Posts tagged creative innovators award

Point 88: Creative Innovator Award

Comments Off on Point 88: Creative Innovator Award read Awards & Recognition, Conference, Events, Features, Issue 88

Onetribe’s “Crystal Castle” Displays

Interview by Marina Pecorino

Onetribe’s award winning “Crystal Castle” display.
Jewelry by Alan Dumond of Origins Handmade

For the second year in a row, Jared Karnes of Onetribe took home the Creative Innovator Award. Last year it was the multidimensional “Topo” ear weight design. This year, the prize-winning pieces were the “Crystal Castle” displays. I, once again, had the honor of interviewing Jared about running a production queue based business in the piercing industry, and expanding horizons into working with a broader range of materials.

Marina Pecorino: In last year’s interview, you explained the metamorphosis your business made from having numerous employees across several continents, to a small, homebased, personal endeavor. Usually you hear of business models moving in the opposite direction. Can you tell us more about your vision for the future of Onetribe?

Jared Karnes: It’s been a wild ride. It’s easy to find a roadmap for growth, and I became accustomed to thinking about my business as something that  should  continuously  grow.  It was much more challenging to take a step back and decide to be dramatically smaller. Going forward, I’m very interested in play, agility, and unpredictability. I want to spend more time making because I love to do it and not because of a production queue. My sketchbooks need liberation! I will never stop making body jewelry, but I am less interested in being perceived as just a body jewelry company. I have been making a serious effort to explore new forms and use materials in new ways. Ceramic has been an exciting diversion and something I intend to spend a lot more time doing.

MP: I’ve been watching the development of the Crystal Castle displays on social media, and it has been fascinating. Can you explain the development process?

JK: I have always had a fascination with crystalline shapes. The unique facets of quartz crystals and the stacking of perfect pyrite cubes captivate me, but I found myself wondering what these shapes would look like in beautiful colors and textures. I wanted to see these shapes in coral, periwinkle, or sparkly matte black.

There’s been an explosion of body jewelry display options, and I have loved many of the unique shapes from display specific companies, but the use of wood does not inspire me. I thought ceramic would be a great challenge, and it can fit well with a high-end aesthetic for displaying precious metals and stones. Also, a bunch of my friends are making outrageously good ends and hinged rings, and I thought it would be rad to give that work a stage.

I started working with clay in January as a way to let my  hands and mind wander with a forgiving material and meditative process. After hand-making solid prototypes of crystal forms, I realized they were far too heavy to have around glass display cases. I decided to learn slip casting, which uses plaster molds and liquid clay “slip” to cast thin walled hollow objects. After teaching myself mold making and slip casting, I was able to finalize a process and select (or in some cases custom grind) quartz crystals in suitable shapes for single Cryst displays. The larger Crystal Castles are then hand built by modifying and attaching single cast crystals into a more massive structure which I fire as one piece.

MP: Has the result diverged from your original vision at all? What joys and challenges did you face along the way?

JK: They have manifested true to my original intent primarily because I used the crystals as a tool to learn ceramic processes. Early on in the project, I created a specific goal for the product that would require me to learn specific methods in order. It was a challenge to develop a product and processes in a new medium in a little over 90 days, but I enjoyed going for it. Watching something that was soft clay and gloppy liquid glaze transform into stone coated in a layer of glass is mind-boggling.

One of the hardest problems to solve was how to handle the bottoms of both the single Cryst and the Castles. I made several two and three-piece plaster molds that cast pieces with a solid base and a hole in the center. These were faster to cast and clean up, but the molds are more time consuming and fragile. This option also created more waste while building the Castles, limited my access to the interior for installing hardware, and prevented me from being able to adjust the angle of view. I went back to one piece open molds for most shapes and created a “pool” mold for casting a bottom onto each piece. With this additional step of adding the bottom last, I can trim the walls of a display and reduce the height or allow it to lean back for a better viewing angle in different kinds of display cases.

MP: How have you felt about working with these new mediums? What similarities and differences have you discovered that you didn’t expect?

JK: Clay is AMAZING. I never worked it in high school or art school, but it has long been an interest. I recently dug up some notes from a meeting with my employees in 2008; we were discussing options for ceramic in our industry. I started carving and polishing fired porcelain like a stone around 2012, but did not touch soft clay until this year. The profound differences in process and feel changed how I think about materials. Stone carving is both literally and figuratively abrasive. The hands take a lot of abuse, and the process is very loud. Clay is soft and nearly silent. It yields to the touch in a wet state, it maintains a memory of each contact with tool or hand, and it carves easily in a dry state. Through the process of introducing heat, it becomes a hard stone, made from the same essential elements as the stones I carve every day. Once I realized that working ceramic encompasses both this new soft character and the hard nature of the rocks I already work, I was hooked in a way that I did not expect.

