Canadian glass artists need support to thrive amid flood of imported pipes and bongs
Just as there is an existential battle playing out in the retail cannabis market between the desire of Canadians to buy from licensed dispensaries and them wanting to continue paying black market prices, a similar pricing skirmish is simmering when it comes to glassware like pipes and bongs.
Consumers want to buy large, ornate and handcrafted pieces, but a flood of cheap, imported products in recent years has conditioned them to paying bargain-basement prices. That’s making it extremely difficult for Canadian glass artists to compete.
Alana Biffert, the owner and artisan behind WhirlClass Glass, based in Calgary, Alta., has been creating glassware for the last 20 years. She’s also been a consumer of cannabis throughout that time and, along with creating commissioned pieces that pay the bills, she also makes intricate pipes and bongs.
Once legalization happened in 2018, Biffert — and many other artists — began dedicating more time and effort pursing the once-underground side of the market. But, within a year, she started noticing what was once a trickle of ‘Made in China’ glassware soon became a torrent.