Refueled Issue 16

REFUELEDF/W

T E X . U S AI S S U E N o 1 6

C O M M U N I T Y H E R I T A G E D I S C O V E R Y

TWO THOUSAND F I F T E EN

ISSUE NO.F/W 16/15COMMUNITY. HERITAGE. DISCOVERY.

TEX.USA© 2015 REFUELED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

: : REFUELED : :

03

06

LETTER 06

THE FORRER BROTHERS 10

TRANS-PECOS STYLE 24

RAINER JUDD 44

COMEBACK AXE 56

STETSON FACTORY 66

ONE FAST BUFFALO 116

PUBLISHER / CREATIVE DIRECTOR Chris Brown

SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER Gustav Schmiege

CONTRIBUTING EDITORSAlycia Simpson, Rainer Judd & Ben Jenkins

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERSJay Watson, David Armstrong, Sean Berry & Ben Jenkins

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY Valerie Price/Jon Wilsdon - Our Ruins

© 2015 Refueled Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Any commercial or promotional distribution,publishing or exploitation of contents, is strictly prohibited unless you have received the express priorwritten permission from our authorized personnel or the otherwise applicable rights holder.

REFUELEDMAGAZINE.COMINSTAGRAM.COM/REFUELEDMAGAZINEFACEBOOK.COM/REFUELED

CONTENTS

: : REFUELED : :

05

THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGING.

THE SOUND OF THE ISSUEWILCO SKY BLUE SKY

The leaves are falling and the colors changing. The winds shifting and the clouds blowing. Thetemperatures dropping. Welcome Autumn, with winter very close behind. This is my favoritetime of the year. A time to reflect, give thanks and plot the coming new year. A time to build afire and share a whiskey. Time to be alone with your thoughts, to examine and continue growingas a person.

As a publisher, my hope is to continue to grow as well. To strive to bring something fresh anddifferent with each new issue. Continue to push publishing forward as a art form. A art form toshare with the community. One that embraces heritage and encourages discovery. Refueledcontinues to be a very personal seed growing inside me. A seed that was planted long ago,nourished over time by innocent wonder, strong commitment and encouragingmentors. A seed, like the seasons, changes.

Embrace change, as hard as it may be at times. It is with change that we grow, that we areable to broaden our horizons and see something new emerge that never existed before.

- Chris Brown, Publisher

06

: : LETTER : :

Illustration by Daniel Vergés :: SLOWARTWORKS :: Barcelona, Spain

No 01: : REFUELED : :

ADVENTUREP H O T O G R A P H Y B Y J A Y W A T S O N

12

Michael Forrer :: Jacob ForrerREPURPOSED GRAIN

SAN FRANCISO, CALIFORNIA

13

You’ve had enough of the box store items, the humdrum same-ness that retail and commerce have come to be. You’re clamoringfor real talent that encompasses art, motivation, inspiration, andauthenticity—something to feed your adventurous soul. Mike andJake Forrer bring you a heaping portion of all that—skills that willrock your creative mind, and a healthy serving of humble pie.

Mike and Jake are the owners and artists behind their business,Repurposed Grain, located in the San Francisco Bay Area. It istheir guise, under which they create amazing things using woodas their medium. They focus on reclaiming and repurposingwood, but they’re not afraid to mix it up with virgin pieces, build-ing unique creations—anything you can think of (and somethings you can’t) they can build it. The brothers call what they docreating useful art.

What makes Mike and Jake so special? Simply put, their attitude.I asked their friend Syd to describe them. “Mike is so lightheartedand is everyone’s buddy. Jake is the younger older brother. Heis intuitive, happy, and pragmatic. They are both such sweetguys.” The Forrer brothers are genuine hometown boys with avision, and it all started when they were little tow-headed tykesrunning around their hometown of Noblesville, Indiana.

It was their sordid upbringing that has made the brothers so close,instilled their palpable sense of respect and love for one another,and their family values. Of course Jake would spy and snitch onMike, and Mike would pick on Jake, but that’s just brothers beingbrothers.

