Meet Kathleen Briceno and Michael Castellanos of Functional china x Star Hustler

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathleen Briceno and Michael Castellanos.

Kathleen and Michael, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Michaels story: In 2013, shortly after being kicked out of a conservative college and moving back home to Covina, CA, I landed a job at the local thrift store. It was there that I first observed the staggering amount of unwanted vases and decanters being donated day by day.

These items that were at one point in time symbols of wealth and proudly displayed in business owner’s extravagant offices, now merely monopolize valuable shelf space only to collect dust and gawking looks. One fateful day I met a stunning crystal bourbon decanter, it looked at me from across the store atop a tall shelf, practically screaming: “Smoke with me.” And I obliged.

Growing up, I’ve always been crafty with my hands, so It was my duty to marry those skills with my marijuana infatuation. Satisfied with the outcome, I couldn’t help but create more. Repurposing these vases, giving them renewed life, became an important therapeutic artistic outlet for me and I spent the next few years refining my technique and selling my luxury pieces on craigslist or to friends, all the while never quite taking the potential business aspect seriously.

In 2017, I met Kathleen, who took an immediate interest in my work and encouraged me to massively expand upon it. Kathleen’s impeccable business ethics and networking magic was the missing puzzle piece needed to catapult the business. We shared what skills we have, and before too long we became the duo that we are today.

Kathleen’s story: I have always been into thrifting and curating vintage clothes and antiques. When Michael and I became friends, I was very inspired by his work and had offered to curate vintage glass and china for his collections. I then became friends with a man who runs an estate sales business and thrift store and became consumed with learning about antiques and vintage home decor throughout the 20th century.

After a while curating them wasn’t enough and I was compelled to test my natural artistic abilities, as I come from a long line of artists and creatives. Ever since I was a little girl, it had always been a dream of mine to get into glass blowing. This wasn’t as extreme, but I figured that if I could teach myself how to do it on my own, my dream of learning how to glass blow wouldn’t be too far fetched.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I had been ailed with a serious illness, and post-traumatic stress disorder and needed an artistic outlet to aide in my healing. So I took a leap and learned how to skillfully craft my own pieces, only I had developed an obsession with collecting fine bone china pieces from England for my collections. I started with selling to friends during the Christmas season.

Then their friends started buying, and so on, and so forth. I had phoned my Godfather to catch up with him a couple of months prior, just before he was scheduled to have a lung transplant, he had always been a mentor to me in business and in life. He strongly encouraged me to take another leap and start a business out of it.

Soon after doing some research, I birthed Functional China and decided to continue my partnership with Star Hustler. (Michael Castellanos). I don’t think either of us would be here right now if it wasn’t our support for each other.

Functional china x Star Hustler – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Star Hustler and functional provides decadent smoking pipes recycled from elegant vases and liquor decanters. There has often been a negative stigma attached to recreational marijuana consumers. We carry eye drops, so no one sees our red eyes. We spray air fresheners to not smell like smoke. We hide away our pipes, our bongs, our bubblers, and with that, our identity.

The crystal liquor decanter was an answer to the alcohol consumer stigma. Ideas of the foolish drunkard passed out in an alley, replaced with the social elite sitting behind their solid oak desks and running empires, sipping on expensive liquors. Why not include the stoner CEOs of today?

Recycling these pieces not only re-purposes the unwanted glass but with it, we re-purpose the ideas behind the glass. All of our pieces and collections are hand-picked, curated, and handcrafted with love by us! The quality of our crafting is currently unmatched! And we’re always researching and finding ways to bring the highest quality vintage artisan, and one of a kind fully functioning decor into your home.

What sets us apart from our competitor www.mybudvase.com. Is that we generally use a 14-18mm glass on glass hardware for the delicate construction of our crafting, are opposed to flimsy slide stems, and we focus more on offering high-end vintage antique items as opposed to capitalizing on the more simple and mass produced wholesale market.

We also offer custom orders, so there is the option to turn your family heirlooms or vintage finds into something more useful and practical. We have also decided to make ourselves available for curating custom collections, based on color, style or to fit an aesthetic for weddings and events.

Functional china (Kathleen Briceno) has also just recently started curating a Vintage Japanese China collection, Mid Century modern collection, and Midcentury Art Deco collection to appeal to the different tastes, themes, and eras of home decor.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Watching a crowd surround your work in praise, or a customer excitedly posts videos of our pieces in use, will always leave us red, embarrassed, and grinning ear to ear.

Our team up with the Epic Vape company was a match made in heaven, and we have never felt more proud to see our work on their display.

We have also collaborated with up and coming mehndi artist Lisette Barajas from www.mehnditationhenna.com, @mehndi420 on IG. Who is the pioneer of adoring mehndi art onto bongs, pipes, and smoking accessories.

We have also been shouted out by @heytommychong on IG

And recently mentioned in the High Times Blog written by Gabriela Herstik

“The High Priestess: A Stoners guide to Pieces season.”

Pricing:

• Fine bone china $100-250
• Glass decanters $60-250
• Other items $40-80

Contact Info:

• Phone: 909-367-8797
• Email: functionalchina@gmail.com
• Instagram: @functionalchina @starhustler_

Image Credit:
@northdegreefilms

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.