Sunday Reflection: April 26, 2020
Sunday 4/26/20
On Sundays I reflect.
I didn’t drink alcohol this week. I didn’t even think about it, which is a good thing about being busy.
I want to start off this week’s essay by thanking everyone who made a purchase from Drinking Vessels this week. 420 was one of the highest sales in a single day I have had since I started this business, and I am certain that the 42% off discount we offered site wide had something to do with it. The only bigger discount of the year is Black Friday. Among the pieces that found new homes this week, were a couple of my favorite decanters. I have sold three clear Dodecahedron Decanters from Scotty Mickle and this week the only primary colored model got scooped on super sale. You may have caught the video of the client spilling half a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label trying to fill it up. For those who missed it I will be sharing it again this week. Rest assured, no whiskey was wasted. He poured the tray full of spilled scotch into a cup and enjoyed it like any self respecting person would. Then in a large acquisition one of my top clients purchased the decanter set from Marcel and the Starship, made from borosilicate glass in a furnace using soft glass hot shop techniques. The green set featured an air trap reticello bottle and a set of four footed goblets created in classical style, with sealed hollow stems blown into a textured mold.
If you haven’t seen my high school intern’s illustrations, I must say you are missing out. Gibberz has been illustrating cups on stickers that get included with the cups she characterizes. Recently, I opened this project up to custom commissions which gives Gibberz something to do while stuck at home in quarantine (when she should be having a normal childhood finishing the second semester of her junior year). Her intent is to graduate and go to college for character animation. In addition to practicing her illustrating skills, she then photoshops the image of the original cup next to her drawing. JCost has taught her some basic photoshop skills and she has picked some up at school. She also teaches herself from YouTube tutorials.
A number of people have already commissioned her and most have already received their custom stickers. Of these collectors, a number of Big Z collectors have chosen to participate, including Zach’s girlfriend Kayla, who ordered three stickers to put on her padded pelican case that stores her trio of Big Z cups. One of the collectors who ordered a sticker of his Z Cup owns a shop in Lincoln Nebraska and subsequently placed his first wholesale order with me for a fresh batch of cups ranging from stuff I made in the studio with Rob (@logglass) to solo work from my friend Blake Wingard (@glassbyblake). You will now be able to shop a selection of handmade drinkware at The Highest Cloud (@thehighestcoud9)
Social Distancing
Speaking of Blake, he stopped by the studio to borrow the lathe for a custom cup order he received. We practiced social distancing, but it was nice to see a friend. Our county has opened up a bit, while still maintaining severe limitations to gatherings and how spaces can operate. The strangest part about socializing in the modern state for me is not sharing a joint or a pipe, something I did not think twice about before. It was normal behavior for me to offer to any guest, and I caught myself wanting to offer to share with Blake a few times.
In the beginning of the week Reda came over for a photo shoot. She mainly operates out of my office while I stay in the main studio to avoid interaction. We also took precautions that never would have been considered before quarantine, but fortunately as she shoots each cup she wipes it down thoroughly with glass cleaner before returning it to the shelf. Those photo edits should be coming in soon and a few dozen new products will get uploaded onto the site. I am simultaneously preparing blog interviews with some new artists releasing work so stay tuned for those. The interview this week with JOP was one of my favorites I have featured on the site, and we have a lot more exciting folks coming up.
Since I sold out of collaborations with Rob, I have been trying to restock on those with him. I also got a fully worked collaboration with Ned (@nedglassman) into the kiln and photographed. I have a bit more of his prep for one more cup, and hope to get that made this week. You may have seen Ned’s first cup collaborations of his career recently with none other than SALT (@saltglass) that got scooped on my recent trip to LA. Before that Ned had never collaborated on cups, and the prep he sent me will be his third and fourth cup collabs in existence. I am honored to be able to create work with one of my favorite artists, and long time business associates. We still haven’t met, besides a few FaceTime calls but I hope after lockdown we can get some face to face time.
CUPDATE
The wizard Stephan (@stephan_peirce) whipped up some tumblers this week and I grabbed the pair of Star White and Jet Black encalmos. Those should be here soon but unfortunately didn’t make it in time for the photo shoot. I also couldn’t resist the urge to pick up a cup I have been waiting on for quite some time; a collaborative mug from SALT and N8 (@nathan_miers) that you can see tomorrow on Mug Monday.
We got photos of the fresh batch from Nikolai (@taffythegrey) and Adam (@egonglass) two artists who switch between furnace glass and borosilicate. Some of both of their work presold and that which remains will be listed as soon as we get photo edits. I am working on blog interviews with both artists so definitely sign up for our email list for the first look at those and the special deals that come along with them.
I’m almost sold out of Ed Wolfe (@edwolfesgotglass) mugs and tumblers but they are working on a batch for me between the rest of their orders. This will also include my first release of their pints, which I have never sold but got to see at their home in Oregon on my trip last October.
Other News
In other news, my new graphic design and digital media intern will be starting next month. These are areas where my skills are lacking but the brand is in need. I will introduce her soon in a blog interview and her first project will be painting a mural in the studio when she gets here. I have been a fan of her art for some time, and the timing and circumstances have lined up for her to help out this summer. I am very much looking forward to having some help again in order to keep bringing you the coolest cup content we can.
As always thanks for tuning in, and this week I would like to remind you not to ingest bleach or disinfectant in any way, shape, or form.
Thanks
BB
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