“We come from a big family, a split family. We’re the only twoout of 5 kids who share a mom and dad. We moved around alot when we were younger. Mom didn’t have a lot of moneygrowing up, getting help from food stamps, reduced lunches.Dad wasn’t wealthy, but he had money–he was a businessowner. We used to have separate clothes dad would make us

wear when he picked us up because the ones we had were toodirty and smelly. We used to have to change in the car. Becauseof how we grew up has a lot to do with who we are. Having thetwo different worlds between parents’ houses, brothers, a sister,dad, mom, step mom none of whom understood us, we wouldtalk it out at nighttime in our room when we were young—aboutpeople, why they are how they are, how we wanted to be. Wewere always having conversations between each other. Welearned how to ground ourselves. We create our own comfortand are very good at recognizing and making changeswhen they need to be. We’ve had to understand working off oneanother always. “

I’d venture their childhood also gave them the connection theyhave today, their sense of independence, and the ability to takeon any adventure or any challenge that comes their way. Sincethey were little it’s always been a bit of them against the world.

I’m curious if anyone taught them or pushed them into their craft.Nope. “We learned the hard way. It wasn’t like this is how youdo this. It was more like we figured it out on our own by takingthings apart and putting them back together.”

Their grandpa was a marine and a sheriff, and was their fatherfigure and role model until he passed, when Mike was 17, Jake13. “Grandpa was the guy who taught us how to ‘be a man’. Hewas the case of beer and pack-a-smokes-a-day kinda guy. Roughand tumble kinda fella.”

Even when they were little the brothers were always crafty,inventive, and resourceful—taking whatever odds and ends theycould find and putting them together to build something new.What was their first project? Skate ramps.

LIVING WITH PURPOSE

TWO BROTHERS SETTING A DREAM IN MOTION.

INTERVIEW BY ALYCIA SIMPSON

14

These ramps gave them more than a place to practice, bothboys having been sponsored skateboarders. It created astronger bond and a little healthy competition as they pushedeach other to see who could outshine the other…siblings.

They also, skilled little geniuses, built their own bikes. Theycouldn’t afford new ones, so they would take bits and piecesoff broken bikes around the neighborhood and repurposethose parts, building new bikes. When they’d mastered thatthey taught themselves how to weld galvanized pipes to thehandlebars to make choppers. “It’s always been taking thisand that and figuring it out.”

Woodworking, well, was just a natural progression. Jakejumped in at 18, right outta high school. Mike started framinghouses for a summer job when he was in college. Eachbrother having an area of expertise—Jake’s the framing andbuilding, and Mike’s the finishing work. Or as Jake says,“Mike makes things look pretty”.

Chasing a dream and a hunch, Mike came to San Franciscofirst, followed by Jake two years later. They had long beentossing around ideas for their own business—paint shops, bi-cycle shops, build-outs—and were ready for a little less talk alittle more action. Once both boys in were in San Franciscothey hit the ground running, picking up jobs wherever theycould. When did they realize their idea was becoming athing? What was the turning point for Repurposed Grain?

“Avocados and Coconuts was the job when we knew wewere ready to start getting serious. That’s when we knew wewere onto something. At that point I [Jake] was a video gametester and Mike was a ski instructor up at Tahoe. I got windof the job through our friend Steve…then it was just painting.I started and called Mike and said, ‘Dude, get down hereright now.” (Mike moved back two days later.) “The job mor-phed from painting to vision building. We’d show up at thestudio where Jess Bianchi, the business and space owner,would throw out ideas and we’d just find a way to make ithappen. He [Jess] had faith in us. It was our first artistic job,our first design job. Before we were just building.”

Jess introduced the boys to Jay Nelson and they were offand running on their next big break. Jay hired them for theirKauai job—building a tiny house.

“Doing the Kauai build was another tipping point for Repur-posed Grain. We did every step of the entire process—prep-ping, milling, cutting. We were shitting woodchips! We wereactually in Kauai when we came up with the name Repur-posed Grain.”

Oh yes, the name. What’s in a name? It’s only one of themost important things you come up with when starting a busi-ness. It tells the world who you are and what you, or yourbusiness, does. So I had to ask about it.

“WHEN WE WERE YOUNG WE

USED TO BUILD SKATE RAMPS

OUT OF SCRAPS FROM ALL OVER

THE NEIGHBORHOOD. WE

WOULD DRAG THEM [SCRAPS]

FROM EVERYWHERE USING

DAD’S TRACTOR OR LAWN-

MOWER WITH A WAGON

ATTACHED. THE RAMPS WOULD

LAST FOR FIVE OR SIX YEARS

BEFORE DAD WOULD SELL THEM.