MP: Do you have a favorite memory or story to share about this year’s Conference?

JK: My best memories from this year were the result of an unfortunate travel clustercuss. The airline canceled several of my flights, and my booth bag was incorrectly routed. I showed up to the Expo floor in Vegas with no jewelry or booth materials. Many people reached out to me to offer help or to check in and see how I was doing. I felt like I had a big community rooting for me, and that was wonderful. My bag eventually showed up, and all was well.

MP: Every time I walked by your booth this year, you had a small crowd. How has your vendor experience changed over time and in the new space?

JK: My first few years vending I was concerned about bringing a certain amount of product and meeting sales goals that I had set. My outlook overall has shifted, and my conference attendance is now far more rooted in teaching and learning. I am there to make money and create more opportunities for myself, but while doing that I want to see the evolution of our industry, build up newcomers, feel like I am part of a community, and be transparent about what I do and how I do it. Especially now that I am one person in a tiny workshop, the conference experience helps me feel connected to my customers and other makers in a way that the internet cannot replicate.

The new location made everything a little more tense than usual, but I liked it. The Expo floor worked well, and I think most enjoyed the location of the classes, Expo, and rooms relative to each other.

MP: If studios or individuals want to contact you about Onetribe products, what is the best way to reach you? Is there a current average turn-around time that can be expected, or does it vary from project to project?

JK: The shop is always open at onetribe.net and I can be reached directly via the contact form there. I am most active on Instagram and post daily production process and material eye candy @onetribejewelry.

Turn-around times vary wildly on a per-project basis. Products ordered on my site usually ship within 10-14 business days. Custom jewelry work is on average three to four weeks, with complex projects taking longer. Stocked displays ship within a few days, while custom display sets and Crystal Castles depend on all of the other workloads, but are worth the wait.

MP: Is there anything else you’d like to share with The Point readership?

JK: I was delighted to see so many young companies showing great work at Conference this year. While there are some pervasive style trends, I have seen quality from a lot of people who deserve the opportunity to show us how far they can go. I encourage everyone to support small makers whenever possible. This diversity of ideas and the growing culture of positivity over pettiness are hella exciting to see.

Point 84: Creative Innovator Award: Onetribe’s “Topo” Design

Comments Off on Point 84: Creative Innovator Award: Onetribe’s “Topo” Design read Awards & Recognition, Conference, Events, Features, Issue 84

by Marina Pecorino, The Point co-editor

Kaitlin Raison from Scarab Body Arts.
Photo by John Joyce.

Jared Karnes of Onetribe took home this year’s Creative Innovator Award for his “Topo” design ear weights. I had the pleasure of interviewing him about his customer-centric business model, love of metallurgy and gemology, and the design to manufacturing process.

Marina Pecorino: Tell us a little about the history and philosophy of Onetribe.

Jared Karnes: I started Onetribe at the end of 2002 after realizing there was an open niche for a retail store with a well organized, user-friendly website and jewelry more unique than what was available wholesale. I had been looking for personal jewelry and became frustrated with the selection of styles and materials, and how the industry seemed to be stuck in the 90’s concerning web best practices.

After several years of production in Indonesia, I set up a personal workshop to prototype, use new materials, and troubleshoot issues my artisans were having. This allowed me to teach new techniques and solutions to keep our production running smoothly. I had been coordinating design and sourcing materials for years, but the new direction of putting my hands on materials and troubleshooting processes became a turning point for both myself and the business. I fell in love with the meditative act of making, and particularly with the process and history behind creating artwork from stone. At its peak, Onetribe had many employees, products, and projects both at home and abroad. As I became more invested in making jewelry with my own hands, it was challenging to manage all of those things, and I began to let them go. My philosophy going forward is one of embracing simplicity and play. I intend to cultivate joy in myself and others by using my work to honor the time people spend changing their bodies.

MP: What was the inspiration behind the “Topo” design? What makes this design unique?

JK: Topo is inspired by mountains and rivers, and how we translate those environments into maps. I became obsessed with how to make a river valley with elevations and water that looked as if it was a three-dimensional section from a topographical map. It was also exciting to create something way outside of current body jewelry trends.

