Don't wish away 5 out of 7 days
Make a living selling something I make
Marry and spend the rest of my life with Lisa (seriously)
I didn't know anything about goal setting or how to go about all of this and I was constantly doing this reverse comparison thing. Reverse to the norm anyway. Most people compare themselves to others that have it better. I've always compared myself to folks that have it worse and now that I write this out for the first time in decades of dwelling on it, I'm thinking it's because I didn't have it all that great. Funny...even as I wrote that last sentence there was a voice in my head saying, "give me a break, there's billions of people that have/had it farrr worse than you. Suck it up and be grateful." I guess that in many ways it's a good way to view life but it can't be good if I feel guilty every time I sell something that I create. Right?
Cut to present day. I quite literally have all of those things and now I'm plagued with guilt about it so constantly trying to figure out how to help people on some grand scale. So the question becomes, do I really want to help people or do I just feel guilty for having a good life now?
Here's what I know. I really do want to help people and I really do feel guilty for what I've achieved. I want people that don't have this...to have this. Not my list, but their list. I'd love to write a book but I don't even know how I got here. I just kept floating around doing the thing I wanted to do which led to two and a half decades of financial struggle and a ton of emotional baggage to sort through. Not an ideal path. So what am I feeling so guilty about!?
Probably shouldn't post this but...F it.
A
p.s. I also created the image above.
]]>So now, for me anyway, "what do you do" will be, "what do you enjoy doing". Fortunately (or unfortunately at times) for me, the thing I enjoy doing is the same thing that pays our bills but I still don't have a one word answer for it.
Machinist? Absolutely not. I wouldn't disrespect the trade by making that claim.
Craftsman? Maybe, kind of.
Designer? Pretty vague.
Artist? This one makes me cringe and sometimes spiral into depression. It's a heavy load. I know many artists. Real artists. What they do is mind blowing and then I start to compare my "art" to theirs and it destroys any level of creativity I think I have and then I decide that I'm just decent at making silly things that people might want to buy but wouldn't hold in high regard like a Picasso sketch. Why are we so obsessed with comparing ourselves to others? We all do it so it must be some innate primal thing. Maybe to evolve as a species or something? Dunno. I'm sure if I Duck Duck Go'ed it there would be pages of reasons but I don't believe most things I read anymore so I'm left wondering. And was there just a few talented ancient homosapiens that did the cave painting or did they all take part in it? I've also never looked into this but always imagined everyone sitting around the cave creating some art but why would that be? It seems there would be some that were more creative and artistic than others that would handle that job. But honestly, none of it is that good and seems like even a toddler could handle the job so were any of them really impressed with the quality of it? We're blown away by it because it's been there for thousands of years but they must have been like, "meh, I guess it kind of looks like a giant sloth but it's just okay". Were they even using words at that point? When was language developed and how do we even know? I could look that up as well but keeping this old school. Wait. Is that what the cave paintings were for?! To COMMUNICATE?!? Has anyone ever thought of this? I can't believe I just came up with this. I knew I should have been an Anthropologist. Well...I didn't know when I was young, I just kind of figured it out a few years ago but I was almost 50 by then so, what's the point? I guess the main point would be to answer the question with some confidence.
I'm an Anthropologist. And then just blow peoples minds with all of my knowledge about Cave Painters.
So, what's the point? No point, this was about 5 minutes of my 1.5 hour 3am thought rant.
You're welcome. Time to refill the coffee.
Anthony
]]>2011 - I started messing around with this idea but mostly just hanging out with my dad and helping him make some side cash.
2012-2014 - The business was slowly growing but still really manageable for one person. My dad never had anything to do with the business side. He would make cool stuff when he felt like it and I would sell it :)
2014-2018ish - Getting much bigger and not manageable for one person...but I was one person so had no choice. 12-15 hour days.
2018ish-2021 - I brought in Elizabeth to help with shipping which eased the pain but I was still struggling to keep up with every other part of the business.