THEY WERE THE FIRST THINGS WE

EVER REALLY BUILT TOGETHER.”

: : ADVENTURE : :

G-PROJECT GEARPhotographer Jay Watson shot the Forrer brothers

at Mammoth Lakes in California, highlighting their

adventurous spirit and the G-Project Gear Bluetooth

Speakers.

“Repurposed Grain has an open meaning and it hits a lot ofkey elements for us. Repurposing, recycling, taking what’suseful and giving it a purpose is something we’ve alwaysdone. It has a lot to do with who we are, how we were raised,what we’ve done. It’s not straightforward, but it’s our name.We don’t only do reclaimed wood, so it’s a little misleading.We’ve actually talked about changing it, but it’s personal.It means something to us. It means I have all these thingsengrained in me and have changed in so many differentways. You’re always recreating and repurposing who youare and what you do—repurposing information. For us Repur-posed Grain is more of a lifestyle mentality than just a wood-working thing. It’s having an adventurous spirit, being readyfor any adventure, being willing to take any opportunity atthe drop of a hat, like how we’re leaving for Seattle tomor-row last minute to build out offices for Farmigo. We purpose-fully make ourselves available for whatever opportunitiescome along. Everything has to evolve otherwise it becomesstagnant. Repurposing is pushing yourself—expanding, learn-ing new things.”

Starting this business hasn’t been easy, as no business is.What obstacles have you encountered while building Repur-posed Grain?

“Let’s be real. When we first started talking about all this wewere on different paths. Partied too much and had to makea choice. Either get straight or move on. Stop and cometogether or go our separate ways. It was about getting ourheads right. We came to the realization we can’t do this aswe’re doing this. We can’t do it if we’re going to half ass it.You know back in the day we’d be like, can’t wait to get offwork to go do x, y, z. We completely sobered up andswitched gears. Cut a lot of friends out and dedicated our-selves to our business and our ‘plan.’ We knew what wecouldn’t be doing to get where we wanted. Our goalsweren’t attainable with the lifestyles we were living. We hadto stop the fomo (chuckling)—fear of missing out. Our biggestobstacle was ourselves. After we came back from Kauai wesaw the other side of life. We got inspired by our friends, Jessand Jay, and started surfing, trying new things like boulder-ing. Things that would be a type of meditation in action,where you push yourself and get to a point where you’realmost going on instinct. Once we made the choice to stopdoing things, the rest of life started falling into place. Weturned fear into a positive push, started building ourselvesup and made the lifestyle switch we needed to make.“

Being brothers is what makes them and their business sospecial. It’s what creates their vibe and the core values oftheir business. So what’s it like being brothers and workingtogether?

In the one and a half years since they started RepurposedGrain Mike and Jake have made it a point to maintain theirfamily values not just between themselves, but by extendingthose values to their friends and their clients. During ourconversation Mike realized how their clients had all becometheir friends, and I became curious if that meant there wasa particular type of client they looked for when picking upprojects.

“Well, family means a lot to us. We’re family. It’s not just acontract or a company when you work with us. We want youto know we’re on your side. It’s a process. We take every-thing into consideration to build you a unique piece. Ourclients become family. Our dad said, your girlfriend, me asyour father, we’re not always gonna be here. The personthat’s always going to be there are your brothers. They’ll bethere for everything. Even if you stop talking you can’t getrid of the fact that you’re family. It’s all about family. Wedon’t have a type of client, we want to work with everyone,help everyone.”

The short answer—no. It seems it’s either a type of person thatis drawn to them, or the boys’ energy just creates the senseof community that seems to follow them.

As brothers the boys are constantly learning and growing.When they were kids, Mike, as an older brother, taught Jakehow to be—how to follow your dreams, be yourself, and dowhat you want to do. Now that they’re both adults they leanon one another to create, push, and keep one other in check.The boys have not only made a business out of repurposing,they’ve gained purpose. Looking forward I ask them, whatdoes the future hold for you and Repurposed Grain? Whatare your goals? Their answer:

“To be successful of course. But to also keep family together,to involve as many other people as we can, when we can. Tokeep inspiring and be inspired. Always be learning. To neverlimit ourselves and stay open to any creative adventure oropportunity that comes available, and to always push our-selves. It’s [our future] an open book. If you don’t try thenwhy do it?”

