Cannabis for simpler times
Calla is for anyone who remembers their first time smoking weed and wishes for those simpler times. Legalization has done good in the world, from pushing money into medical research and better production practices to the widespread revolt against mass incarceration due to cannabis-related misdemeanors. While the good ol’ days of kicking back with friends and passing a joint for the pure joy of doing something devious are behind us, there will always be a moment of laughter and shoulder-shrugging among those who have been here since the beginning. Calla is about those roots.
In the words of one Calla creator and flir founder, Riley Starr, “it’s a connection back to a simpler time. It's simply the highest-quality flower, grown and harvested with care, and enjoyed the way most of us remember from the distant, and yet not-so-distant past.”
As an anxious person in his early 20’s, Starr says he let his fear of being judged get in the way or forming meaningful connections with others. “Among other things, cannabis helped me find a more relaxed and spontaneous side of myself. It showed me how to stop being my own harshest critic, and inhabit my own genuine self rather than the person I believed other people expected me to be,” he says. “It's made me a happier and more confident person and laid the foundation for many of my most lasting friendships.”
Angelina Blessed, another of Calla’s creators and founder of Blessed, says that Calla is the collision of three “dope legacy brands” —Blessed, Little Farma, and flir —under the Gallery Brands umbrella to create all things craft and cannabis.
As a Muaythai fighter who has spent 13 years training and fighting in Thailand and Canada, and the first Canadian female to fight Muaythai in China, she has built her company in alignment with the philosophy cannabis helped her solidify. Blessed advocates for rest and recovery, as much as it encourages athletes at any stage to strive for their best. “‘Train, treat, repeat’ is the mantra,” says Angelina. “Cannabis has affected my life by allowing me to continue with my training. It allowed me to get the rest I needed while I was injured, and to see how when I slowed my practice down, I could create more fluidity within the movement. Cannabis has given me a better insight to how my body works and to truly listen to what is happening inside of it.”
Calla is a nod to the growers who planted the seeds. It’s acknowledging the activists who set in motion a movement that is now backed by millions. It’s paying homage to the land where Calla grows—in beautiful British Columbia. It’s about knowing that the work to bring a plant out of the darkness and into the light is never done. It’s for the ones who want to see positive social change and legitimate financial opportunities as cannabis continues its transformation from an underworld product to a massive economic force.
“We've taken this humble plant and industrialized its production, extracted its essence, and broken it down into its component molecules. This has opened up incredible possibilities for what cannabis can be, and how it can help the sick and the broken,” says Starr. “But with everything happening so fast, it's easy to feel like the simple pleasures it offers are being forgotten.”
Calla is cannabis for all. For every mood, every scene, and everyone. Calla offers the perfect blend for the perfect moment—wherever and whatever that might be. Simply put, Calla pays homage to simpler times.