A few details that make Topo unique are the rear set stone, a hallmark of mine over the last few years, and the stone shape itself. The stone is tallest at the center of the valley and lowest toward the edges as it disappears into the background. This gives depth and helps reinforce the visual feel of a river. I put a lot of thought into how the design would appear from multiple angles and it is particularly well suited for my recent experimentation with doublets, laminations of two or more stones to create a new aesthetic. That process worked remarkably well for creating a water effect.

MP: Can you tell us about the development and manufacturing process for the “Topo” design? Approximately how many hours go into crafting one pair?

JK: Most of the work for a style like Topo happens before any metal is melted. The process  of refining a design from drawing to paper model, handmade metal model, 3D printed model, mold, and then final metal master took months and it’s still not finished. I’m redesigning the setting due to some production issues and that’s why  I only had a handful of pairs  for Conference. Because the bulk of the work is done up front, an estimate can be misleading. With that said, depending on whether it’s the small or large size, the hardness or difficulty   of the stone, and whether it is a solid stone or   a doublet, the stone carving process takes between one and four hours for a pair. The setting takes on average an hour and a half, and clean up about the same. This works out to between four and seven hours of hands-on time for each pair, not counting the pre-production work.

Topo in large size with Rutilated Quartz and Lapis doublets.

MP: Many of the items available from Onetribe are made to order and customized for the wearer. Can you explain your rationale for this business model?

JK: There are two reasons for this. The first is that I like things to fit correctly and be special for the customer. If I can easily accommodate sizing or aesthetic specifications, then that customer has helped create their own jewelry. The second reason is that it’s a risk making stock using time-consuming processes and materials where every cut is unique. I can make ten pairs of plugs or weights this week, and two or ten may sell. It may be a month before any sell. It takes a predictable income to run a business and make sure that bills get paid on time. Relying on the unpredictable nature of one person with the right aesthetic, size requirements, and budget to find and buy that one product is not a stable business model. That model is better suited to businesses who are buying wholesale or mass manufacturing.

There is a big caveat here, and it’s that running a standing production queue for years on end is mentally and physically tiring because there is always something due. Each order is paid in advance, and thus the queue is also a huge business liability. It’s not a perfect system and I have some ideas for refining it. I would like to move to more of a balance between stock and custom work and involve customers in selecting what styles, materials, sizes, and price points are stocked and available for immediate purchase.

MP: Your website says that you’re “perfectly content being nerds about beautiful woods and stones and coming up with new ways to make them wearable.” What is your favorite material to work with and why? What are some of the characteristics of the materials you choose?

JK: Choosing a single material has become difficult as I use stone in different ways beyond simple solid plugs. Recently I have been super into  searching  out  specific colors in stone. I get excited about combinations  of bright colors like Chrysoprase (think mineral-pool green) and Turkish Purple Jade. I also get weak in the knees for pastels, and I have been looking for rare colors like pale pink, peach, lavender, and cool grays in Botswana Agate. Nodular agates like Botswana are unique because they tend to occur in small pieces that look like eggs, and due to the exterior skin it’s not possible to tell what’s going on until it is cut. Searching for a specific color means cutting open many nodules to see what I’ve got to work with, and then narrowing down what’s useful now or inspiring for later. I cut down over 20 nodules to find the handful of small pastel pieces I used in a recent pair of my Moon hoops. I’ve started to think about stones as a palette and not just individual entities, and it’s opening up some exciting possibilities for future work.

MP: At the 2016 APP Conference & Expo, you took home the Creative Innovator Award for your “Ghost in the Shell” design. Did that win influence your submission for this year at all?

JK: It did! Up to that point, I had been mostly focusing on technical work such as new setting methods and modernized historical jewelry. Ghost in the Shell was one of the first designs to reflect my personal aesthetic. It is not ornate, but it has thoughtful attention to line quality and light play and huge personality when you pay attention. I actually did not plan to enter anything that year, but someone at Conference suggested I submit GitS while I was setting up my booth. Winning the Creative Innovator Award for that style was confirmation that my design aesthetic is valid and that I shouldn’t worry so much about what’s trending. I had no idea how Topo was going to be received this year but I decided if I am going to continue to try and do new things, I gotta go for it despite my insecurities.

MP: As a well-known and established jewelry company, do you have any words of wisdom you’d like to share with up-and-coming artisan jewelers in our industry?

