Ice Spice is being immortalized as a Chia Pet.
The “Munch” rapper’s own Chia Pet, in collaboration with Chicago-based lifestyle brand Living Product, is out now. In the Ice version of the terra cotta planter, the chia sprouts from Ice’s hair. The figurine is completed with her iced-out portrait chain and a pink hoodie.
"Like my lyrics say, 'I'm breakin' records and I'm breakin' news,'” the 23-year-old said in a statement. “I'm not sure who stole whose look, but I'm into it and am very excited about this fun partnership. Chia Pet is an iconic brand with a dope jingle—so we have that in common."
According to a press release, the brand’s goal was to rethink traditional items in a “playful and disruptive” manner.
JB Brode, the Owner/Founder of Living Product, spoke to Complex about the importance of "artists thinking outside the box with their merchandise" and how the Ice Spice Chia Pet came to be.
"My manager Tara is such a beast. She connected us to help design merch for Ice Spice," Bode said. "Ideating around that led us to this lightbulb moment like, ‘damn, an Ice Spice Chia Pet would be crazy.’ It started as just an idea for a graphic but we knew that the idea deserved its own moment. We pitched it to Spice’s team who graciously let us pursue the official collaboration with Chia, and many months and negotiations later here we are. It’s been a very educational process for us and we are so happy to see it come to life. The commercial really brought it full circle for us. Our guys at Pio Mio Studios executed our vision perfectly and it tied everything together beautifully."
Bode also spoke about Living Product and the ethos behind the brand.
"When I was a kid I struggled a lot with finding my identity until I realized that I found solace in product; creating, consuming, and studying it," Bode said. "Fashion and pop culture is what I was most passionate about but even things as small as the graphic packaging at the grocery store, or the nuances of a thrifted jacket excited me. Materialism is viewed in such a negative light, but for me it was really a saving grace and a reason to get up in the morning."
Bode continued, That’s where the idea for LIVING PRODUCT came from. Living for product. Living through product. Being products of our lived experiences. Having this realization allowed us to use it to create our ethos. Our product offering is disruptive and random, but we bring it all together in our attention to detail and storytelling. We take pride in being able to tie all of our seemingly unrelated ideas together into one narrative."
The Ice Spice Chia Pet is now available to purchase via Amazon.com and www.chia.com. It will also be on icespicemusic.com this Friday. Ice Spice will join Chia Pet’s pop culture-driven collection, which includes Star Wars, Willie Nelson, Bob Ross, Chucky, and more.
