The story of 420 Jars begins in the summer of 2003. At the time, Matt was a 24 year old software developer at Ticketmaster and his roommate, Gary, was a graphic designer for a small printing company. Gary came home from work one evening and began to tell Matt about an idea he had. He said they could offer custom printed jars to headshops with their name and logo. As they talked about it, the idea evolved into the guys creating their own designs on the jars.
They spent nine months on research, developing the 420 Jars brand and creating the designs for the jars. They built a website and launched on March 1st, 2004. During the first year, when the company was very small, Matt was still working fulltime for Ticketmaster and taking classes at Arizona State to finish his degree. In those days Gary and Matt spent most of their evenings and weekends working on this venture.
In May of 2005, Matt graduated from ASU with a degree in Journalism and his focus of study in Advertising & Strategic Media. At that point 420 Jars had grown large enough to demand his fulltime attention. Less than a week after graduation, he resigned from the job he had held for nearly five years and escaped that cubicle with a smile on his face.
2005 was a good year for 420 Jars. Sales grew exponentially from the previous year and the business moved from operating out of several rooms and the garage of Matt and Gary's house into a warehouse with 20' ceilings and enough open space to ride a pallet jack around like a scooter. During Christmas that year we made our first appearance in High Times. Their staff tested 420 Jars for their Holiday Gift Guide and gave us a glowing review.
By February of 2006 the time had come for Gary to leave his job at the printing company. With both of the guys able to dedicate their full attention to the business, 2006 was the year that 420 Jars became a nationally known brand. People were going to their local smoke shops and asking for 420 Jars by name. We were now advertising in High Times every month and 420 Jars was selected as the Official Stash Jar of the Cannabis Cup. In November, Matt and Gary flew to Amsterdam for the Cannabis Cup and sold a limited edition commemorative jar featuring the logo of the cup - artwork created by Alex Grey.
In February 2007, a big 420 Jar was featured on the cover of Heads Magazine. They've since switched to an online-only format and that was the last issue to ever be printed. It's too bad; Heads was a beautiful lifestyle publication that treated us well. In March of that year, we launched the Screw-Top line of 420 Jars. Not content with just one new product launch, the guys went shopping that summer and bought a little company called Weed-O-Scope.
In July, Matt and Gary changed the name to 420 Scope to better fit their brand. They decided to unite 420 Jars and 420 Scope under a new company called 420 Science. That fall the 420 Science team went to Amsterdam for the 20th annual Cannabis Cup. 420 Jars was once again the Official Stash Jar of the Cup and the 420 Scope was the "must-have" tool of the year for the judges since they were able to compare the trichomes of competing strains.
2008 brought the addition of the new Write & Erase jars on both the Classic and Screw-Top line of 420 Jars. You can write on them with a Sharpie and later erase with a wet cloth or rubbing alcohol. The "Hello, My Strain Is" design is proving to be one of our top-selling jars of all-time and every one comes with a Mini-Sharpie as an added bonus.
In January of 2009, Matt, Gary, Sarah (our Office Manager) and Brian (our Warehouse Manager) moved the business from Phoenix, AZ to Austin, TX. What a great town - it felt like home from the moment we arrived. It wasn't long before we hired three more employees to help with production as 420 Science continues to grow.
We've certainly had some milestone moments in 2009. In the spring, we sponsored the High Times Doobie Awards, right here in Austin and created custom jars for the event. In June we were part of the first annual THC Expo in Los Angeles with over 40,000 people in attendance.
In the summer, 420 Science was featured on the hit Showtime series Weeds. When the set decorator needed to stock the show's dispensary in a realistic fashion, he turned to us for help. We sent them over a hundred 420 Jars, some 420 Scopes, posters and stickers too. Our products appeared on five episodes and it was pretty cool to see 420 Science on one of our favorite television shows.
In the realm of new products, 2009 saw the introduction of our high-powered USB Microscope. It is one of the coolest tools out there and provides a lot of entertainment here at 420 Science. We also launched a line of amber-colored 420 Jars that block UV light, which can be harmful to your buds.
But the most important development of 2009 is our relationship with MPP. We're proud to have become a corporate supporter of the Marijuana Policy Project. This is the organization that is responsible for much of the progress that has been made in reforming marijuana laws in the United States. We're up to 13 medical marijuana states and counting! Visit www.mpp.org and donate $10 today - your support matters.
The future of 420 Science offers some exciting prospects. We like to keep things fresh and we're hard at work on new, innovative products that will be coming out in 2010. Join the 420 Science Club or follow us on Facebook to stay in the loop!