Sunday 1/31/21

January 31, 2021

On Sundays I reflect.

I didn’t drink alcohol this week.

We’ve been getting snow so I’ve been getting on the hill. We need a lot more but the mountain is starting to fill in. My riding is getting a lot better now that I have good boots that fit and finally got my board waxed. I have a morning route I like to run at Vail, and I’ve been wrapping up by noon on the days I ride to get to the studio.

Today I’ll be getting on the hill day for a long day of riding since it dumped snow yesterday through the night. Hopefully the weekend crowds have left and the lines aren’t too long!

At the studio we have been working on a green marijuana themed resin casting featuring some pot leaves from my dude Vinscent Van Grow. We poured about four or five layers of resin, with rounds of sanding in between. We have been restoring a frame that should be mounted tomorrow on a box built for us by our neighbors Mountain Woodworking. We filled the box with layers of trash followed by resin to achieve the third piece in the series which I am titling “One Man’s Trash.” This particular piece is for a client in Austin Texas and we have at least three more commissions on deck.

Instead of blowing glass this week I spent all of my extra energy cleaning the studio and working on our expansion next door. Our neighbors Weston Backcountry have been shifting operations to Denver and no longer need the full unit next door. Since the end of last year we have been building a kitchen there for our studio and helping clear their stuff. Our kitchen is operating and we almost made enough space for a dining table. For now we did set up a couch and table and for the first time it is not blocked by boxes and other stuff.

I spent almost two full days with Marta and Taylor cleaning everything and reorganizing to find out that I might have a box hoarding problem. The girls made me take a car full of boxes to the recycling center to clear some space on our loft. I couldn’t have done it without them!

And the rest of my time this week was spent preparing for the Vail Cup Collectors Club which is coming up February 20. All of the artists on our lineup have been working on the latest batch of drinkware to be released in the show except for me. This week I have prep from friends for collaborations to be made for the show, which I have been slacking on. I have made some of my prep over the last few weeks but with February beginning it’s time to get into crush mode.

Yesterday I had a great chat with David Thomas Tao who has been contributing to our blog with content about whiskey. My brother found him a few months ago on Twitter and he has been able to share his unique perspective with us through a new column we are developing together. We got to know each other on the phone and discussed upcoming content which I am thrilled to share with you!

After the hill today I will head to the studio for some small projects and Sunday Specials.

Thanks for all of your support and enjoy your Sundays!