2021-2023 - Lisa quit nursing and came in. I hobbled her for 2 years. She helped where she could but I essentially couldn't let much of anything go. She tried but I would just say "I'll handle it" and she got tired of fighting it.
2024 - I realized what an idiot I'd been for the last couple of years and passed her the reigns.
I obviously already knew how incredible she was, I'd been pining over her since we were 13 years old (that's a story for another day), but I really thought that I was so amazing at this that my shoes would be really challenging to fill. Ha. Ego. What can I say. We all have it and sometimes you don't realize it's controlling your life until you take a step back and see a different perspective. For crying out loud, as I'm writing this basic little post, she's over there working on the book she's writing in her free time. I'm ridiculous.
p.s. here's proof that I didn't hobble that deer. They were just having a good time on our property...dancing and what not. Oh...if you don't know what hobbling is, you can search the interweb or watch Misery.
]]>
When we were looking up north for homes to buy we knew that we wanted some property to eventually have a mini homesteadish type place. A garden, some chickens, couple of big dogs, archery range, training area, sauna, maybe a pool, big shop, let's throw in a bunker full of pepper type stuff...you know...a homestead. Anyhoo, we figured 4-5 acres is the minimum. Well, the perfect place only came on 1.5 acres so we had to settle. It's a well maintained, pretty usable 1.5 acres so we figured it would be a good "start". Keep in mind, this is coming from a city kid that has never lived on anything bigger than maybe a few thousand square feet and spent the majority of my adult life in apartments, studios, a converted garage for a couple years. You country folk likely know where I'm headed with this. 1.5 acres is HUGE when you're trying to maintain it. During the holidays, my stepdaughter and I decided to hack down a bunch of these insane "bushes" that grow like weeds and look like trees. Some kind of red berry bush or something. What that left us with was an insane pile of brush that I now get to burn. I say GET to burn because that was a highlight only a couple of months ago, now it's a chore. I had it on my list all week and finally decided to get to it on Thursday because we had rain coming on Friday again. No problem, I'll knock out a burn for a few hours and then get to the shop. I figured start at 9 am, finish at noon, grab some lunch, get back to turning tops. I had to call it quits around 5pm because I was losing light, I felt like I just finished a marathon and I'd hardly eaten all day. There goes Thursday and still have a huge pile to burn.
I've come to the conclusion that I don't have time to do burns. I either have to hire someone to burn or stop hacking down red berry "bushes". No clue how I'll find time to build that bunker.
This article made me feel better about it. Thanks again for sharing M.
]]>Over a year ago, my daughter was leaving to head back to college. As we hugged goodbye, she whispered in my ear, “please don’t drink anymore mom, please stop drinking.”
Her words were the exact words I would say to my dad as a little girl, a teenager, an adult...
]]>Her words were the exact words I would say to my dad as a little girl, a teenager, an adult.
Although what she said to me was very impactful, it wouldn’t be fair to say that I stopped drinking because she told me to, her words were just the final straw, and I knew it was a long time coming.
I have always had a love-hate relationship with alcohol, ever since I was a young kid, I just never really came to terms with what alcohol had done to my entire family.
I come from a long line of alcoholics: my dad, my grandmother, grandfather, and as the story goes, my great-grandfather, who was found dead, intoxicated, in a gutter. Fun fact: both my dad and grandfather both worked as bartenders in San Francisco. My dad eventually became a quality engineer, and left the occupation.
I always referred to my dad as a “functioning alcoholic”, it wasn’t as harsh in my mind. He was a great provider, a rock in my life, he always told me, “I will never let your ship sink”, and he never did. His drinking has always been very complicated to me.
That’s the funny thing about alcohol, it’s complicated, and two-sided: on the one hand, alcohol was a part of many of my happy childhood memories, gatherings with the entire family during the holidays, my mom cooking amazing meals, just being all together. But the reality, the evening usually fell apart quickly, the happy turned to anger, and the night was ruined. The funny thing, this was all very normal to me.
