Sundae School explores how cannabis can be the catalyst for inner creativity

Sundae School is a New York-based design and cannabis lifestyle brand making a name for itself for its contemporary visualisation of the plant-based drug. The venture was established back in 2017 in a small corner of Seoul’s garment district, Dongdaemoon and was founded by Mia Park and Dae Lim. The brand (which also acts as a higher education institution) is a firm believer that cannabis can be the ultimate catalyst to maximise creative potential – all you need to access it is the right amount of “well-dosed experience” and information.

The brand started out as a passion project for Mia and Dae, working out of living rooms and hotel lobbies as a side project. Having no previous experience in design, for a year, the pair worked tirelessly to build up the fulfilling brand, teaching themselves as they went along and eventually quitting their day jobs to work full time on Sundae School. From there, the brand became a fashion label in New York, gathering together a strong community of “honour rollers” (hehe) and later launching its own cannabis line earlier this year which can now be found at MedMen and LACPG.

The collaborative duo’s latest endeavour was a poster exhibition in both New York and LA, aptly named 4:20 and curated by the brand’s creative director Phillip Lim. Featuring some It’s Nice That favourites including Offshore Studio, Joel Evey and Jae Ee (just to name a few), the exhibition elevates cannabis culture through contemporary design and fashion, and at the same time, exemplifies Sundae School as a creative hub for artists and designers. The idea for the show first arose from the question: “What do you think/do at 4:20 PM?”

Famously, as you probably already know, it’s a time of year (or day) where sparks are lit in copious amounts, and wafts of cannabis smoke fill parks, flats, cars and so on all over the world. But at the Sundae School studio, the question became a part of in-house banter among the team, sharing what 420 individually meant to each other. Ultimately, they became curious about what it also means for others; for both users and non-users. “From there,” continues Mia, “we reached out to 30 global artists and studios to hear their own interpretation of cannabis and its surrounding culture which resulted in this beautiful collaboration.”

Fundamentally celebrating cannabis lifestyle through a variety of dynamic designs by a myriad of diverse creatives, the exhibition (sadly just finished) was a buzzing display of posters, elevated through an ethos of enhancing creativity. Each design tells its own story through the hands of its designer, inspiring the viewer to explore one’s own relationship with, not only cannabis, but also ourselves. It’s a unique approach which allows its viewers to see the drug, amongst other ways of life, in a different way. The exhibition symbolises the movement of cannabis enlightenment, embodying individuals’ creative interpretations and above all showcasing that “cannabis can truly be a catalyst for the inner creativity inside us all.”