JK: I’ll never forget Keith Alexander telling me right at the beginning of my business that it wasn’t worth it, because the industry was too saturated. I took this statement to mean “do it better, or there’s no reason to do it at all.” He may not have meant it that way, but a few years later he congratulated me on building something special and that made me very happy. I used to have the opinion that saturation is killing the jewelry industry, then I realized that a more accurate assessment is that saturation only happens when there’s little to get excited about. So please, make things! Bring it, but bring originality and do it well so we can all get hyped on creativity and innovation, and push ourselves and each other onward and upward.

Point 80: Creative Innovator Award

Comments Off on Point 80: Creative Innovator Award read Awards & Recognition, Conference, Events, Issue 80

Tether Jewelry & Other Couture for the “Olympica” Design

The Award winning Olympica design

At this year’s Exposition, Tether Jewelry & Other Couture won the Creative Innovator’s Award with their “Olympica” design. This design is available in yellow and rose gold, naked, and obsidian as part of Tether’s Noachis Terra collection. I had the opportunity to interview Paul Shinichi from Tether about this design and his experiences in the Expo.

Marina: This is your second year as a vendor at Conference. How were the two experiences different?

Tether Jewelry: It felt really good my second year to have studios and piercers come to our booth the first day specifically seeking us out, eager & excited to see the new collection. It makes me extremely happy knowing some- thing I designed is bringing someone joy and excitement when they wear it. It feels like I’m on the right path.

Last year I was so nervous, honestly now it is a giant blur. I made some rookie mistakes, but I definitely learned a lot! From a logistics standpoint, just knowing what to expect this year made it so much easier. We bring quite a bit of inventory to the Expo, so studios can take all the jewels home with them. This year, I had one person specifically handling all jewelry operations and that made everything smoother and quicker. Actually, I would like to shout out to my crew for making this year’s experience amazing. Eleni Evangelatos, Lilly O’Neill, and Sara Martin—y’all are magnificent!

Marina: You were awarded the Creative Innovator Award last year as well. How did that influence your submission in 2017?

Tether Jewelry: I really wanted to collaborate with someone for this year’s entry. Mike Knight, owner, designer, and jeweler for Other Couture, and I had been sharing little sneak peeks at what we had been working on in months previous. He is someone I have a lot of respect for, and he always pushes to do more innovative and detail oriented work, super inspiring stuff. So it just made sense to work together.

Paul Shinichi of Tether and Michael Knight of Other Couture were awarded the Creative Innovator Award. Photo by Autumn Swisher

Marina: Tell us about the Olympica design. What makes it so special?

Tether Jewelry: I’ve been wanting to design a large gauge hidden hinge ring for quite some time. I just thought ‘wouldn’t it be cool if it was one continuous design and you almost can’t figure out where the seam is, almost like a puzzle!?’ After many failed attempts, I finally got it. This design in particular had several iterations because steel is so difficult to work with, especially when you are casting it. What works in gold and silver might not work in steel. It’s a great design idea and I’m already planning more larger-gauge hidden-hinge concepts for next year!

Marina: Aside from the Olympica design, do you have a personal favorite in this year’s collection?

Tether Jewelry: I’m a big fan of the Vitae design. I’m actually wearing them right now. That’s one of the perks of being a designer, designing things for yourself! This design is a nod to my love of marquise cut stones.

Marina: Last year, we asked if you had words of wisdom to share with small manufacturers getting their start in the body modification industry. You answered to “plan for the long game.” Can you expand on that advice?

Tether Jewelry: I am the new guy and I’m still learning how to run this business the best that I can. However, I’m not new to the industry. I’m putting in the time to Tether, much like I did in my piercing career. You need to put in as much time as possible, and just make it work. It can be super challenging at times. I mean, I still drive for Uber on the weekends. Also, it’s not always about designing jewelry. It’s about learning the business side too. I read and listen to a crazy amount of entrepreneurial articles, books, and podcasts. I can make a pretty decent customized spreadsheet now!

The definition of success can vary dramatically from one artist to the next. For me it has changed and evolved over time.

The long game is complicated. Most makers don’t want to make production pieces or outsource and I completely understand why. The long game, in my opinion, rests on the success of brick and mortar studios. If more makers in our industry build interesting products that will sustain a reselling market it’s a win/win. I think there is a huge void in our industry of mid-range retail products that are well made, interesting, and made from steel alloys.