I knew I had a problem, I knew I was drinking too much, I knew that I was becoming a part of my family’s story, another member swallowed up by alcohol. I would wake up in the middle of the night and say to myself, “what are you doing, do you want to be just like grandma?” I was fifty years old, I had a problem and I had to stop. I had to stop the cycle and make the change.
It was difficult, and humbling to shine a light on my problem, to be open to everyone and to say, I won’t be drinking for right now, I have a problem and I need to get it under control. But, after a few weeks, then months, it was empowering.
Alcohol ruined lives and relationships within our family. I didn’t want my daughters to feel and go through the same things I did, I had to stop the cycle and I feel like I did.
After almost a year of taking a break, I see alcohol very differently. I approach it cautiously, and with accountability and moderation. It has worked, especially having a partner that keeps me accountable as well. It has been incredibly liberating, empowering, and honestly, I am a way better mother and wife without it.
I talked to Anthony about designing a coin that could help others with alcohol and accountability, based on my own journey. I realize that everyone has their own story, their own journey, and their own goals when it comes to drinking. Some need to stop completely and forever, and others just want to prove to themselves that they can stop for however long they feel they need to, regaining their power and accountability.
It’s a great thing to be open and honest about our problems, because the end result is beautiful and liberating.
-Lisa
]]>
When people ask me what I do, my response is generally vague and silly sounding. "I have a website and I make stuff and sell it, etc. It's easier to show you the website." And I rarely show them because they rarely care after that. I'm going on about this because I'm so humbled by a good portion of you that I felt compelled to write about it. The Mystery Christmas tops were essentially a fail this year. I'll spare the detail but I was only able to get half done in time for Christmas so I reached out to the folks that ordered and asked for volunteers. I wanted to make sure that the people that ordered them for gifts got them in time and hoped that I had enough to cover it. The response was overwhelming, humbling and touching. Almost everyone told me not to worry about it and to enjoy time with family and those that did say they needed them by Christmas actually felt guilty!! Wow. It never crossed my mind that I would make you feel guilty by asking if you needed the item you purchased from me! And then I felt guilty for making them feel guilty :)
So now you see my dilemma, a "customer" wouldn't do that. Friends, family, community, they would do that, but not a customer. Or, maybe that's how it used to be when the world was smaller and everyone knew and respected one another. We supported our businesses in every way possible because they were part of the community. I didn't think something like this was possible online but it obviously is and gives me hope.
My family, and myself thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Merry Christmas!
Anthony
]]>Still haven't found our kitchen knives. Potatoes have been brutal.
]]>Memory is funny. I have fond memories of Joshua Tree from my childhood but if I were really forced to sit down and hash it out, my sister and I were bored pretty much the majority of the time. I had a daily checklist I'd go through...BB gun, hang out in the gully, Lincoln Logs/army men and sometimes the Peanuts puzzle. Not actual peanuts but a Peanuts puzzle with a missing piece. No other puzzles...just that one.
I hadn't seen the box for decades but, after my Grams passed (and the tweaker/looters were done) we found this box. The photo is the same box from my childhood. It was under the bed in the guest bedroom for decades. I'm not sure whose they were but either my dads or one of my uncles when they were kids. I can't say that we were over the moon playing with them, just curing some boredom and getting out of the heat but the feeling of the memory gives me joy. I guess that's just how it works.
When I started going through the box, I was surprised out how fidgety the little connectors were. I then thought.."dang...what if I cut it in half and put some magnets in?". So I did and my suspicions were confirmed and I made another thing.
