a good use of technology to allow me to sort of unplug and wake up, go to sleep and wake up in a more soothing way.
I was introduced to Coops by a friend. They’re a Boston-based company that makes these almost old-timey sundae sauces. They have a hot fudge and regular chocolate, but the salted caramel is out of this world. So this is always in my fridge. It’s also a fantastic hostess or dinner party gift. If you show up somewhere with salted caramel or hot fudge or, better yet, one of each, you’re gonna be a winner and the star of the show. Forget the wine. Bring two flavors of Coop’s and a pint of ice cream, and people will love you forever.
I love this ashtray because I think of it as the most versatile object, and that was very intentional when we made it. We wanted it to be something that you could have out that would look beautiful, that could be used as a key valet or jewelry storage, or just as an object on a shelf that looks beautiful but is also functional as an ashtray. There’s the lid so you can hide things, or maybe you didn’t clean it from the last time you used it so you have an ash or a roach in it, the lid helps make it look beautiful, but the lid also stacks underneath the base. So it creates an entirely separate form or visual object if you want to change things up and look at it differently. It was made in partnership with an incredible designer, Kickie Chudikova, an award-winning furniture, glass and object designer.
I know that there are probably far sexier pepper mills out there and far more expensive ones. But I am here to endorse the PepperMate Pepper Grinder Mill, which is truly the most efficient and easiest-to-use pepper mill I’ve ever tried. It’s also Jacques Pépin’s pepper mill of choice. So, if you follow him on Instagram or watch any of his old videos, he’s just the sweetest, most charming man in my mind, and he’s always using his PepperMate pepper mill. Anything good enough for Jacques Pépin in the kitchen is going to be good enough for me.
I have probably a collection of six different sleep masks at this point, but this is the one I use every single night. It’s nice to have an eye mask that sits well, doesn’t move overnight, and cups your eyes so that even if you open them, which I think just sometimes happens, again, as a reflex, you just wake up and your eyes open, it’s still dark. I feel like that’s the magic trick with eye masks. You need to make sure it stays in place and that if you open your eyes, it’s still, pitch black, because that’s how you can stay asleep or fall back to sleep easier.
These are not by Gossamer, but these are sold on the site. They’re by a brand called Pure Beauty, which is one of my personal favorite brands in the cannabis space. They sell regulated cannabis products in California and Michigan, but they also have now started selling hemp-derived products that are also psychoactive.
I think we’re seeing this proliferation of stuff that will get you high being sold on the internet. And people are like, wait a second, is this real? Is this legal? Is this bad quality? Can I buy this? Should I buy this? We have started selling a very curated selection of third-party brands on Gossamer that are making federally legal products that are hemp-derived.
So these pre-rolls are made with high hemp flower, actually almost 100% THCA. THCA is a precursor to THC, which is to say that in its natural form in the plant, it is non-intoxicating, but when it is burned or lit or heated, it actually converts into THC. So, the pre-rolls are purchasable, and they are hemp flower with high THCA, and then when you burn them, that THCA converts into THC, which is what gets you high.
Normally with dried mango, you get three good pieces and then one dud. It’s either, too sweet or tastes too dry and it’s the wrong texture. I don’t know what Nuts.com is doing or where they’re procuring their dried mango, but every single piece in this bag is the perfect texture, the perfect balance between sweet and sour and it’s nice and chewy. The only caveat, I will say, is I cannot keep it around me if I’m high because I will eat the entire bag.
I am obsessed with linen sheets and have been on the linen sheet train now since 2010. The first set I got was from Restoration Hardware, and I was like okay if I’m getting linen sheets, I gotta splurge. And they were great, but after a year, they started to disintegrate, and it was a really frustrating process. I got my first set of bed threads, I guess, two years ago now. It was the spring of 2022. And I can confirm that they are still, absolutely as good as they were the day I got them. I have not had to replace the fitted sheet.
I am prone to chapped lips, probably cause I wear a lot of lipstick and usually, long-wear red lipstick, which is great but ultimately a little bit drying. I don’t know what to say other than it really, really works. I put it on overnight and it just keeps my lips nice and soft and I never have to worry about it.
I love eating in bed, specifically on weekends. I really enjoy just, not getting out of bed for as long as possible. This Kinto Nonslip Tray is exactly what it sounds like it’s a very nice, beautiful-looking, wood-ish tray. But it’s Nonslip, so, stuff doesn’t go sliding around. Obviously, if you’re moving around, stuff is still gonna move or splash. But you can put a plate down on it, or you can put a mug down on it and have it next to you. So, I just find it is the safest, most aesthetically pleasing accessory for anyone who likes to eat or drink in their bed.
Reading is one way that I stay off my phone. I love books, but I will end up buying printed physical books and then end up reading them on my Kindle because of its portability. It’s very easy for me to throw a Kindle in a bag or even in a pocket and I can pull it out if I’m waiting in line. But the Libby App was just a game changer for me in terms of not spending North of $50 close to $100 on books every month and also being able to support libraries.
Violette launched this color in the fall, and I ordered it immediately, and it’s perfect. It is so, so, so bright, but it does not move. Every time I wear it, I get compliments.
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