Lessons from craft

There's just something about working with your hands.    Jen and i are spending long days at ADX working on the teardrop and filling in our shifts in between.  They've had a lot of turnover recently and in addition to our working member roles Jen has agreed to help out with some of the member coordinator functions until they find/hire someone .  We are there 10-12 hours a day and its our new home away from home.

The teardrop is still coming together nicely, though a bit slower than we might have hoped.  We had fleeting dreams of it being finished in time for a bit of tailgating at the first duck game, but the odds aren't looking great for that to occur.  Regardless, we are having a great time building it and learning a ton along the way.

The entire thing is a new learning experience as we've never tackled anything even close to it.  Each day is a fun puzzle of learning the next step just before we make it happen and see what transpires.

We filled the voids in the side walls with insulation and laminated bamboo skins onto both inside and outside surfaces.  An initial coat of epoxy on the inside gave us a quick preview of things to come and infused further excitement to continue the push.

ADX is not only providing  fun social network and 2nd home/family for us, it's also providing valuable context.  Many of the people working here are chasing dreams and trying to make a living off of their crafts.  Artists, builders, furniture makers, all using their hands to create things of beauty.  Really inspiring, but it also allows us to see both good and bad.  Issues with high-maintenance clients, dry spells without work, flourishing businesses and others having a stressful end of month counting their last dime.

Jen and I still intentionally don't have conversations about our long term plans or about how/when to start making money to survive, but we are aware that eventually our savings will run dry.  In a perfect world we will find a way to earn money doing what we love, and watching those around us do just that is nothing short of awe inspiring...