SO TELL ME BOYS, HOW AND WHY DID YOUCOME UP WITH REPURPOSED GRAIN?

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: : ADVENTURE : :


STYLEP H O T O G R A P H Y B Y G U S T A V S C H M I E G E

T R AN S - P E C O S F E S T I VA L O F MU S I C & LOV E

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MARK FOGWELLWORN OVER TIME

LA CRESCENTA, CALIFORNIA

: : No 01 : :

LAUREN HARDYSMALL ROOM COLLECTIVE

ON THE ROAD, USA

: : No 02 : :

LANGHORN SLIMMUSICIAN

LANGHORN, PENNSYLVANIA

: : No 03 : :

LEANNE FORDCREATIVE DIRECTOR / INTERIOR DESIGNER

NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES, NASHVILLE

: : No 04 : :

FORREST BLOEDESTAG PROVISIONS

AUSTIN, TEXAS

: : No 05 : :

MAGGIE FOXFILTH MART

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

: : No 06 : :

JOSH CHALMERSBEARDED LADY SCREEN PRINTS

AUSTIN, TEXAS

: : No 07 : :

CARA LYNN CROSSLEYEL COSMICO

MARFA, TEXAS

: : No 08 : :

P H O T O G R A P H B Y D A V I D A R M S T R O N G


RAINER

JUDDPOTATO LOGIC

45

CASA PEREZPRESIDIO COUNTY, TEXAS

: : Image © Judd Foundation. Licensed by VAGA : :

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: : HERITAGE : :

OUR FATHER GREW UP MOVING EVERY FEW YEARS. DALLAS, OMAHA, NEW JERSEY, SON

OF A WESTERN UNION MANAGER, HE WOULD TELL US HOW HARD IT WAS TO MAKE NEW

FRIENDS, KNOWING HE’D BE LEAVING AGAIN. THIS CONTRASTED WITH THE STABILITY

OF LONG SUMMERS WITH HIS GRANDMOTHER ON HER FARM IN MISSOURI, WHERE HE

WAS BORN. HIS PARENTS, HAVING LIVED THROUGH THE GREAT DEPRESSION, HAD

RESPECT FOR WORK AND RESOURCES, IN STARK CONTRAST TO OUR DISPOSABLE

SOCIETY. RIFE WITH MEANING, LIFE WAS RICH IN THE SIMPLEST FORMS. A STORY ABOUT

DON AS A TODDLER INVOLVED HIS GRANDMOTHER TASKING HIM, FOR THE TIME

CONSUMPTIVE ASPECT OF THE PROJECT, TO TAKE ONE POTATO AT A TIME TO A BASKET

AT THE END OF A FIELD. HE SOON REALIZED THAT HE COULD BRING THE BASKET TO THE

POTATOES. HE WAS ON HIS WAY. ON HIS WAY, WITH LOGIC, WITH QUESTIONING

AUTHORITY, WITH INDEPENDENT THOUGHT.

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: : HERITAGE : :

After driving in a Land Rover with my mother and brotherthrough California, Baja, Mexico, Arizona, and New Mex-ico, Don found Marfa. Marfa, just on the edge of America.We always lived on ‘the wrong side of the tracks’. From SoHoto Sal Si Puedes (the unpaved neighborhood of Marfa) wewere far from concrete curb meets timer-watered mowedlawn, middle class dream.

Don was a passionate caretaker of both the man-made andthe natural world. A protector of the beautiful, the hand-made, the well thought out, and the hard won. It is fitting thathe created a Foundation to be a perennial reminder of whatmatters: art, visceral experiences of space, and essentialideas that evolve our culture. Leaving good things alone isan undervalued idea of such potential that I might even con-sider it revolution worthy. Once you can decipher the goodthings around you, you can lose, overturn, or just plain oldnot be part of the things which hold no meaning, proportion,or beauty.

At the time of Don’s death there was a nuclear dump plannedfor nearby Sierra Blanca. We, with a coalition of people inthe region, defeated it. Because out in Texas land is life. Andyou do not take people’s land.

Beyond Wild Rose Pass, beyond Balmorhea is I -10, arteryto freight and industry, opening up into a never ending seriesof of oil rigs and strip cities, armpit of America style car cul-ture that makes our States a pocked and bruised body. Southof Marfa the un-population increases in the heat and ruggedterritory of Pinto Canyon, Chinati Mountains, all the way towhat’s left of the Rio Grande, after El Paso, and everyonenorth has had their way with her. Ranchers have, for the lasthundred years, been the better custodians, with their damageto the prairie being limited to overgrazing and hunting. Asmall loss considering the options, but still, an unnecessaryloss that takes decades to repair.

