Soaking up the End of Summer

It has been a bit of a strange Summer around here... lots of behind the scenes work and a bit of fun as well! As I sit down to write this, I don't feel like I have that much to share about my summer.

I've been putting so much energy into things that are "coming soon", and I'll admit I have been struggling with the fact that I don't (yet) have much to show for all that work (a stressful spot for a business owner). However, this week as I start to push past anxiety, fear, and doubts... I can begin to see that there are good things ahead. I can see that progress may be slow, but it is being made. Dreaming up the big dreams has never been the hard part for me, but staying focused on all the little details to make the dreams reality can be my challenge. 

So, it is my hope that a summer of slow, small steps... is building towards a beautiful Fall harvest. It can feel like I will be forgotten if I am not posting all my progress for everyone to see every minute of everyday. Instead, I am coming around to the idea that part of my artistic practice has to be about slowing down, and being in the flow of each season. For most of the garden's growing season... there is not a lot to show for it, but when those ripe tomatoes (or what ever you love) starts to roll in... it is all worth it!

Saturday Open Clay Table

Come join us downtown for OPEN CLAY on Saturdays in August. We’ve had a blast bringing the community into the studio on Art Walk Fridays (the second Friday of every month!) and with all the interest in Clay Classes, we wanted to expand by offering a few Saturday sessions. 

We've enjoyed seeing all the creative things everyone comes up with, and also how therapeutic the act of playing with clay can be! So come and get your hands dirty, and make something special to pick up at a later date. It will be open and unguided (hand-building only), but we will be there to help support you along the way.

$30 per seat for the 2-hours, which will allow you to make two small items or one medium sized item out of a 1lb. ball of clay. You can paint it while you are there and we will fire with clear glaze for you to pick up in a couple of weeks. 

Get Your Tickets Here!

This is OPEN CLAY, so it’s open to all ages and skill levels! Most people have made something in an hour during Artwalk, so this extended session will hopefully allow you more time to enjoy, relax, have a cup of coffee and chat with your other creators around the table. Our goal is to create connection within the community, with art that is approachable and affordable, and create more creative moments and spaces in downtown Vallejo!

We’ll also be sharing more info about the other studio clay classes coming in September 2023! Thank you for your patience as we get these different offerings started. We are so excited to create something with you!

SepTemBer 23rD SAVE the DATE!

What are you doing on the first day of Fall? How about celebrating the changing season (my favorite one), and the polishing off of the TBD Showroom space downtown! 

Saturday, September 23rd 
from 5pm - 8pm

I am collaborating with some talented folks to bring you amazing food, drinks, music (I might actually play a short set for you)... all while surrounded by TBD creativity on full display, AND you get to take a part of it with you at the end! Yep, you will enjoy all that deliciousness above, on freshly made TBD plates/tumblers that you will take home! 

This event feels like a big part of my journey to re-emerge from the 2017 fire (and then pandemic) to realize this space as I envisioned it when I moved in... a place to showcase my work and host small community gatherings. It would bring me such joy to see you there!

Tickets and details coming VERY soon!

Although this Summer has mostly been about working towards things coming soon... there have been some fun new things being added to the website! This includes LARGE mugs (yep, I finally did it), and also some various products to compliment things I have made. You can also find some of the Lunar series of vases (and more) celebrating two super moons in the month of August! 

The showroom has been open more than ever in August (and moving forward)... every Thursday for August Summer Nights, and Saturdays during the Farmer Market. Stop by and say hello!

The week I moved back to Vallejo (March 2020) happened to be the second Friday of the month, and so there was an Art Walk! I was so excited to wander downtown Vallejo and see the changes that had been going on in the years I had been gone. I had set up numerous times for previous art walks in Vallejo over the years (including the first versions long ago), and was looking forward to being downtown to participate from my own studio! Then a few days later the whole world change, and everything shut down for COVID!

Tonight the art walk returns for the first time since that shut down, and I am so excited to open my doors to people! So if you are close enough to Vallejo to come say hello... Please do!