]]>Hold - 7 seconds
Exhale - 8 seconds*
Truth be told, I’d never heard of this breathing technique before Lisa discovered it but I’ve been doubling my exhale for years. I do it countless times in a day. Every time I feel that weight in my chest, I do it. I did it just now as I’m writing this because I felt anxiety over sending this out to all of you. I’d even argue that you don’t need to worry about the 7 second hold if you’re struggling with this. Just inhale, hold for a second and then slowly exhale. Don’t worry about the time because that can increase your anxiety. Don’t think about the detail, just inhale normally, hold, exhale as slowly as you can.
This one is sneaky. The suggested daily amount of water seems to be vague and that doesn't take into account many factors. How much did you sweat today? Did you eat/drink anything that is increasing dehydration? Height/weight? How much water was in the foods you ate?
The reality is that you really don't even need to think about it too much and you'll still survive, but will you thrive? I've always heard about mineral depletion in the body but it was only recently that I started looking into it. Again, the goal here isn't to give you a blueprint on what to do but to inspire you to do some of your own research. What I discovered is that we used to get a good portion of our minerals through our drinking water but this is when we could drink fresh water from the earth. This isn't an option for most of us anymore so all of that "pure" water you're drinking is most likely lacking in any minerals, and the more you drink, the more you flush from your body. Forget about it if your hydration source is from soft drinks or any variant...pretty much poison. I'm trying to stay off my soap box here but I get passionate when it comes to food and beverage. I'm not a nutritionist, just a guy who's been obsessed with what he eats/drinks for around 32 years. It's been a work in progress and it took about 30 years to figure out what works best for my body, but don't let that discourage you, I didn't have the internet when I started.
So what's the takeaway I'm hoping for? Keep coffee and tea to a minimum (I do around two cups a day) and try to get rid of anything else. Look into mineral supplementation to add to your daily water (check with your doc if you're into that) and find the balance you need as an individual. We are all drastically different with our needs so there is no perfect formula, but this can be a starting point to thriving.
]]>This morning I started pondering what it is we "need" in order to Survive, Thrive and Create. I came up with four absolutes and going to give you my opinion of these four in order of importance. When I say importance, I mean that you can't live without these four and they come in an order.
First...air. The time varies from person to person but, if your air is cut off, you have minutes. We all know this. Breathing is a natural, involuntary action that keeps us trucking along but how often do you stop and take note of your breathing? How are you breathing? Through your nose or your mouth? Into your chest or abdomen? Long or short? And so on. Most likely, you rarely pay attention to any of these factors until your natural breathing becomes labored for one reason or another. When this happens, how do you handle it?
I've been meditating in some form or another for over 25 years. To be clear, I started...meaning, I read about it and sat down to try. Throughout those years, I would periodically sit down and give it a try but I've never had what would be considered a regular practice. When I started martial arts 15 years ago, meditation was part of it but not really taught. It was only in the last few years that my current teacher really started opening my eyes to what meditation really is and what it can be, but my main takeaway has been breathing. So do you need to meditate in order to work on your breathing techniques. Of course not. I believe that for thousands of years, different cultures have figured out different ways to optimize their breathing and it doesn't have to be complicated. If this concept is remedial to you, you're free to go, but if you're one of the many people that never think about your breath until you're in a bad situation, give this a try...
Sit down.
Close your eyes.
Inhale deeply (through your nose) and slowly into your abdomen (push that belly out).
Hold for a couple of seconds.
Exhale slowly (through your nose).
Repeat as often as you'd like.
Open your eyes.
Congratulations. You just acknowledged your breath and what it means to be human. We can't live without it and, I believe, it's impossible to thrive without paying attention to it. Try to do this once a day and feel free to let me know if you notice a change in your daily routine.
Be a good human.
Survive, Thrive, Create. Grab your Sapien Stone to remind you to breathe.
Number two coming soon.
]]>I love this coin because I love us. We all came from the same place and slowly branched away from one another creating a beautiful variety of us all over the globe. We are, and always have been, in a constant cycle of surviving, thriving and creating. In recent decades, our technology has gotten so advanced that we can connect with any culture around the world at any time. I find this wonderful and tragic at the same time. We can't seem to agree to disagree which leads to folks trying to control the whole damn thing because they know what's best.