IN ADDITION TO A QUIET

DEMEANOR AND SPARKLING

WIT, DON HAD A RARE FORM OF

RIGHTEOUS ANGER THAT

COMBINED PASSION AND

INTELLECT. THESE DAYS WE COULD

USE BARREL LOADS OF SUCH FIRE

TO SCARE OFF THE CURRENT

THREAT TO WEST TEXAS, THE

PLANNED 143 MILE TRANS-PECOS

PIPELINE INTO MEXICO.

LA MANSANA DE CHINATI :: THE BLOCK/SOUTHWEST STUDIOMARFA, TEXASImage © Judd Foundation. Licensed by VAGA

: : HERITAGE : :

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DONALD JUDD1928 - 1994

: : Illustration by Chris Brown : :

: : HERITAGE : :

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CASA PEREZPRESIDIO COUNTY, TEXAS


: : HERITAGE : :

50

: : HERITAGE : :

51

THE ART STUDIOMARFA, TEXAS


THE ART STUDIOMARFA, TEXAS


LA MANSANA DE CHINATI :: THE BLOCK/SOUTHWEST STUDIOMARFA, TEXAS


LA MANSANA DE CHINATI :: THE BLOCK/NAVAJO ROOMMARFA, TEXAS



MADE

55

PASSION & RESPECT TOWARDS NATURE

COMEBACK

AXE56

Cemal Can Dinç started collecting axes and hand tools as a young boy in Turkey. Searching and purchasingthem online was the most efficient method considering his location, but the costs was high. The solution - crafthis own, with great passion and detail.

: : MADE : :

Fig .01

57

: : MADE : :

Fig .02

58

: : MADE : :

Fig .03

59

: : MADE : :

Fig .04

62

: : MADE : :

Fig .05

63


MADE

55

STETSON

FACTORYP H O T O G R A P H Y B Y G U S T AV S C HM I E G E / WO R D S B Y C H R I S B R OWN

P HO T O E S S AY

69

John B. Stetson, born in 1830, created a rugged hat (TheProspector) for himself made from thick beaver felt whilepanning for gold in Colorado. According to legend, Stetsoninvented the hat while on a hunting trip while showing hiscompanions how he could make cloth out of fur withouttanning. Fur felt hats are lighter, they maintain their shape,and withstand weather and renovation better.

Stetson made an unusually large hat from felt he madefrom hides collected on the trip, and wore the hat for theremainder of the expedition. Although initially worn as ajoke, Stetson soon grew fond of the hat for its ability toprotect him from the elements. It had a wide brim, a highcrown to keep an insulating pocket of air on the head, andwas used to carry water.

As their travels continued, a cowboy is said to have seen J.B.Stetson and his unusual hat, rode up, tried the hat on for him-self, and paid Stetson for it with a five dollar gold piece,riding off with the first western Stetson hat on his head.

My father always wore a Stetson. As a child in the early 60's,I have great memories of trying on his beige Royal Stetsonwhile he was at work in the oil refineries. It was sweat andsmoke stained from days in the garden and nights around aopen fire during frequent weekend camping trips in the pineywoods of Southeast Texas. It smelled like him and gave mecomfort in wearing it. I own that hat today, along with mygrandfather's Open Road Stetson. This beat up Open Roadhas become a main stay in my wardrobe. It just feels "right".


117

This is for you folks who create for a living. For you, compartmentalizing life into nicely organized boxes — work life here, personallife there — is next to impossible. And for good reason. If you can’t bring true human experience into creative work, it probablywon’t make any real impact. So I propose we trash the idea. I came to this conclusion the hard way so I’m going to take a stabat telling you about it.

BUFFALO CROSSING.

