Simmons Blades

08/13/2022

This is such a difficult post to make.

Today I spent some time cleaning up my shop. It’s the first time I’ve really done anything in here since my dad died in February and it allowed me to do some thinking.

When I started this back in 2015 I had such high hopes that I’d someday turn it into a full-time thing and be able to support my family with it, but as time has gone by that dream has hit head-on against reality multiple times over. I haven’t done enough to make this successful, I know that, and as much as I’d love to I don’t see myself having the time to at any point in the near future.

I’m going to keep this page, but essentially as an archive of this chapter of my life. Who knows, in the future if circumstances change maybe I’ll pick it up again, but for now I’m calling it quits.

Thank you to everyone who supported and encouraged me, I’ll never be able to fully express just how much it meant to me.

01/03/2022

My first bottle opener (from December 2020) vs the one I made today. It’s not perfect, but it’s definitely MUCH better. I’ve tried many times since that first one (which itself was only very moderately successful) but have never been able to make another one. I’m honestly shocked that I was able to make this one today.

01/01/2022

Happy New Year! I can’t believe it’s 2022! I have no idea what this year has in store, but hoping it’s good. I also hope you and your families are healthy, safe, and prosperous this year!

12/26/2021

You blink, and suddenly months have passed. Merry Christmas to all.

10/07/2021

The other day I was looking for something on Teespring and found that while my storefront had been deleted, the listings for products I had made were still there. So I ordered this mask to see if it would actually ship, which it did!

I’m still looking into other options for this type of print-on-demand stuff that doesn’t involve purchasing a whole bunch of inventory up front.

09/24/2021

I finally took down that stupid plastic “race fans” sign and moved this from a different spot in my shop. It’s the old logo, but this is the banner I had made for my first (and so far the only) craft fair 4 years ago so it’s near and dear to my heart.

09/18/2021

No rest for the weary…

09/12/2021

The mess behind me in that YouTube video made me really self-conscious so today I took some time to clean off most of the workbenches in the shop.

Introspective thought of the day: The video and pictures may not be the best, but I keep reminding myself that you have to work your way up and I’m just proud that I’m putting myself out there. It’s scary and embarrassing to speak in front of a camera, but on a certain level it’s also really exciting. I think I’m going to try to do more projects like that, very simple things to start and then work toward more complex. We’ll see.

09/12/2021

Last night I uploaded a short video to YouTube of me making a PVC frame for my son's green screen. It's not a complicated project or anything, but it was fun stepping back into the shop and making something again for the first time in a long time.

Today I decided to make a frame for my son's green screen out of simple 3/4" PVC pipe.

09/07/2021

I took a few hours after my shift today to work on cleaning up the shop again. These lights make such a huge difference in how it feels in there and I truly didn’t want to stop.

Also (because I never learn my lesson) I took this old cast iron bench that was destined for the dump and decided I’m going to try to rehab it.

There’s so much left to do in here when it comes to cleaning and organizing, but the last two days have been more productive than the last six months so that’s a good start!

09/06/2021

So many projects around the house. So many other things going on with life. And the shop has suffered. It’s absolutely trashed, and I can barely walk through it.

But with fall and winter coming I didn’t want to be struggling against the old lights that were in there so I finally took the time today to install the light fixtures I got last year. They’re super cheap on Amazon, but install real easily and put out a good amount of light. Tons more than the old fixtures did. I still have to see if I like the placement and will clean up the look a little later on, but at least they’re up and I can start focusing on cleaning the shop again.

Before today I also didn’t have a ladder, which is another reason I didn’t put these up sooner. I broke down and bought one for this and other projects around the house. Initially I was just going to get a regular 16’ extension ladder but saw that this Little Giant was available so I picked it up instead. It’s pretty sweet. I won’t lie, standing at the top of that thing trying to drill into the wood and hang the lights was definitely a scary experience, but I made it work.

Little by little I’ll chip away on the not so fun stuff until I’m in a position where I can start projects again. Hopefully that won’t be too far away. 🙂

07/26/2021

I hope this heat wave ends soon. I really want to get out and start working on projects again!