Beyond the Leaf: Inside Lindsay French’s Elevated Vision of a True Cannabis Boutique

Most cannabis shops focus on selling. Few take the time to truly listen. At Hippie & French, it’s the opposite. People walk in feeling unsure or overwhelmed and walk out feeling like someone finally got them.

The woman behind the space is Lindsay French. She didn’t open this boutique in Pittsburgh to chase a trend. She opened it because cannabis changed her life. After a serious accident left her in chronic pain and cycling through prescription after prescription, she found real relief in cannabis. That experience became the reason she built a place where others could explore healing without judgment or pressure.

A Cannabis Boutique Rooted in Care

Hippie & French does not look or feel like a typical dispensary. Lindsay calls it a cannabis boutique, and that’s not just a marketing term. It reflects how she runs the shop, with care, professionalism, and purpose. Products are chosen with intention, often from small independent brands. There is no pressure to buy, no flashy displays, no one-size-fits-all approach. Just thoughtful recommendations and honest conversations.

The difference shows. Many customers come in with questions about anxiety, pain, sleep, or trauma. What they often find is not just a product, it’s support. And that’s what Lindsay cares about most. She is not selling cannabis to push a product. She is offering tools that might help someone feel a little better, a little more understood.

Putting People Over Profit

Lindsay knows exactly the kind of business she wants to build. She does not have to answer to investors or out-of-town executives. Every decision she makes is based on what’s best for her customers and her community, not just what makes the most money. That’s why she has turned down offers from big companies that didn’t share her values. Instead, she chooses to work with smaller brands that care about quality and doing things the right way.

It has not been easy. The cannabis world can be tough, especially when you are a small business trying to do things differently. On top of that, there is still a lot of stigma around cannabis, and being a woman in a space dominated by big money and big companies only adds to the pressure. But Lindsay did not start Hippie & French to follow the old playbook. She built it to offer something more honest, more thoughtful, and more real.

Lessons That Shaped the Mission

She admits to making mistakes along the way, but those lessons have helped shape Hippie & French into what it is now, a trusted part of the community. That trust does not come from perfect branding or tricky marketing. It comes from showing up, listening, and putting people first.

Lindsay knows what it feels like to be lost in a sea of options, to be afraid to ask questions or to feel like you don’t belong in the conversation. That’s why her focus is on education, not intimidation. Whether it’s someone walking through the door for the first time or someone who has tried everything else and is still looking for relief, they are met with compassion and honesty.

A Welcoming Place to Begin

What makes Hippie & French stand out is not just its cozy, welcoming vibe. It’s the heart behind it all. It’s in the way Lindsay talks openly about her own journey, about healing, and about how cannabis gave her a second chance at life. And it’s in the way she has stayed true to her mission, even when that meant taking the longer, harder road.

For anyone curious about cannabis, not just as a product, but as a path toward feeling better, Hippie & French offers something rare. A space to learn, to feel safe, and to be met exactly where you are. And behind that space is someone who has walked the hard road herself, and chose to light the way for others.