Beauty and the Bong
Tommy Stublaski creates a feast for the glassy-eyed with a focus on form.
23-year-old Tommy Stublaski, perhaps the most motivated pot-smoker I know, is working hard living the dream. He’s done a fabulous job, whether intentionally or not, creating a life for himself that merges not only his myriad hybrid skill sets but also his passions — namely weed and antiquing — into a singular gig. In fact, he’s currently doing quite well making vintage glassware bongs in none other than — yes — his parents’ basement. And by quite well, by the way, I mean it’s morphed into a financially stable, full-time operation called BongPop!
Tommy has always loved sifting through “junk” to find and eventually collect items of interest. In fact, growing up, he would go to rummage sales and thrift stores on a regular basis with his family. Since then, he’s begun curating his own niche collections including items like ceramic mask wall hangings, Japanese tchotchkes, and mid-century modern home decor.
As of late, however, he’s more laser-focused on finding unique antique glassware to help elevate and beautify the bong.
“I’m a huge pot smoker,” says Tommy. “It’s what got me through college,” he laughs. “But I’ve never owned a bong. A) they’re expensive, and B) I never saw one I liked enough to drop money on.”
So, he attempted to make bongs himself using found glassware with the ultimate goal of solving the “ugly bong” problem. And solve it, he did!
At first, he began to casually post his creations on Instagram where his friends could purchase his pieces, but then his following began to extend beyond his immediate contacts. In fact, it really exploded when a comedian in LA purchased and then tweeted some of Tommy’s bongs on her account, which essentially doubled BongPop’s following, truly heating things up.
During this time, I should mention, Tommy had decided against a more conventional full-time gig.
“You know, I don’t want to wake up at 8am every day and work 50 hours a week, and have to work on Saturdays sometimes, and burn myself out when I’m honestly making as much money doing my own thing.”
He was, however, freelancing at the time that things began growing, and was splitting his time evenly between graphic design projects and bong making. But when BongPop began gaining serious momentum, it just made sense to focus on it wholly. It was more lucrative, and he was having a lot of fun doing it. I mean, what’s better than being your own boss?
“It’s great because now I get to do everything l love about graphic design and marketing and also combine that with my love for antiquing,” he says. I get to go to Goodwill three times a week! That’s all I want to do!“
So, although Tommy was simply following his gut to solve a problem that interested him, his passions and hobbies along with his skills in graphic design, photography, art direction, curation, marketing, and entrepreneurship ultimately set the stage for a successful business.
“It was completely accidental, honestly. It felt almost like this was made for me in a way. All of my niche interests were colliding into one. I didn’t have a plan going in, but the ingredients were there, and I had enough of a vision even if I was [unknowingly] soft- launching.”
When Stars Align
I did have the pleasure of working with Tommy on his senior thesis project in the Fall of 2019. He designed and built a beautiful mid-century modern Tiki bar. It’s interesting to hear how this project helped nudge him toward being more aware of vintage glassware and barware. Just another one of those ingredients sneakily prepping him for what was to come.
“The [tiki] bar. That’s what I would say made me look into barware. A lot of my project was sourcing and illustrating stuff like that. I had an ashtray for that project. It just really drove me to look into that specific realm of glassware items.”
From design and illustration, to the considered curation, styling, and crafting of his thesis project, it’s clear that Tommy’s multiple skill sets coupled with an inarguably artful eye greatly contribute to the overall success of his current brand and business, BongPop.
Tommy stated he’s amazed at how much glassware he’s walked by and never looked at in his lifetime pre-BongPop. And he’s in awe of how much is thrown away, too. But that high turnover is a positive as he continues to source the perfect decanters to make his bongs. Plus, now he’s begun collecting glassware personally. He has all sorts of ashtrays and lamps made from glass adorning his space. It’s really extended his collection.
Although Tommy is quite content with the current state of his business, he does dream of one day opening a brick and mortar where bongs would only be one piece of a larger, highly curated antique store. But right now, he’s staying on track assisting people in feeling proud of their pastime by bringing undeniably stunning bongs to the living room table.
“I feel like so many people have to hide their smoke wares,” he says. “I think I’m beautifying something that’s taboo, and allowing people to feel more comfortable with sharing who they actually are rather than hiding it.“
To keep up with Tommy’s fabulous creations, you can follow him here. And buy quickly when he posts because most bongs sell out within 30 minutes! Somehow, I’m not surprised. :)
All images in this post are courtesy of Tommy Stublaski.