In my mid 20’s, after growing up in Texas wholeheartedly pursuing sports and occasionally scratching creative itches when itrained, I found myself cut from the Philadelphia Phillies Minor League baseball system. Wounded and out of options, it was timeto hang ‘em up and find a new identity. I finished grad school and found myself working as a runner on a documentary film projecton the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Came across the American Bison there who, I was told, are the givers oflife; symbols of endurance, sacrifice, and survival. They remind us of the abundance we are given, and the gratitude we shouldhave for it. On this trip, I saw how the loss of heritage and identity could cause people to lose connection to their spirit. Losingyour ways is serious business. Visiting this place marked a new starting point for me. I had a sense there was a creative world outthere for me to explore and be grateful for, and that I should leave sports behind. Back in college, my painting teacher had gentlythrown me out of his class and into a graphic design class, where he said I could most usefully apply my obsession with rearrangingthings. I was thankful to have a undeveloped talent for something that I could pursue again, wholeheartedly. After months of jobsearching, I took a contract job retouching decorative collectible plate designs emblazoned with kittens, puppies, baby angels,pink unicorns and all sorts of manly subject matter. About lost my mind doing that, so I left Chicago and headed back to Texasbecause I missed the smell of the Southwest. Back home, I was gifted a few freelance projects from friends and family, eventuallystringing more jobs together to make what is now my 17 year-old design company, Onefastbuffalo.

OFB had a very spiritual, creative beginning for me. As are many new ventures started by young people, there was pure instinct,good intention, and honest aspirations. Everything was self taught. Onefastbuffalo represented the freedom to roam, to explore,and to create. We would see the true nature of things, make new stuff, and give it to people. During OFB’s first 10 years, weexperienced the typical ups and downs of growing a business. I cut my teeth in that decade. I got my "time in the water" as mysurfing or fly fishing buddies might say today. We got bigger and did some good work over that time, but nothing great. But, yearafter year, it became less about the joy of making art and more about accumulating jobs, simply executing our client’s instructions,and trying to win awards for validation. Personally, I got good at being a person working in the creative industry, not at livingcreatively. I ended up a good 40 pounds heavier than my playing days, was only a semblance of the athlete I used to be, andwas mentally exhausted, and burned out. The most unsettling thing about that decade is that for the most part I don't remembermost of it.

I think the founder of the brand Patagonia, sums my decade long journey up best.

LIVE SLOW MAKE FAST

THE HAWK’S MIND & THE BUFFALO’S HEART.

WORDS & ART BY BEN JENKINS

HAWK SIGHTING.

One day I came home from a busy day at work and my5-year-old son handed me a drawing. It was of me workingat my computer with a caption that read: "My Dad is a GrafikDisiner." In the drawing,on the screen, was a hawk. Kids cansee through all your B.S. They see your true heart. My sonknew who I really was... a graphic designer. Not the boss orcreative director. A designer…who is fascinated with Red-tailed Hawks whenever they fly by. I always notice them.Hawks, I was told, are messengers, guides. They are symbolsof clear vision, awareness, intuition, wisdom, and insight.When the hawk shows up, the message is to evaluate the selfcreated illusions of our identity, and to become who we reallyare. I never saw the point in being self destructive as somekind of artist. Scorched earth of relationships, and eventualearly demise. It’s sexy and all, but it ain’t me. So I took thishawk seriously. I had lost my ways. I realized I had becomea manager not a maker. I decided to deconstruct both myselfand OFB, and rebuild a work life where I could live atruly creative life…and hopefully still make a living.

"How we spend our days is, how we spend our lives"- Annie Dillard'

Here is the roadmap I sketched out for myself that helps keepme in check. It’s not about shortcuts, life hacks, or time-man-agement. It’s not about work/life balance. Rather, It is aboutaligning work with life in a way that nurtures your creativeengine and supports longevity of creative output. Time isreally the key stock material of creation, and of meaningfulexperience. Real mastery takes real time. But we can’t makemore time — we can only improve how we use the timewe’re given.

THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF PLANNING SOME-THING LIKE EVEREST IS TO EFFECT SOME SORTOF SPIRITUAL AND PHYSICAL GAIN AND IFYOU COMPROMISE THE PROCESS, YOU'RE ANASSHOLE WHEN YOU START OUT AND YOU'REAN ASSHOLE WHEN YOU GET BACK.- YVAN CHOUINARD

: : INSPIRE : :

118

Ben JenkinsONE FAST BUFFALO

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SEAN BERRY

TRADE EXCESS FOR SIMPLICITY.