And now, I'm stuck...this is where I get stuck every time because I don't think there's a solution. Is it possible that there isn't a solution because there isn't a problem? I'm not saying there are no problems in the world. We are all dealing with our own problems and the problems of others on a daily basis. What I'm saying is that we are Homo sapiens and this is what we do. We can keep battling over who is right and who is wrong (which we will) and we'll never get a definitive solution because there isn't one. When I say there isn't "one", I mean that literally. There isn't one solution. There are infinite answers from different perspectives and we are back at square one. Who has the "right" answer and all of the information required in order to come up with that answer?
Homo sapiens have survived, thrived and created for thousands of years. Thousands and thousands of years. We will continue doing just that until we don't but we need to accept that we aren't right, we just are.
]]>
Remember when Black Friday was on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving)? It was a whole thing. Consumers waited patiently with bated breath.
Not too many years ago this slow burn started to happen. Some brilliant marketer decided to stretch the Black Friday to Cyber Monday (don't quote me...my memory is fuzzy).
Companies followed...
]]>Not too many years ago this slow burn started to happen. Some brilliant marketer decided to stretch the Black Friday to Cyber Monday (don't quote me...my memory is fuzzy).
Companies followed.
The next guy stretched it to a week...then a month. We now have an entire month of Black Friday sales. I'm not a fan. In fact, I don't do Black Friday sales at all. Simply put, I don't have any product that I can offer at a large discount so it's wasted on me. Honestly, I don't know how these small companies do it. Maybe they have a huge profit margin built into their standard pricing or maybe they are hoping to make it up with quantity. In any case, rest assured, you won't be missing out on a huge Black Friday sale from me. Just business as usual. That said, I have a pretty exciting fidgety, magnety, addicting(y) product launching on...you guessed it...Black Friday. The real one.
Thanks for letting me rant again.
Anthony
]]>
Side note...please don't misinterpret this as me condoning extremists that are set on violence or hatred of others. This is obviously a huge topic and this short blog post isn't the place for the discussion. Besides, I just make stuff and hope it brings you a little joy...what do I know about the politics of millions of people trying get along in an ever shrinking world?
Anthony
]]>
I wasn't in a position to quit my day job when I did. I was broke and had no idea how J. L. Lawson & Co. was going to pay my bills. I'm not saying I recommend this to everyone but I had finally figured out what I wanted to do with my life and just went for it. I'm ten years in and still wake up in a panic on some days. I'm guessing now that the insecurity of not having "security" never goes away and I'm cool with that.
]]>That first batch was nine solid brass, one of a kind tops. They sold out in less than an hour and nobody was as surprised as my dad. Surprised and, dare I say, proud. A month later a fairly new online store called Fab.com reached out to me and wanted some tops for the website. This was huge and I knew my dad wouldn't be up for machining tops all day so it was my introduction to machining. I don't think I've talked about this detail before...memory and all that...but it was pivotal. At that point, I still didn't have much interest in learning the trade but, if I wanted to seize this opportunity there wasn't much choice. That first batch of tops I made for them was embarrassing, to say the least, and they were all one of a kind because I had no clue how to replicate something. I was quite literally sculpting on the lathe rather than machining. I like to think that I do a hybrid of both now. I miss the simplicity of driving out to my dad's, machining side by side for 2-3 days and driving home with a bounty of products to sell. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't be happier with the growth and evolution of this company but that was a life changing time for me and I'll never forget it...I think...or maybe my memory is morphing the reality. In any case, I have those fond memories and will hang onto them as is.
For all of these reasons, I thought it would be fun to replicate one of my dad's original nine. I did my best but my dad made his own tooling for jobs so I have no idea what he used. All I have is the original photo and did my best to copy it.
As always, thank you.
