Time is racing by. I can’t seem to get back to the factory tour I started weeks ago. Victim to some malfunctioning reverse gear on my internal time machine, this morning I found myself staring at this…

Rolling glass circa 1978. The height of fashion on the casting floor? Velvet bellbottoms?

Not today. But who notices apparel in 2008? You can’t see the pants for the tattoos.

Well, back to working out the timelines for the real tours that are coming through next week. If you want to know more about these and other activities that Bullseye has planned for the GAS conference, check out the SEE BE info that Mary Kay’s group put together.

Like everything else they do, it’s just brilliant.

Speaking of factory tours, the 100 that went through last Monday was just a drill for the GAS-powered tsunami rolling in next month. On June 18 alone we’ll push, prod and pummel 350 people through the narrow gauntlet between batching, melting, forming, QC and shipping.

Maybe I’ll use the next few blogs to practice The Routine.

We mix the raw materials, called “batch”, in 55-gallon drums - about 120 of them each day.

(more…)

Just about 6 weeks left until GAS arrives in Portland. The dull roar no longer seems so distant. What’s up?

E-merge (May 5 – July 25) has been installed and enjoyed its quiet launch yesterday. Live jurying and the awards reception (May 17) are still ahead, but it’s up, looks great and was visited yesterday by almost 100 docents from the Portland Art Museum, many voting for the Popular Prize.
(more…)

This weekend Chris Van Dyke responded to my request that – in spite of the end of his company and his cancellation of speaking engagements across the country – he still deliver the keynote address at GAS this June.

For the reasons given in my last post - and more - I truly believe that what Nau tried to do is critical in our world today – maybe even more so in the economic climate we are all living.

I am hugely grateful that he’s agreed to continue the dialogue – with us – at GAS.

We’ve all gotten them: the phone call that starts “I’ve got some bad news. You might want to sit down.”

I got one of those yesterday. It was the Exec Director of GAS.

“We just lost our keynote speaker for the conference. His business went under.”

Looking “Stealth” in the face. Geoff & Jeff install e-merge.

OK. First of all, I heard the sound of my heart cracking. I loved NAU. They were a business that was about more than just business. They had a new vision. Of community, of giving back, of good design married to sustainability.

(more…)