The biggest hurdle for me as a designer was switching my mindset from “I want to make the best quality, most bad-ass jewelry ever” to “I want to make well built, bad-ass jewelry, that studios can sell to a wider audience.”

Marina: Is there anything else you’d like to share with The Point readership?

Tether Jewelry: Do more 14 gauge piercings!

Point #64: Innovator’s Award Winner for Creative Innovation: Joe Amato – Skin Mechanics

Comments Off on Point #64: Innovator’s Award Winner for Creative Innovation: Joe Amato – Skin Mechanics read Conference, Events

Mike coonsInterview by Mike Coons

Joe Amato is a man who wears many hats: piercer and owner at No Hard Feelings Tattoo Gallery in Coral Springs, FL; Executive Director of DisgraceLanD Entertainment; Director of Skin Mechanics Suspensions; and owner/lead fabricator for Skin Mechanics Steelworks, which is the entity that brought us this year’s winner of the Creative Innovation Award.

Skin Mechanics Steelworks “Art Hook” line is a beautiful twist on the Gilson hook design. It fuses custom-shaped side plates (boat anchors with captain’s wheels and brass knuckles to name a few) with gems and tricked-out anodization to create something that is both aesthetically pleasing and still safe for human suspension.

As some of you know, Joe is a bit of an introvert, so as his friend and business partner (at DisGraceLanD Entertainment), I felt I would be able to get a little more out of him than some other interviewer. I sat down with Joe to hear his thoughts on winning this year’s Creative Innovations award, the future of Skin Mechanics, and the future of the suspension and piercing communities.

Point64-Award Winning Hooks 2Mike Coons: So tell us Joe, what are your thoughts on winning this year’s Creative Innovation Award at the APP Conference?
Joe Amato: My first thought now is, thank god we are doing this interview! I was so ecstatic at the banquet when they announced it that all I could do was smile, say thanks, and run back to my seat, so I left a lot unsaid.

I have so many thoughts; it is hard to pick one thing to say. I could say “thank you” all day long, because this is a huge team effort. It is no longer just me and a machine shop: in addition to Nicola Sands, Brandon Pearce, Joshua Fisher, and Nathan Mahle, there is the big team with Marc Gagneir and Jason Coale—of Painful Pleasures—who make our titanium pins. In fact, I owe these guys a lot. (They carry our entire line of hooks and rigs, and we are going to be selling the new art hooks and art rigs exclusively through their website). Both the Art Hooks and the Gilson Hooks are thanks to the collective effort of all these people.

But I still can’t believe this happened. Looking at my hooks in that showcase during Conference, it was hard to conceive of winning. My hooks were sitting next to my very inspirations; that was pretty cool.

MC: What was your inspiration for the new hook design?Point64-Award Winning Hooks 3
JA: I was in the workshop, playing with a chrome-plated 12-point bolt that I had to buy to make a hook with, and I decided I wanted to do special editions of really cool artsy hooks. Some I would always offer, and some I would do like 5-pairs of and that would be it.

I thought about Jimmy Buddha’s jewelry while we were making it . I love his large gemmed jewelry and his style, and I was inspired to find big crystals to put into some fresh, new designs.

We got right to drawing. That night we drafted up 6 new hooks, and in two weeks they were assembled and in my hands. I could hardly believe we got them done so fast, but the work was so exciting we went non-stop.

MC: Suspension hook design has primarily stuck to functionality over form. Why go the other direction?
JA: Even from the start (with the rigs) I have always wanted to make functional art. We have spent years working on function, manufacturing processes, new finishes, and making the rigs more artistic, but the hooks still felt like parts. It was time. This idea will give us something new and fun to make, and add to the art of suspension. Not to mention that there are a lot of people doing suspension photo shoots, and I think this can add a lot to that too. The possibilities are so exciting—and almost endless—from the variety of materials I can use to the different plating, anodization, overlay, and customization options; this idea has a long way to grow.

Point64-Award Winning Hooks 4MC: What else does Skin Mechanics produce?
JA: We make a lot of suspension gear—almost 30 different suspension rig plates, and all are available in many finishes plus anodizing options. There are custom rig plates, Gilson hooks and wrenches (these are also available in three finishes and two different materials), and now there are the art hooks and even our own cord.

But we are a growing job shop at heart; it’s not just suspension gear. We make arcade cabinets and parts for them. We make a single-player, arcade-style controller that works on PS3, Xbox 360 and even retro systems. We make a lot of parts for other people, too. Some are completely finished, from bottle openers to—one my favorites—a sewing jig for a CNC sewing machine that makes Ballistics Body Armor…we make whatever comes up really.