Anthony
p.s. I'd love to know who has this top.
]]>I'm not exactly sure the reason, but my dad loved eagles. Funny that after someone is gone, you think of 100 things you should have asked but didn't. Most likely, he just thought they were cool. He had a horrible, off the wall, eagle tattoo on his left shoulder. Kills me that I don't have a photo of it but, for these reasons, I wanted to incorporate an eagle in the ten year design as an homage. I thought a clever quote would be appropriate and after a quick search, found this amazing story, Be an Eagle, about eagles and this choice they have in their lives at around 40 years. They have the option to die or go through this amazing metamorphosis to live another 30 years. (read the story here) Pretty quickly, I figured this story sounded feeble so did some more searching and discovered it was total B.S. Why someone would make up such a thing in order to motivate people is beyond my comprehension but it's the type of story that my dad would have loved. Not the motivational part, but the B.S. part. As he would have said regarding the lie, "I got a kick out of that". I can just see him chuckling over such a thing whenever it came up and would have likely become his tagline for a good year or so. For that reason, Be an Eagle, is the official ten year anniversary mantra and our inside joke.
To say thank you for all of your support over the years sounds pretty generic at this point so all I can say is that I don't know what to say. I'm overwhelmed by the fact that you guys visit the site and trust your hard earned money with me. Many of you also use your precious time to sit and write to me when you love what you've received and it blows my mind every time. These facts are never lost on me and I will be eternally grateful.
Thank you for the last ten years. I'm looking forward to improving and shaping the brand even more over the next ten.
Be an Eagle! (chuckle, chuckle)
Anthony Lawson
June 2021
]]>
"Hey Pops, why does this vase say LAWSONS on the bottom?"
Pops chuckles.
"Did you guys have them made for something?"
Pops looks puzzled and says "what?"
I say "what?"
Pops says "It's from the ceramic shop." Matter of factly.
I'll save you the boredom of the dialogue and cut to it. Apparently, my grandfather, dad and both uncles started a ceramics shop in the 70's and I have zero memory of it. To this day, still no memory and he claims I was there all of the time.
The point is not to share snippets of my somewhat interesting childhood that has been all but blocked. Honestly, I'm not sure what my point is here but it seems relevant. My grandfather had a variety of businesses through the years (not just machining) and I would like to say that it was due to his entrepreneurial spirit but I don't believe it was that. I believe he was just trying to keep the bills paid and food on the table. If the machine shop wasn't doing well, he would do what he needed to do with the skills he had to bring home some swine. This is also why I believe my grandparents moved out to Joshua Tree in the 70's, it was cheaper and he could have a bit of land with some animals. It's possible that after the ceramics shop failed, they made the move but I'm just speculating. For the most part, Lawson's don't talk about the past...or the present...or the future.
I've always been driven to make something. I believe my grandfather was a "maker" before this hipster term was coined as was my dad, as was my uncle, as is my uncle that's still with us. They all made things just for the sake of making them. They would put this energy into making something until they felt it was a waste of time. Something in them said that if it wasn't paying the bills, it was a waste of time. I have to admit that it's in me as well but I fight it. I also created a business around the urge to make things so I wouldn't have to fight the urge to quit making things. I doubt that I'm alone here and I believe I just found the point of sharing this with you.
Follow your urge to create. Acknowledge the importance of it with or without monetary gain. It's not a waste of time and you do have time for it. If you're on your phone more than 30 minutes a day, you have time to create something.
We are born creators so stop wasting your time and get to it.
]]>Part two of this equation is about perceived value. Does any of this minority actually believe that the "leather" in a Louis Vitton bag is worth thousands? I'll bring it down way lower...what about the material cost of those Nike's you're wearing? All of us can walk into a thrift store and fill our entire wardrobe for about $100 but I'm guessing most of us don't unless we have to. We buy products we like without giving the production cost of said product much thought but we scoff at products we don't like and try to tear down the makers.