OFB’s first ten years can be summarized into one word..excess. I owned too much stuff, had too much office space,held too many meetings, had too many people offering toomany services to too many clients. Accumulation and excessare the American way, and I was American as hell. So duringthe next year, I worked to remove clutter and excess from mylife in every way I could control. Either I needed it, loved it,or got rid of it. I believe too much of work/life balance in thetoday’s business world is about employers tactically bringinga “personal” feel into the workplace. Things like beer tapsin the office, TV’s, chef's kitchens, lounges, pool tables, gyms,skateboards, basketball courts, on and on. But these thingsdon’t balance work and life, they just making work feel morelike home. I was a pro at creating these distractions. So tostop the behavior, I got rid of our office space and all thestuff in them. Working remotely from wherever we chose,instantly gave us more time for the work. It reduced thenumber of wasteful meetings. It cut out commutes entirely.And of course it greatly reduced hard costs so we couldchoose the clients we took on more thoughtfully. Next, westripped our service offerings down to one thing…call itBranding if you like. We realized that we truly loved, and stilldo, is for people to hand us a portion of a product orbusiness idea, ask us to flush it into a full thought, craftan identity for it to exist in, and help bring it to life. All otherservices where abandoned. Last, other than having awebsite to show our work, we even we stopped spendingtime marketing ourselves. No biz cards, no leave behinds,no over-the-top holiday promotional, no more enteringaward shows, no outbound sales calls, no office parties, nonetworking events. We even stopped writing customproposals. The new marketing plan was to live experience-rich creative lives, bring those experiences back to the studio,get deeply involved in our clients' dreams, and make stuffpeople would talk about. Getting rid of things unneeded orunloved simplified everything and created space in my life.You can create more time by no longer working more thanyou need to to pay for things you don’t need or want.

LIVE SLOW.THE HAWK’S MIND.

The hawk’s mind is designed to fly, to live with clear vision,have wisdom, and refuel the spirit. Artists have the ability —if they stop long enough to observe with their own eyes — tosee things in the world and make connection when otherscannot.

REST, MAINTAIN, AND PLAY.

Many in our industry wear long hours as a badge of honor— late nights, weekend work, little vacation time. And I wasone of them. But the new OFB changed that. We now havea work season and an off season. We work from September1 to June 1 — and during the summer months we are closedfor business. I got this idea from my time in athletics. Inprofessional sports, it would be absurd to ask athletes to playyear round. As the season goes on, the athlete graduallywears down physically and mentally. The same can be saidfor creative minds. For that reason we also focus on physicaland mental wellbeing. We get sleep, We eat healthy, We getoutside and play. All animals play. We need it. Play usuallyinvolves physical activity but it’s also a form of mindrest because it’s meditative. We stop thinking. We engage

: : INSPIRE : :

121

in the activity. It recharges our physical and mental batteries.The play I’m interested in these days is surfing and fly fishing— two activities that are hard to master. They keep me in apresent state of mind and engage me in the physicalworld. Understand that a healthy body leads to a clear mindand improved creativity. It is not about how much you canwork, its about how much quality work you can make.

EXPLORE, SEE AND COLLECT.

Once we got rid of our office space, I started gettingcomfortable with the idea that I could work from anywhere.Pursuing play got me traveling. But I wanted to cheap wayto travel for longer periods of time. With savings from gettingrid of things, I bought a vintage 1958 Airstream trailer thatwe redesigned and rebuilt into something functionally new.This gave me and my family an office and a home we couldtake on the road — to work and live with long stretches oftime for playing and exploring. More time for journeys, notjust vacations. This changed everything for me and probablywill greatly shape how my kids see the world. These journeysfuel my life and work. What I observe, see and collect duringtravel serve as my creative fuel later.

FIND THE ESSENTIAL AND THE PURPOSE.

At OFB, our process includes time to learn, study andimmerse ourselves into the world of our clients. First, we clearour heads and then sort through the research and data tofind what is essential. We audit preconceived ideas andexpectations. We study the territory. We let go of projectsand ideas that are reactionary or developed out of fear. Thenwe keep the ones that are fearless and can create the mostimpact. It’s important to not get caught up in the rush of theprojects you see other people doing, just to do them. Havethe guts to say no. I struggle with this morethan anything else. Not every project is worth doing. Andnot every idea should be pursued.

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The buffalo’s heart is meant to run fast, endure, give its spirit,and provide for the world. As an artist with a buffalo’s heart,you’re not here to be a spectator. You have an opportunityto contribute and provide abundance to others’ experienceof the world.

