friendly friday!

helloooo, internet! 

i'm feeling excited today, not only because the sun is out and its warm, but today is the first day of my new series of posts called friendly friday.  ff will focus on highlighting the work of people and things that inspire me, and since inspiration can come from anywhere and everywhere, so will these posts.  i am really looking forward to channeling my creative energy in this way, and i welcome you to share with me the people and things that inspire you for potential feature in this series.  i'd like this to become bigger than me, if you know what i mean.

i am also excited to launch this little project by showing off my talented, enthusiastic, hard workin' assistant, Jeremy Jorgenson.  his creative, curious, engineering mind and amazing knowledge of processes and tools have essentially revolutionized the way things get made here in the studio, all for the better.  

here are just a few of the things he can do: graphic design, mold making, machinery design, building design.  he can turn a 2 liter soda bottle into a 5 foot tall soda fountain, be a great dad, work outside in the snow when the temps are below zero, and put up with my shenanigans, as well as my silly dog (no small feat).  he plays guitar and sings too. a true renaissance man!

most recently, he completed the process of building a CNC machine for us to use here in the shop.  check her out...

our new addition.  a heavy dose of awesome sauce.

the planning and execution of this is an amazing accomplishment. i am beyond impressed, and, honestly, i don't really even understand how he made it all work. magic is how i like to think of it, but i know its not that simple. it was about a year in the planning, and a few months in the building and a couple of weeks in the programming, and now i am proud to announce that we have just recently gotten our first test pieces to work. 

the designing and building was painstakingly planned by jeremy, and the rest has been accomplished through a little trial and error, (always the best teachers, i think) tweaking and re-tweaking, and trying again.  all of this, while a little scary, has been super exciting and fun. the thing is a game changer in so many ways for both the business and my own personal health and well being. priceless!  i think he had fun doing it, too.  

jeremy and the kids figuring it out.

but this isn't just about the amazing machine, its about Jeremy's can-do attitude and continued enthusiasm to tackle big projects and generally just make things better, even when i drag my heels. i am thankful for his willingness to stick with me, sometimes at his own expense. you just don't find people like that everyday, and i am lucky to have him.  

so, here's to Jeremy for being super awesome! he inspires me to be a better maker and business owner, and his ability to help me muddle through the day to day is sometimes amazing.  i am so grateful.  

he'll probably be embarrassed, but the world needs to know! 

yay!