symbiosis

metaphorical cold plunges and singing along to glee mashups

hello sweethearts!

welcome back to the hotel lobby. over here, things are growing and moving at a fast pace. this spring has really thrust me into full gear. the weather is getting more reliably sunny and everyone wants to be out and around each other. i’m tending to the garden again and spending any spare moment outside in the sun. I feel really happy with the way this year is shaping up and I’m excited for what’s still to come.

restock this weekend

first order of business: I’m restocking the shop this friday may 9th. same deal as always, subscribers will get a secret code at 9 am PST to unlock the shop. mugs in every color and matcha bowls in tomato, dolphin, eggplant, and butter. super excited!

sappy time

this year has started off strong. sales have been outstanding, especially for such a sleepy time of year. with the rapid decline of the economy here in the US, i feel fearful for the ways this will affect this business. only time will tell but i am hopeful that i will find the my way to weather the storm. despite the dread, i am floored by the way you have showed support for each restock. it truly takes me aback each time the shop sells out. i love steering this ship. i am a proud team of one. although that means i am limited in the amount i can produce each month, i wouldn’t give up any of the jobs i do to keep this show going. i enjoy wearing all the hats and being completely immersed in all that Hotel is and will become. this is all to say thank you endlessly for supporting me and this slooooow business. i know its not common these days to wait for the things you want. it means a lot that even when the shop sells too fast to get anything, y’all show up month after month to try again. ok I’m crying, lets move on!!!

big girl steps

i’ve always ran this business scrappily. making do with what i had, steadily saving up to purchase each piece of equipment, keeping a low overhead and being pretty thrifty. for the first couple of years of Hotel, a friend rented me their basement to use as a studio which i shared with several other artists. then, i moved to a new studio space that was an upgrade albeit still shared with a few friends. and after three years sharing this current studio, my studio mates are vacating. now i have the opportunity to expand and utilize the space all for myself. honestly, its scary! working solo all day can be a challenge for me. i vacillate wildly between doing tasks with complete tunnel vision and drifting off in a daze. it helps me to have others around to keep me on track. and it feels like a huge leap of faith in myself and this business. taking on a larger portion of rent increases my overhead spending. it can be daunting to take on that responsibility and believe things will work out how you hope. despite all of these fears, something about it feels really right. at some point, i think this moment is akin to a cold plunge. shocking for a second, uncomfortable for a bit, and once i come out on the other side, i’ll realize that sticking it out gave me much more clarity in the end. while i’m sad that my friends won’t be in the next room as we work each day, i am excited to have more space to bring my production up to the speed needed to accommodate the demand. and i’m having fun dreaming up how i will layout and decorate the studio. maybe i’ll share that process on here.

I’ve been thinking a lot about artists and how their workspaces support, encourage, and reflect their processes. these spaces feels quite sacred. well worn tools accumulated over years, works in progress that seldom feel “finished”, collected art of peers traded in communal spirit. it becomes difficult to specify how the work affects the environment and vice versa. yet the spirit remains palpable. nebulous and symbiotic at once. i’m sitting with this frequently while imagining the studio expansion. clean and somewhat organized yet lived-in and fertile. balancing efficiency and character will help me settle into the new solitude of studio days in my near future.

with this big change coming up, i will not be restocking the shop in june. the restock coming this weekend will be the last one until july. hopefully, after the studio expansion i’ll be able to produce more pieces per month and give folks a better chance at snagging something.

some favorites this month:

80’z by Bb trickz — its a quick 12 minute album that i listen to on repeat for hours.

La chimera — this was one of the most captivating and striking films that left me screaming into a pillow. it was perfect to me.

Glee — rewatching this absolutely deranged series to feel something.

mango nectar + canned coconut milk + nutmeg shaken with ice — the coconut mango horchata from hat yai is my weakness so i’ve resorted to making it every day at home. nice and summery.

alright, that’s it for now. thanks for staying awhile! look out for the code on friday <3