Sunday 2/28/21
On Sundays I reflect.
I did not drink alcohol this week. I don’t think I wrote an essay last week after my show because I was snowboarding and also too burnt out to work last Sunday. It was the first day in longer than I can remember that I did not step foot in the studio for even five minutes. It felt good!
But let’s talk about the show.
First and foremost, thank you all so much for your support! I was nervous about changing the format of the event to an online experience, and we have never had a more successful show! The VIP Zoom Room was a great way for me to connect with collectors who could not be at my studio this year, and Stephan Peirce joined to help me host. I could not have done it without him. My brother was also in the Zoom to assist with backend help and my parents created the Zoom Room because I am terrible at technology. Everything went as smooth as it could have, and the collectors were awesome to each other. A few times someone mentioned they wanted something and the others accommodated. I am so grateful for that! We are already discussing a summer edition of the Vail Cup Collectors Club this year!
Last week I woke up around 5am every day and worked until at least 10pm every night. My whole team went above and beyond to assist me with handling the endless things that came up so that we could be prepared for the show and then fulfill all orders promptly without confusion. We sold more than half of the work on the first night of the show last Saturday, which was over 40 cups! We still have some gems left from the show on the site, but don’t sleep as freshies are moving fast. Some of them will be available later today on my Instagram live feed for Sunday Specials so definitely tune in there as well.
After packing and shipping orders in the beginning of the week, we began the next resin casting project “Blue Ripple” for another client. This project requires countless hours of work just to prep, and we have been pouring resin and adding layers of glass trash almost daily to the piece. One morning we had to meet at the studio at 6am in order to stay on schedule. My team was thrilled about that. Overall this piece has felt like we have really dialed in the process, and each pour is better than the last. That doesn’t mean there haven’t been some hiccups along the way, but overall we are feeling great about this one.
The piece is called “Blue Ripple” and allowed us to really start exploring layering, which we did a bit on the last green piece “The Van Grow”. I can’t wait to see this one completed, and after my trip to LA next weekend we will begin the next piece which is untitled. It will be a purple/fire theme but that is all I know. These pieces can be stressful, but the reward when they are completed is completely worth the efforts. These are my favorite things I have ever created. Thank you to my team for supporting me through this project.
One of the VIP clients from the show decided to come out and see the studio and all the work in person. We had not met so we spent a few days hanging at the studio and got a few laps in on the hill at Vail together soon. I have been feeling very good on my snowboard lately and even got into a little cliff dropping lately. Don’t worry Mom, only one of them was huge and dangerous but I’m ok! The hill has been getting better every week as the snow fills in, and I am planning to get in a few more days on the hill before the season ends in April.
I think this was the most exhausting week of my life. Maybe it’s the combination of the past two weeks. This week I am taking it easy as we wrap up projects around the studio and on Friday I will be heading to LA for the Lifted Veil Gallery “Lifted Cups” show. I haven’t left the valley in months, and I think this will be a good reset for me to get out for a weekend, as well as being able to attend a cup show that I know will be incredible. I have a few meetings lined up while I am there and hope to see a few friends as well. I guess I can’t say this isn’t a work trip, but I am hoping that I can enjoy it like a vacation.
I will also be seeing my client The Little Glass Gallery to deliver his scoops from the VCCC when I am in LA and I am talking to his girlfriend Destiny Hope about setting up a photo shoot while I am there. Some people might call me a workaholic but I love what I do. I am passionate about the people we work with from artists to collectors to photographers and my team. I could not do this alone and I almost burnt out years ago trying. As time goes on the pieces feel like they are beginning to fall into place at the studio and with our company. I owe more thanks than I could mention for getting here.
If you are in SoCal and interested in delivery of anything in my inventory, please let me know this week. I would be happy to bring almost anything with me and drop it off in person to avoid shipping, though knock on wood we have had very few problems with shipping USPS ever. It just provides me with a piece of mind when I deliver art that I cannot have when pieces are floating through the mail. It also allows for me to connect with collectors in the real world and get off the internet which I appreciate.
Once again I have come to the time when I am feeling pressure to get to the studio and finish projects, but I hope you tune into my live stream today on Instagram to catch up and see what’s new at the studio. As always thanks for tuning in and for your support!
BB
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