Custom Gifts in Wood, Poetry, and Steel
Our first items ever made where for a dear friends wedding, and everyone at the party kept coming up and asking me more about them. Then I made a handful to enter in an Art Show here in Bushwick Brooklyn, and when they were the only items in the show to sell,... I thought, "Wow, maybe people really like this!?"
That was the spark, then we tooled up, bought a vintage typewriter from 1949, repaired it, and suddenly we were in business! This company was created after a journal entry I wrote in a notebook years ago, :
I want collaborative work that is fulfilling.
Work that creates beauty and goodness in the world.
I desire a way to share that work in an interactive space. Meaning among different people. Work that affects the emotions, or mood of others.
I desire challenging work .. both in the body and in the mind. If the work is only challenging one way, how do I challenge myself otherwise?
I challenge myself by pushing my boundaries and moving beyond my comfort zone. If it doesn't feel scary there is little opportunity for growth.
Work should create strong hands. Increase resilience, and push the boundaries of my comfort.
I want to change the world in a practical way by changing the way people feel about their environments.
I welcome intensive training that will challenge the way I see the world and helps redefine my place in it.
I want to make.
I desire work that teaches me new skills, that stretches the edges of my understanding and expands my self and image of self.
My best personality traits are displayed when I engage with others. Pursue work that has the greatest opportunity for personal interactions.
There is an element of risk. Risk of failure, risk of physical exhaustion, risk of mental duress. Risk keeps the edges sharp.
I do not want my freedom to be limited by physical constraints. 'Stuff' is largely unnecessary. But I also like nice things, how to balance this while not compromising my freedom.
I desire to find my community. These are the people who naturally bring out my good qualities. Who celebrate, and who inspire me to create/live/view the world in a unique way. My community may also be my collaborators. (Thanks ETSY Team!)
I create things because I love the act of creation. I love to share with others. Love is my inspiration more than any other emotion. The final thing I make is less important to me than the love I feel while making it.
My work is an action. I operate in the realm of real, and true, in physical. Not in ideas or intangibles. My work has a sense of movement. Advancing, progressing, developing.
"I wonder what the purpose of visiting different places is though ... I was thinking today it could be to connect with yourself more ... And then to connect to others"
A mix of being a kid and being an adult.
What is my calling? The wild thrilling shout that brings out my voice? .. I must make. I make stuff. I make things happen.
Success is measured by what you give.