Admittedly, I'm guilty of this as well but it doesn't come from a place of sincerity, it comes from ego, cynicism and insecurity. I'm going to work on that.
]]>
About a month into my dads chemo I decided to machine a little worry coin for him that I dubbed the "chemo coin". I had no intention of selling them but he insisted that I should, so I did. Not long after that, Woody, from Shire Post Mint sent me a little hand stamped version of a minted coin that could be a much more affordable option for folks. I loved the idea but wasn't keen on purchasing something related to cancer and selling for a profit. It seemed different than putting my time and effort into a piece and selling it. This will sound a bit woo-woo but I believe in the positive energy that I put into the pieces I make which was part of what I was doing. Having a coin minted and selling it didn't feel the same.
I did, however, like the idea of giving them away to Oncology and/or Chemo centers but didn't have the extra funds to do it so shelved the idea for a bit.
Cut to six months ago when one of my customers sent me a photo of someone carrying the hand machined Chemo Coin he had purchased the year before. Unbeknownst to me, he had purchased it with the intention of sharing it throughout the Oncology unit he worked in. Every day the coin goes to a different nurse, doctor or patient to help get through the day. I hadn't even considered this as a possibility and I can't explain how it made me feel. My first instinct was to run out to the shop and make as many as I could just to send more over to him but I decided instead to do something with more longevity.
My goal is to give away a couple thousand of these per year and hope they spread around as needed. They aren't for sale and Shire Post Mint was kind enough to get me a hefty discount on the wholesale price in order to get more out there.
I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to do this so feel free to reach out if you're in a position to pass 10-20 around to folks. If you or someone you love is going through chemo and could pass them around to other patients seems like the best route, but I'm open to suggestions. I'd love to ship out individual coins but the shipping cost would kill me so need to batch them out. If you can help please shoot me an email. info [at] jllawsonco .com
Anthony
If you made it this far, I have a little side story for you. Remember that first coin I mentioned that Woody sent my way? I had been carrying it for a few weeks when I popped into the grocery store one day for some goods. This was in the good ole pre-mask days. I noticed the checker talking to a co-worker and was choking back some tears. I asked if she was ok and she replied that she just found out her daughter had cancer. My dad had only recently passed so I held back the tears and handed her that coin Woody made for me. The look on her face made up for the loss of the coin and I'll never forget it. That's when I knew I needed to have these made in order to give away.
]]>Years ago, maybe 20 or so, an old timer approached my dad about a project. It turns out that this unassuming gentleman from somewhere in the desert was way ahead of his time. You see, he brought my dad plans to a perpetual motion machine that was going to change the world as we know it....obviously.
]]>One of the problems, aside from the obvious, was that this reclusive genius didn't have much money so he would bring my dad $40-100 and say, "just get as far as you can with this". My dad would and it would be months before he'd hear from him again. I can't recall how long this went on but I'd guess at least 10 years.
After so many years, the Inventor stopped showing up. Our guess was that he passed away but there was no way of finding out as we didn't even know his full name or where he lived.
Here's the crazy part...it worked.
You heard me right. It worked.
There was just one minor issue, you had to attach a motor to it in order to keep it going.
Sooo....
]]>Title: Joke
Summary: $57 for a top? Whoever buys this is down right stupid.
I do get your point sir but the problem is simple...where you see "a top", myself and a handful of others, see a functional, spinning sculpture that I made with my hands and a machine. I put time and love into these pieces and create them for those who love them. It's clearly not for you just like many things in this world are not for you. I can play that game all day long. The game where you judge the cost of something that you don't see the value in. $2000 for a Louis Vitton wallet!!?! I can actually be pretty good at it. This game is silly sir and will drive you crazy. This online world of ours is seemingly infinite. I suggest you spend more time browsing the items that you appreciate and less time on the items that you don't. You'll likely find more peace in your day.
Thanks for checking out the site!
Anthony
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