We’re in the midst of a new era, one in which social media presentation has become real life experience. The internet offers cheap real estate where good, and bad, ideas can catch fire quickly. Exploration and experience in today’s age are only limited by one’s imagination. The creative duo behind Ladies of Paradise in Portland, Oregon, has broken through that barrier and brought a digital experience to life.
Jade Daniels and Harlee Case’s curated take on cannabis culture is a breath of fresh air in a world embracing the newly-legalized substance. Daniels and Case’s style is broadening perspectives and demystifying taboos. In creating a sense of cool alongside an open, inviting community, Ladies of Paradise is welcoming curious women to join the party and learn about cannabis products.
What Daniels and Case have built today all started on Instagram. Before Ladies of Paradise was focused on cannabis, Daniels was selling boho jewelry and vintage clothing on Etsy under the same name. Daniels and Case teamed up to highlight women in the cannabis industry via a highly-styled photoshoot. From that, a new idea for continued collaboration was born: a lifestyle content brand that blended their skills and interests.
Between Daniels’ styling and Case’s photography, the duo are at the center of a new wave of cannabis art direction. Their perfectly-clashing colors, empowered messaging and rocker sense of fun make weed look hip, not hippie. Ladies of Paradise’s Instagram, @ladiesofparadise, is a kaleidoscope of bright colors, quirky GIFs and trippy imagery that make cannabis fashionable.
As Daniels and Case took on more creative work with brands and publications, they needed a permanent photo studio. The large windows and ground floor of a studio space on Division Street inspired them to think beyond their current offerings, and in August 2018, Ladies of Paradise opened the doors on its first store.
The shop, in many ways, is a physical embodiment of the brand’s social media curation—a brilliant clash of emerald velvet, tropical wallpaper, metallic gold fixtures, leopard print pillows and disco balls. Ladies of Paradise hosts regular events and photoshoots, where the creative team leaves the store open to the public.
Racks of female-owned apparel brands dazzle in an array of colors and prints. Pipes take many forms—none of them what you’d expect. A yellow glass orb reflecting light with the delicacy of shifting water. A geometric pink tube captures the eye with the gesture of an 80s pop squiggle. A coiled snake sits like one of grandma’s knick-knacks on a green tile fixture. It isn’t until further inspection that you realize their function. These are objects meant to be left on the coffee table, not swept into a drawer when guests come over.
That’s exactly what Ladies of Paradise has executed perfectly. They hide nothing; there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Daniels and Case have created an open culture that invites exploration and expression around something that was once taboo. They’re breaking down the stigma by normalizing it through a fashionable lens. For Ladies of Paradise, progress is stepping out of one’s comfort zone to follow your own, true path.
This story first appeared in RANGE Magazine Issue 10, which is dedicated to the idea of progress. Get your hands on a copy HERE.
Images by Blake Gillies and Moriah Yex.
XX Rob Darmour
