Evan Bliss Featured on Under the Microscope with Jenny Podcast

Studio Bliss founder and Design Director Evan Bliss recently appeared on the Under the Microscope with Jenny podcast, hosted by cannabis industry consultant Jenny Germano, to discuss one of the most important — and often overlooked — aspects of launching a cannabis business: facility design.

The conversation focused on how operators in emerging cannabis markets can set themselves up for success by making smarter design decisions early in the development process.

During the episode, Evan shared insights from designing cannabis facilities across 25+ states, covering common pitfalls operators face when planning cultivation sites, manufacturing facilities, and dispensaries.

Designing Cannabis Facilities for Long-Term Success

A key theme throughout the conversation was that cannabis operators frequently underestimate the complexity of designing compliant, efficient facilities.

Many assume their licensed canopy size determines the size of their building. In reality, cultivation facilities require significant additional space for dry rooms, trim areas, fertigation rooms, circulation paths, locker rooms, and other support areas.

As Evan explained during the interview:

“As a rough rule of thumb, we generally recommend canopy size times two and a half or three when determining the overall facility footprint.”

Proper planning at the design stage helps operators avoid costly mistakes later in permitting, construction, and operations.

Studio Bliss specializes in cannabis facility design for a wide range of project types including:

• Cultivation facilities

• Extraction and manufacturing labs

• Dispensaries and retail environments

• Consumption lounges

Each facility type presents unique regulatory, workflow, and infrastructure challenges that must be addressed before construction begins.

The Hidden Impact of Early Design Decisions

Another major takeaway from the discussion was how early design decisions can significantly impact long-term operational performance.

For cultivation facilities, environmental control is one of the most critical elements.

“HVAC is going to be up there because that’s what controls the environmental conditions in your rooms. The quality of the environment you create for the plants drives everything downstream.”

Properly engineered HVAC systems, utility planning, and workflow design can make the difference between a profitable operation and one constantly fighting inefficiencies.

Similarly, on the dispensary side, the conversation touched on common retail layout mistakes. One frequent issue is undersized vaults and storage areas.

Operators often prioritize large sales floors but underestimate the space required for inventory intake, storage, and compliance tracking systems like Metrc.

As Evan noted:

“I’ve never heard somebody say, ‘I wish I made the vault smaller.’ It’s always the other way around.”

Planning Ahead in Emerging Cannabis Markets

Emerging cannabis markets present unique opportunities for operators — but also new regulatory challenges.

The episode explored how working with experienced design professionals early in the process can help avoid costly setbacks related to permitting, utilities, building code compliance, and workflow design.

Studio Bliss often advises operators to engage architects and facility designers before signing a lease or purchasing property, allowing teams to evaluate utilities, building infrastructure, and layout feasibility ahead of time.

Listen to the Full Podcast

Evan’s full conversation with Jenny Germano covers a wide range of topics including:

• Designing cultivation facilities for scale

• Permitting and regulatory challenges across different states

• Workflow optimization for cannabis operations

• Infrastructure planning for manufacturing and extraction labs

• Common facility design mistakes operators should avoid

You can listen to the full episode of Under the Microscope with Jenny on major streaming platforms including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.