Vintage Glass for Grass

Some time ago, Doreen Sullivan picked up a beautiful Venetian vase on one of her antiquing outings and was inspired to repurpose it as a water pipe that would discreetly fit in with her home decor. “Products are more refined smoking lifestyle are rare一it’s an underserved market,” Sullivan says, “I wanted to create something that would appeal to an aesthetically savvy consumer一something discreet and nicely designed that didn’t scream ‘bong.”

Vintage vases and refined glass come in all shapes and sizes, and Sullivan broke many beautiful pieces before perfecting the art of repurposing these treasures into smoking implements. Her creations turned out to be wildly popular among her friends, and she soon saw that they appealed to all sorts of people who appreciate beautiful design. That’s when she realized she could turn her crafting into a business. Now Sullivan runs My Bud Vase, which offers everything from carefully selected pieces of Murano and Blenko art glass, to hand-thrown clay vessels, to the funky glass of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s, all turned into smokable art. Sullivan encourages her customers to appreciate the vintage nature of each piece and to embrace the slight imperfections from their previous lives. Each one is an original, retailing anywhere from $75 to $500.

“My pieces have personality,” Sullivan says. They come with flowers that help camouflage the bong and can also be used as pretty pokers to clear the residue. My Bud Vase pieces blend into any home’s decor一easily mistaken form a fabulous flea-market find, or a valuable vase that you inherited from a great-aunt. Visit dankstop.com