Saturday, December 27, 2014

Perfecting your craft.

I think we all, at some point, become inspired by others and their craft and find inspiration to dive into our own. It is inevitable that to be a crafty person, you seek and absorb stimulus from around you, what you seek, and sometimes from that which may have been unintended. I go in kicks - Fits of intense study and observation and eventually practice. I reserve a spot in my thinking chair often and surround myself with those articles of inspiration that fulfill my desire to engage in something creative.  Currently, my MacBook, the Toro Bravo cookbook, my Taylor guitar, and a residue of smoke salmon and cheddar knob in a small fiesta bowl litter my surrounding. Each of which has something to do with the fiercely creative mood I am in. Yesterday, I was able to find some walnut veneer to work into hangtags for Company 944, and in this morning's travel picked up 5 rounds of fir tree trunk that will play nicely into some form of retail POS. All in all, a wonderful weekend start mixed with the work I love and the inspiration I desire.

I had the extra special pleasure of taking my son to Tasty & Son's this week - Arguably the best restaurant on the planet (this week...) He tried something completely new - Chicken liver pate - and was marginally accepting but more likely not as impressed as the word liver means something somewhat negative to him. It's OK though, because he went out of his comfort zone and tried something new - something we can all take notice of and learn from. I loved the pate. It was the best damn pate I have ever had - made by a true artist who continues the pursuit of perfection of their craft.

Don't leave well enough alone. Continue to push yourself. Continue to explore and try new things. Turn things on their head, and back again, until the visual you see matches the abstract you were seeking. Get out of the comfort zone and try something ridiculous. It just might work.


Sunday, December 7, 2014

Last US Bag Publishes Company 944 Catalog

LUSB has presented the newest member of the family, Company 944. This line originates to support one effort - Job Creation. In our efforts to revitalize a portion of Skamania County that we occupy, we fell short. We were unable to sustain the plant operations we hoped for, and reengineered our efforts to build from the ground up. The results? Remain to be seen, but we are confident we'll hire 4 new FTE's in 2015...

www.company944.com

Take a look and see what we are up to...