My favorite part about what we make is that we do almost everything in house. We get to play with the processes and be artistic with them as opposed to outsourcing, where you would never gain that experience nor would you have the control to do custom work.

Who knows what type of stuff we’ll make in the future; I don’t want to limit myself on what I make, because I never imagined I would be making most of the things I am now, and I love new projects.

MC: Let’s shift gears here for a second. What are your thoughts on the suspension community as a whole?
JA: It is growing so much on every level: acceptance is greater, shows are getting better. Events like Dallas SusCon have evolved and education is huge deal right now. With all the people working hard to make it so, the suspension community is growing quickly, and safely, and I couldn’t be happier. Suspension is evolving too, the huge regional groups are still there, but there are a lot of smaller local groups now, so a lot more people are getting involved on that end.

MC: Where do you see suspension going, and what’s your place in its future?
JA: Just like the progression we have seen with tattoo and piercing shops—people go from apprentice to artist to opening a shop—in the suspension community they go from member to team leader to starting a group of their own.

This is a good thing for suspension. The information is there and everyone wants to share it with you. There are events based around learning, and many people that never would have will suspend because of it. Members of groups all over will start new groups, and in time, this cycle will start over again. It’s awesome to watch because even as old as suspension is, it is still so new.Point64-Award Winning Hooks

Being a supplier to the groups, I may have a unique view of this. Since September—when I announced a wholesale offer to groups—I have sent out more hooks than every year previous combined. I have spoken with so many new groups, and got them safe stuff to work with. I have also helped existing groups get more gear, which was the hope with the wholesale program in the first place.

So where do I see myself in it’s future? Well, I hope that trend stays true. As this grows, we have grown with it. There is so much ground left to cover, so many areas untouched, and so much left to innovate. Suspension is the creative love of my life, so I just hope I can keep being creative with it as long as this world will let me.

MC: It sometimes gets overlooked, but you are also an accomplished body piercer. How are things at the shop these days?
JA: Things at the shop are great. No Hard Feelings Tattoo And Piercing is the best we have ever been. We are big team, so there is always a lot of people and good vibes going around the place. There are seven tattooists, two counter people, and four piercers—Nicola, Brandon, Josh, and I—so there is a cool dynamic that I really enjoy, especially since I am used to being the only piercer at a shop.

MC: How do you find time to pierce with everything you have going on?
JA: I work seven days a week to try to fit it all in. I work weekdays at the waterjet and do steelworks at night, or visa/versa. This leaves weekends for the shop (and piercing). After working so hard all week, the shop is like heaven: air conditioning, and awesome work in a social environment with cool clients; it’s the best. Even though I am working, it feels like a few days off.

MC: I’m gonna go ahead and slip this in there. Are you going to MECCA?
JA: Without a doubt, MECCA is actually the biggest production we will be doing all summer. We at Skin Mechanics Steelworks will be sponsoring MECCA with free Gilson Hooks to any attendee that wants to use them. They can then buy them or give them, back. We are shooting to have 500 Gilsons, plus tools, by MECCA. Last year, when we did this sponsorship on a smaller scale, we noticed a lot more people suspending, and people suspending multiple times in the weekend, because they weren’t limited by the amount of hooks they brought with them, and we are hoping to see an even greater turnout this year.

MC: I have to mention it, the new look: the hair, the beard…it kinda has a Charles Manson/crazy scientist feel. What do you have going on it that head of yours? What can we expect from the mind of Joe Amato in the future?
JA: Hahaha, I kinda feel like a crazy scientist. I have been making jokes that the hair and beard have been growing as long as I have been in the machine shop. It’s kinda true. But seriously, I started growing it out because I want to attempt a beard lift with Jason the Illustrated Penguin Boy of the Freak Kings. He is about 70 pounds, and I want to suspend him at the South Florida Tattoo Expo in August before I shave it off for my 30th birthday, on August 19.

As far as what to come, the best I could hope for is that we continue to grow and acquire more machinery to keep adding things to the line. We have tons of ideas. We would like to branch out in the future as well, but all things at the right time. One thing I have learned is when you have cool ideas is that it’s better to build suspense than blow the surprise. So you’ll just have to wait and see. Whatever it is you can be sure we are always trying to be innovative, and we’re doing it for the right reasons.