Girls Kick Ass: Q&A with Nicole Treantafel of Pirate Girl Designs

Kelly Doran

Every glass smoking pipe I’ve ever owned has been…ugly. Truly ugly. This past weekend I met Nicole Treantafel at TerrorCon, and my life will never be the same, in the best possible way. 

As I strolled by the booths, and a pink, jeweled, blinged-out weed Grinder caught my eye. 

“What’s this?” I wondered to myself. 

Taking a closer look at the booth, at the products displayed, It hit me: These were bowls, pipes, bongs and jars solely aimed toward women. It was like smoking for the first time; total elation. 

The idea made me gasp, "Why didn’t I think of that?!”

I ran my fingers over the smooth glass of the steamroller, which I ended up purchasing. It is a beautiful piece with multiple gems and glitter. When I use it, I feel ladylike! I feel like a pretty girl, smoking pretty things out of pretty things! I was lucky enough to be able to conduct an interview with the creator of Pirate Girl Designs, and the smoking accessory line that is appropriately named Dank Dolls. 

Here’s what Miss Treantafel had to say:

How did you come up with the idea of Pirate Girl Designs?

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I started Pirate Girl because I knew I wanted to be my own boss and earn my own living as opposed to a traditional job. We started out as an Etsy shop that sold upcycled t-shirts and pipe pouches, and have evolved into a clothing line and separate smoking accessory line called Dank Doll.

What made you want to start constructing pieces geared toward women?

I was actually working for a smoke shop and noticed all the pink pieces (the very few that they carried) always sold quickly. Everything else was masculine looking. So I started decorating grinders and pipes to make them girly and they were a hit. It's something that most people have never seen before.

Tell me more about the clothing line.

The clothing line started out as mostly DIY t-shirt tops and sweatshirts. At the moment, we’re moving towards adding alternative and subculture tops, leggings and accessories.

What are the future plans for Pirate Girl Designs? What's next?

I would love to continue doing shows and festivals. The vibe is always fun and I love meeting and talking with my customers. It's also a great way to tell people about our online shops to increase traffic.


What do your parents think of your work?

My parents are very proud of the fact that I've taken risks and put myself out there order to be successful in life. My father definitely doesn't brag about my smoking line like he does my clothing. But no one can deny the cultural shift in our attitude about smoking.

Is this your passion?

I have a lot of passions but making things look more pleasing and beautiful is always something I've enjoyed. There's nothing like the feeling you get when you stand back and look at something you've just made, and just love what you see!

What is the one thing you would like to tell people about your Brand?

Pirate Girl Designs is all about not automatically conforming to mainstream ideas and fashions, and just being yourself and enjoying life!

There ya go, Folks, right from the Brains behind the Beauty. Check out Pirate Girl Designs on Facebook! What started out as an Etsy shop grew into this beautiful Monster. I hope to see Pirate Girl Designs and Dank Dolls grow for years to come. I’m calling on you, ladies, to support a fellow woman and truly enjoy your smoke. It’s High Time, a product like this existed, and I will never go back to smoking out of ugly things because now we have options. Best of luck to Pirate Girl Designs!

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