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For the longest time, over a span of over two studios, Ive always leaned in to the excess; the "perfectly unorganized" chaos. Things hangin off the walls, shelves irresponsibly stacked, furniture pieces that never fit the space - only buying things out of quick necessity rather than more thoughtful curation. It's actually some cosmic miracle that nothing fell over and broke 100 cups. Well, im changing things a bit.
I partnered with a local woodworker (@kanyesworst) Dylan and he truly made my studio possible. My intentions were very clear for this space. Everything thought out, nothing cluttered, sectioned off, and most things enclosed. The Japanese style craftsman shop of my dreams. The only feature I need to keep is a huge pegboard wall, so thats what we did. We made it 18 feet tall to emphasize.
Initially when I toured the space I saw the ceilings and knew exactly what had to happen. Technically, this spot was a small downsize from my Lincoln Heights location. 800 sq ft to about 731 sq ft. Even smaller because I'll partition a bit to retail too. We are building a wall, thats the last bit. We bought 55 sheets of 1/4 inch plywood from a local lumber yard and got to work. Custom mix of stain, a rented scissor lift and within 4 days and long nights we had 24 feet of paneled wooden walls all the way up to a hanger style ceiling original to the 1950 art deco historical building.
Our next job is the partition wall, some design inspirations from Japanese style joinery walls to separate my workshop from the retail shop. We have 3 days to accomplish this, so hopefully it'll be ready by the 28th.
This is a small piece of writing from June when I visited Tok in his studio in Osaka -
"I tend to find inspiration in a lot of places. It's been extremely stimulating to draw from so many sources - thrift stores, traveling, vintage paintings, Americana, tattoo artists - all to circle around and culminate into the art that you see on my ceramics. I first met Tokuhiko Kise from Truck Furniture in Osaka a couple years ago when he opened his showroom in DTLA. Im not a huge furniture aficionado however when I discovered his work and the craftsman ship involved in it, I told myself I would visit as soon as I got the chance. When the opportunity came on this most recent trip, i'm confident to say that Tok's woodworking / lifestyle compound (yes, compound - theres a factory, two showrooms, a gym, private studio, residence and coffee shop on a singular lot) is likely the most influential space I've ever visited. His passion for vintage craft and Americana driven art is really unmatched. Every corner of the space has its own personality, and conveys a different story that really just ties into one true theme : craftsmanship. Heres some photos of his space. It was really an honor to spend almost two days with him and take a glimpse into this life. Arigato Tok san, I look forward to our next visit!"
When I left Truck, I told myself that one day I will have a piece from him. Well, guess what people, Tok made it happen, and I am so honored to have one of his Truck Cupboards. It's surreal to look at this piece of craftsmanship everyday. My intentions to build this space with friends is realized by this piece, and this piece is a testament to this idea. It's the centerpiece of the Mud Shop, thank you Tok san.
Everything is intentional here! Even the workshop tables. We built it pretty quickly on the first go around, but now im working with Goldghost_vintageworks out of Ojai California to custom weld some tables for my space, and to perfectly suit workshops in the future. I love patina and rough finishes, and thats what Goldghost does perfectly. Heres some early sketches and rough ideas of what we have coming. When you have to store 25 stools somewhere in a small space, perfect bench tables matter.
I have one an upcoming Copita Workshop on the 5th of October. It's my official 1st workshop of the new space. Four copitas per person, smaller group size, its halfway sold out! Click here to check it out
Theres something special about working with old friends and feeling passionate about a project. My friend @koysun from San Diego made my signage happen. It's a full circle moment where we discussed a sign project almost a year ago, well now it's happening! Thank you Koy.
Part one of the design aspect is linked here
I will save the nice nice photos for another email, but please come by to check out his work
There are no excited photos here, just a reminder - if you intend to sign a new studio space or retail store, and work with heavy machinery, DOUBLE CHECK THE POWER. Just a reminder, I spent a fortune on this mistake to correct it. 240V and 208V are very different things, and the conversions are $$$$
;P
I've said this so many times but lamps have been such a passion project for me. I've probably made 18 since the start of the year. 9 of them have gone to restaurants, 3 of them broke in the mail, 2 of them to a store in San Francisco, and the rest are now HUNG UP. I literally could never think of the day this would happen. We had to rent a scissor lift to hang things up (24 foot ceilings, you know). I just wish I had more time to make even more, because I only have about 8 at the moment. Cant wait for yall to see! All hung by @conwayelectric cords
Theres a lot more to this story. This is a start, and thank you again for taking the time out of your busy day to read my messy writing. Im in full contractor mode and prepping for my grand opening this Saturday, so apologies on typos
Ya'lls support means everything, and the Mud Shop is only possible because of that.
Classes, online orders are still in effect, so please take a gander at the website for anything that tickles you!
See you soon, hopefully on Saturday! there will be custom tote bags for sale to commemorate the day
-d
