CANNABIZ ENTREPRENEURS ► by Bill Cromwell , publisher
Artists Team Up to Break the Stigma
Bringing Positivity to The Industry and Patients
Two renowned Springfield , MO , artists team up to help change the archaic marijuana stigma . Artist Emily Million and her sister-in-law , Danielle Million , a photographer , decided to tackle this issue head-on through art . In February , they launched their new Baked Goods Creative Studio business .
Emily working on her wall mural at KCC ’ s Blue Springs location .
Not only did she create the cover art for this issue , but Emily Million was also featured in our May 2021 issue ( you can review it at
www . TheEvolutionMag . com ), which told the story about her amazing art gracing the walls of many Missouri dispensaries . In the May 2021 article , writer Clayton Stallings wrote in part , “ It wasn ’ t long after college that Emily landed a dream job of painting murals for Bass Pro Shops in 2013 . If you ’ ve been to a Bass Pro store , then you and millions of others have enjoyed the amazing wildlife scenery on nearly every wall inside . That wildlife scenery has made the Bass Pro Shops brand famous and attracts millions of tourists yearly . ‘ I ’ ve painted around 20 stores for them across the U . S . and Canada , plus murals in the Wonders of Wildlife Museum ,’ Emily said . ‘ I have no idea how many thousands of square feet I ’ ve painted for Bass Pro — A LOT ! I still do projects for them , but now , I ’ m really focusing my time and energy on cannabis projects .’”
A potion of Emily ’ s nautical wall mural at KCC ’ s Lotawana location .
Emily began making a name for herself within the Missouri Medical Cannabis Industry when she painted wall and ceiling murals for Old Route 66 in Springfield , Easy Mountain Dispensary in Republic , and all four Kansas City Cannabis Company dispensary locations , along with several other dispensaries . “ It took me a while to feel comfortable sharing my cannabis work because I was afraid of alienating some of my clients and audience ,” said Emily , “ but I realized that if I alienated people with my cannabis art , then maybe they weren ’ t really my people . The decision has brought so many more amazing people into my life !”
A self portrait of Danielle
Danielle Million owns and operates Unusual Imagery photography business in Springfield . Her work has been featured in multiple magazines , digital features , and art shows locally and throughout the country . “ I started doing photography when I was 19 for the completely wrong reasons ,” said Danielle . “ I wanted to do whatever photography was popular at the time and what could make me the most money . I slowly figured out that I didn ’ t like doing that . Once I found my niche and started specializing in portraits , fashion , working with the queer community , and more recently , cannabis product photography , it became a lot easier to grow and fall in love with making amazing images .”
Emily says , “ We love working with other creatives and come from a collaborative background and approach . Our goal with Baked Goods Creative Studio is to collaborate with and support other women and underrepresented communities in the cannabis space while providing inclusive and creative cannabis messaging .
“ While I ’ m beyond excited and honored to be part of Missouri ’ s developing cannabis market , I ’ ve been frustrated seeing a limited range of cannabis content and representation in the market – specifically when it comes to social media and branding . Rather than dwelling on that frustration , my sister-in-law , Danielle Million , and I decided to tackle this issue . The entire reason I began painting in the cannabis space was to create art that would welcome a broad audience — art that is fresh , engaging , educational , inviting . We saw that , like a lot of the art being produced in the space , it appealed to a small percentage of patients and wasn ’ t representative of their diverse backgrounds and experiences . We asked ourselves , ‘ How can we use our skills , talents , and experience to help shape our market and industry for the better ? How can we bring more collaboration , inclusivity , and diversity to the industry ?”’
Emily asked , “ Close your eyes and imagine the typical cannabis patient ? What do you see ? These questions were the genesis behind our new Baked Goods Creative Studio . What is Baked Goods ? We ’ re the anti- ‘ cool kids table ’ — and you can sit with us ! ‘ Get baked . Do good ’ is our motto , and our mission is to create engaging , inclusive , and artful content for the cannabis space while giving back to the community .”