On Sundays I reflect.
I didn’t drink alcohol this week. It’s been a while since I quit.
It was a stressful week. The stress mainly came from my car breaking down, and fortunately it has been fixed since. My battery died, and the closest service is an hour away so I had to have it towed. It is basically impossible to operate where I live without a car, and so I relied on friends to get me around. This meant my schedule was not my own and this weekend I really felt that add up. There were many naps.
The highlight of the week for me was welcoming guest artist Nikolai @taffythegrey to make cups and collaborate. Niko is driving across the country and spent a few days throwing down in my studio. I have been selling his cups for some time now, but we had not yet met in person. We had a great time hanging out at the studio and I got some nice time on the torch. Unfortunately, our collaboration exploded in the final steps, but he plans to pass through again on his way back East in a few weeks and hopefully we will get a shot at redemption. It is always a terrible feeling to lose something you each spent hours working on, but that is the nature of the beast. The fresh stuff that did make it will be photographed and listed as soon as possible.
We got a chance to discuss and explore some new products he can make in the future, and to share techniques we each employ. He demonstrated his bench rollers that he produces and sells along with a brand new torch mount he will be releasing soon. He is in the process of developing a single sided “lathe” using all of these tools together, and overall his skills as a designer and problem solver are highly impressive.
I have been pretty good about keeping up with my workout routine, and after a lifetime of wearing a size medium shirt, I am starting to fit into a large. I can definitely see and feel progress now a few months into the routine. Admittedly it is challenging to self motivate, especially when not working out means staying in my bed another hour.
I am working with a glass artist from just up the road in Leadville who will be helping me with production for the Drinking Vessels product line moving forward. He has a lathe at his home studio and has been working on mine a bit as well. Hopefully within the next few weeks he can help me with the few production designs I want to release. The hope is that I am able to free up some of my time to focus on the more specialized projects when I do have time to get on the torch.
My good friend Des has been creating content for us in California. I can’t describe the feeling I get when she emails me her latest batch of pics every few days. Before now I have had to be involved in every photo shoot, planning outfits and cup pairings and booking models and photographers. Des has taken it into her own hands to shoot cups from a private collection with her friends and models we have found together across SoCal. Her pics are beyond impressive, and I am grateful to be working with friends that I can rely on to help me keep up with my brand’s growth. You can reach out to Des about booking her locally, sending her product, or even setting something up on her upcoming trip to Denver next month @desstinyhope.
While it has been hot up here this past week, it has also been beautiful. There have been sporadic showers of rain and everything outside is super lush. I am trying to take the time to appreciate and enjoy my surroundings. I am grateful to be here.
So many new cups this week that I have run out of shelf space.
Rob @logglass has been on a kick, making fresh cups almost daily. They sell fast but we finally have enough stocked up to get some photographed and listed on the website this week. He also made his third fully fumed mug this week that I can’t wait to show you!
Schmitz @schmitzglass sent me a big box of Graal cups he has been developing over the last few years. I am not going to say much more about those, but there will be a blog coming soon to tell you all about it.
Adam @egonglass sent me the largest box of cups I have ever received, costing over $100 for shipping. After a long unpacking process I can happily say they all made it safe and we will be photographing and restocking his work ASAP.
EWGG sent a restock of the Blue Fadez tumblers which I updated on the site and I am already waiting on more color varieties next week. These have by far been the best selling cups!
We got all the T-shirt colors listed on the site in a variety of sizes. That product has been different to upload due to the variety compared to the cups but I think we got it worked out. Grab one of our hand printed shirts off the site and we will include a free sticker pack as well!
So today I am off to enjoy one of my favorite hot springs. I have to remember to make time to get out in nature while the weather is nice. Before we know it winter will be coming back around the corner and hopefully that means the return of snowboard season, but we’ll see.
Until next week, thanks for tuning in. Stay safe and healthy out there, and if you want to chat about cups, hit me up!
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