What excites you about the cannabis industry?

Because the industry is still very young, the opportunity is incredibly exciting, not only in terms of business growth, but in terms of working with clients to build unique and custom projects. The technology is changing daily as well as the speed and sophistication of processes and best practices.

 What are the biggest challenges you face?

I always say that good designers get inside their client’s head and help them articulate that which they can’t do themselves on paper.  That means the future of dispensaries really depends on the experience our clients want their customers to have: do they want it to be a type of self-serve store or do they want it to feel more high-end and service-focused? Ultimately, I think you’re going to see both: groups that are interested in selling volume and groups that are interested in selling an experience.

We have to remember that, in Illinois, most of the dispensaries that were here seven years ago were medical and were focused more on satisfying the regulatory requirements than visual appeal. So, as a result, they ended up looking a lot like doctor’s offices. Our initial three projects were experiential and wellness focused.  Many others have followed that lead.  Going forward, I think it’s going to be very interesting to see how dispensaries evolve.

What are the biggest challenges facing your business?

The biggest obstacle we’re encountering is the challenge businesses everywhere are facing: supply chain issues as a result of the COVID pandemic. I’ve been in this business for more than 32 years and right now this environment is truly unprecedented, particularly as there is such a high demand for construction work, materials as well as labor.