MOVE TO MAKE.

Good strategy happens best in an active, moving state. Soinstead of jumping onto the computer, grab a pencil and notepad, maybe a recording device, a bottle of water, and stepoutside and start walking. Walking frees you from the clutterof data so you can simply focus on what you have learned.Search for THE idea using movement as a trigger. Thechallenge is to find the idea in your mind, then only use thecomputer as an excavation tool.

MINE IN SOLITUDE.

“Without great solitude, so serious work is possible.”- Picasso

The best of an idea is many, many feet underground. That'swhy we call bringing that idea to life the mining process. Min-ing is typically done best in complete solitude. Why do italone? Because you have less distractions and more time tofocus. You can also be yourself in solitude. You have the free-dom to explore ideas without judgment. Being alone in soli-tude is a bit scary. It’s uncomfortable. Trust your instinct. Havethe confidence that you will uncover your idea.

BUILD IN DISCOMFORT.

“What good could come from comfort? It’s certainly notart.” - Jack White.

As creative types, we tend to keep comforts around usin the form of inspiration: cool art, old projects, design

magazines. But those can act as a crutch. I prefer to keep mywork area as sparse as possible. It promotes a feeling thatsomething needs to be created there. And it helps me avoidretread or falling back on past successes. I like to build insome discomfort when creating. I like designing whilehungry... on an empty stomach. Another is designing whilestanding up versus sitting. I like to be cold. And I like it noisy.Figure out what works for you.

CREATE LIKE A RIVER.

As a designer, it's important to work fast — to create in afluid, flexible and fearless manner and to trust your intuitionand natural instinct. Think of creativity like the flow of a river.Water flows up to obstructions but it doesn’t stop. Instead itflows over, around and under them, always moving down-stream. During the creative process, we actually need theobstructions, the struggle, the boulders in the river to makeit interesting. To guide us. To push us. That’s actually whatshapes our ideas. I reiterate to work fast. Find flow by beingfully immersed, fully focused, fully locked in, and fully livingin the moment. I remember this feeling from sports. It’s whatI loved about playing, not just winning. Don’t hold back. Yes,use that creative fuel you found while exploring. But beinspired by the past, don’t repeat it. Don’t just decorate,express new meaning. Make a big freaking mess. Thenremember it is crucial to strip the new work back down toreveal the most powerful message with the fewest pixels. Ilook to nature for guidance here. God makes unbelievablycomplex things. Nothing seems to be in excess but nothing ismissing. These works are simply beautiful. I keep a pocketknife on my desk as reminder to strip down, cut out, be sharpand keep the work clutter free. I think that it's best to giveclients one completely flushed out concept rather thanmultiple had don’e ideas. Give them your one best shot.

MAKE FAST. THE BUFFALO’S HEART.

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For me, Live Slow Make Fast is not a roadmap to a particular destination, but instead a cyclical system for the generation ofmany new ideas over a lifetime. If I get outside of it, I fall back into a slothful form of lazy behavior we call busyness. But If I playinside this cycle, I’m contributing, I’m living, and i’m getting better at the things I want to get better at. True Mastery is a journeyand a gift. So align your work with your personal interests — the things you’re passionate about — and your work will expressmore true human emotion. Burnout is absolutely avoidable if you fill your days with experiences that matter to you and fuel yourwork. Don’t separate life and art. If you're feeling overwhelmed remember 888. Twenty four hours in a day divided into threeparts — eight hours of rest, eight hours of work, eight hours of play. Meditate 15 minutes a day. If you don’t have 15 minutes, youneed to meditate 30 minutes. And my own personal favorite burnout check: If I don’t have time to cook my own meals in a day,I’m too busy. Inspiration is not your privilege. I’m always hearing about creative people wanting to get inspired. We are responsiblefor finding our own inspiration. If you’re bored with the work you are doing, you are likely bored... period. Maybe you just needsomething to overcome. Find some struggle. Go hungry even, figuratively or literally. Find some discomfort and you’ll find inspirationwithout asking others for it. Let go and put a little risk into things. If you’re lucky enough to live a creative life and make a livingdoing it, be grateful. Wake up tomorrow and realize you have 100% freedom to make anything you want. Do beautiful things,make beautiful things.

ISSUE NO.F/W 16/15COMMUNITY. HERITAGE. DISCOVERY.

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Refueled Issue 16