Downtown will be buzzing from 5-9pm, and you can put it on your calendar for every 2nd Friday of the month!

Summer 2021
Welcome to Summer and my first ever newsletter! This has been something I have thought about doing for MANY years, and it is finally happening! What took so long?!? To answer that question I have to go back to the beginning of TreeBed Design, and how it started after the loss of my father. My dad was HIV positive for over 20 years (pretty rare in those early days of the AIDS crisis), and he finally lost that battle on Father’s Day 2004. My brother and I inherited his house in Vallejo, and I was able to set up a small studio space to make ceramics again.

My dad wrote a note to me when I left for college that said, “I don’t care what you do… as long as you treat those around you honestly & fairly. Besides that do whatever is meaningful to you.” I did my best to apply this to what I thought HE might want me to do after his death, and so I rushed into trying to start a business that could sustain my creative passions. I had a lot to learn about grief. I also had a lot to learn about how to apply those words of wisdom that he offered me… for ME.

I was very young when my dad came out to our family as gay, and then a few years later I learned about his HIV (after the loss of his first partner). These traumas shaped my understanding of the world (only beginning to understand the full extent of this in the last few years), and it informed how I started TBD after his loss. I had plenty of passion, ideas, creativity… However, I didn’t understand what I needed to grieve/heal in order to build a proper foundation for starting TBD. So I made mistakes. I stumbled, and got off course. In fact, I was never really clear where I was headed in the first place. I was operating out of a lot of fear (buried deep), and not fully living into all that was possible.

So as I reflect and move through this potent month of remembering (Father’s Day, Solstice, Pride Month)… It felt important to take a big step towards re-launching TreeBed Design (with love). I am making the newsletter happen now, because I have finally laid the foundation to make it happen (along with asking for support). I have used those stumbles and detours to discover/know my grief. To feel it more fully. To heal (which is a continuous process). To more fully understand the privilege I have in this journey, and be grateful for all the support I have been given. I still can’t say exactly where TreeBed Design is going (it is “TBD” after all), but I look forward to using this newsletter to tell you about where I am finding myself at the moment. My hope is that there is value in the process of sharing my work (for us both), and the stories that the work is rooted in. Sure it is partially about making and selling products/services that I design… However, underneath that it is about creating community in the shared experiences of being human.

Thank you for being the first people to witness and support this next chapter of TBD! Some of you have been watching this evolve (start/stop/pause/etc) since the very beginning… I’m so grateful for the continued interest and investment in my unfolding!

Process:
I don’t need to tell you that it has been a wild year! With no in-person dining there was not much need for my restaurant/winery customers to have ceramic dishes. However, once things started opening up… I am happy to say I got VERY busy. You can interact with my work at: Mare Island Brewing Co. (Vallejo), Compline (Napa), Katz Farm (Napa), Donum Estate (Sonoma), Stone Edge Farm (Sonoma), and more added soon which I’ll post on my FAQ page! There has been a lot to learn navigating my new Vallejo work space, supply chain issues, and shifting a side hustle into sustainable full time work. The goal is to balance all of those logistic/production things with finding the energy to re-spark creativity. I discovering how do I want to be in relationship with my work (especially the work I do in my living space), and nourish/care for all the parts of my being?

Product:
I have been making a lot of vases lately, and having so much fun doing so! It often feels like getting back to my ceramic sculptural roots… adding details, seeing where the clay takes me, and thinking about how the vase will be viewed/used. I love the idea that people will add their own creativity to the vase: flowers, kitchen utensils, and whatever else might fit! Summer is such a great time to forage in the garden for different colors/textures/etc to add to a vase. Each time you fill it up, a new work of art is created! Check out these new vases with the little “rivet” detail!

Sale: (gotta sign up for the actual newsletter for that part)

Next newsletter will be in the fall with perhaps a few emails of big stuff in between... if you aren't signed up... click the link so you can get discounts and first access to new products/events!

Thank you so much for reading and following along!

-Micah