In 2012, David Kowalski was fired from what he would have described as his dream job, placing educators into schools in China. It was unexpected and in that moment he was forced to dive headlong into deep water. But instead of searching for a lifeboat, he ended up building his own ship.
David had been collecting antiques and oddities for years - a result of years of travel and necessity to fill the house he’d purchased in the Westview neighborhood of Atlanta. With time on his hands and a need to pay his mounting bills, David and a few friends took over the booth at an Atlanta area antique market and began filling it with some of the treasures he’d acquired through the years. As it turns out, a whole bunch of Atlantans shared David’s affinity for history-laden conversation pieces, and the booth was immediately successful.
In November of 2012, David partnered with a few regional makers on a holiday pop-up shop in Atlanta’s White Provisions District, offering small online retailers a chance to come together in a shared space surrounded by his eclectic antique finds and furniture. In this way he hoped to provide both the artisans and their patrons an experience that’s lacking for those whose only retail presence is online. A brick and mortar experience for those who would ordinarily find it unattainable.
Today, Brick + Mortar can still be found in the White Provisions district. The space is filled with antique furniture and curiosities that are hand-picked by David from his travels and his deep dives into estate sales and auctions. You’re just as likely to encounter a beautiful tufted leather sofa as an industrial lamp from a factory floor or the four-foot tall head of a bull elk. You will also still find the works from local and regional artisans without a retail space of their own. Currently in addition to the conversation pieces littered throughout the shop, you will find couture from Megan Huntz, jewelry from Pieces of Starr, and handmade leather from Glad & Young. All Atlanta-based makers getting an opportunity to shine in the beautiful, one-of-a-kind environment David has created.
Perhaps inspired by the makers and artisans he was housing in the walls of Brick + Mortar, David began creating and selling a line of candles he makes in the shop. A way for everyone to bring home some of the experience of Brick + Mortar without having to find a way to load an elk head into their Prius. For those who are outside of Atlanta, you can purchase Brick + Mortar candles here.
If you’re in the city, you can experience all of this for yourself, and I would highly suggest doing so. Maybe you’ll come away with a new candle, or maybe a dentist’s chair from the turn of the century. Either way you’ll get to be a part of the story, and that’s what all this is really about.
Until next time,
John - Founder, IGWM
Pioneer Selects: David Kowalski
Currently Reading: “I’m reading two things: ‘Tickets for a Prayer Wheel’ by Annie Dillard - her stuff is amazing. On the bottom of my candles I have an Annie Dillard quote. I’m also reading a book called ‘Devil in the White City.’ It’s so good.”
Currently Listening: “Always Sigur Rós - that’s the most inspiring thing to me. I’m also listening to a lot ofConner Youngblood. If you haven’t listened to him, you should.”
Current Inspiration: “Travel is what inspires me. Experiencing other cultures and they way they do things or don’t do things and their design aesthetics. Their language and food. Everything.”
Favorite IGWM Product: “I’m a big fan of the Sink or Swim hoodie”
P.S. David and the Brick + Mortar team have been releasing playlists for each of their candles. They’re vibey and well-curated, so when you pick up your new scent, check out its audio counterpart here.
It’s kind of amazing how many creatives find their path by joining a band as a teenager. Jeremiah Cowan is one of those creatives, and in his case, playing drums in a folky americana band set him on the course to be one of the most highly sought photographers in Atlanta, not to mention a pioneer of Instagram.
While being on location with the photographer shooting promotional photos (you know, the ones where all the dudes look melancholic while hanging out in their best scarves on or near railroad tracks) Jeremiah began to realize his interest in photography. The way the photographer measured and captured the light. The way he focused intently on capturing his subjects in the most imaginative ways (no railroad tracks, minimal scarving). He decided to try his hand at taking some photos. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a camera. He did have an iPhone, though.
Weirdly enough, it was Instagram that helped Jeremiah fully realize his talent. In the beginning of what would become a social media giant, Jeremiah used his Instagram page to showcase the lesser-noticed Atlanta of his youth. A born and bred Atlantan, he had a unique lens and perspective and began to document the city in ways most folks hadn’t seen. This led him early on to be featured on Instagram’s home page. Soon after, Jeremiah got an email out of the blue from the creative team at Apple. They wanted to feature his images in the first “Shot on iPhone” campaign.
Suddenly, Jeremiah’s photos were being seen in every corner of the Globe.
Since then, he’s gotten a camera and gone on to work with some of the world’s most recognizable brands, and even spent some time here at IGWM taking photos and making rings. As a matter of fact, Jeremiah Cowan was the first official employee of In God We Must. While taking care of a lot of our photography and content in the early days, we made sure we didn’t let him go without getting his hands dirty.
So if you’ve been with us from the beginning, you may be wearing a Jeremiah Cowan original right now. If you aren’t, don’t worry. We’re sure whoever made your ring will go on to become internationally renowned for some reason or another.
Until next time,
John - Founder, IGWM
Pioneer Selects: Jeremiah Cowan
Currently Reading: “The C.S. Lewis Space Trilogy. If something is done well, you can never get tired of it.”
Currently Listening: “I’ve been listening to The 1975’snew album a lot. I love the new Wild Nothing. Also Noah Gunderson, Lil Wayne…”
Current Inspiration: “Fashion brands like OFF-WHITE. I think we’re entering into the next phase of fashion - celebrating different cultures and styles.”
Favorite IGWM Product: “The Georgia Statehood Ring is one of the things I never leave the house without.”
]]>Erica Verges met Anna Zietz while the two were working service industry jobs in Atlanta - Erica at Victory Sandwich Bar and Anna at Krog Bar in Atlanta’s Inman Park. An experienced seamstress, Erica had been collecting and selling vintage items and tinkering with making leather goods when the two met by chance. They were fast friends, and soon Erica asked Anna to partner up on her new leather goods business. She agreed, having just finished design school at the Portfolio Center and looking for a fresh challenge. Taking inspiration from an E.E. Cummings poem, Glad and Young Studios was born.
“you shall above all things be glad and young
For if you’re young,whatever life you wear
it will become you;and if you are glad
whatever’s living will yourself become...”
Experience in the leather industry has been hard-won. Although Erica is a veteran seamstress, neither she nor Anna have been trained in leather working. It’s taken grit to get where Glad & Young is today. Most of the leather industry is dominated by old men who are loathe to give up secrets, but many hours of YouTube videos and a few good samaritans (as well as a bunch of creativity and a badass, get-it-done attitude) have turned Glad & Young Studios into a growing force within the artisan community, not to mention one of the only women-run leather workshops in the country. Their focus is on crafting quality works of art that will be functional forever, and lots of folks are starting to notice. Today you can find Glad & Young products in seven stores in Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina, as well as seeing and shopping the entire line on their website.
The growing success of Glad & Young doesn’t mean they aren’t still bootstrapping their way through the maker world. Each one of their pieces is still handmade, dyed, and painted by Erica and Anna.
If you’re in the market for a handcrafted leather bag, go get one from Glad & Young, and hurry up before everyone else has one.
Until next time,
John - Founder, IGWM
Pioneer Selects: Erica Verges and Anna Zietz
Currently Reading:
E - “I’m still working on Harry Potter”
A - “We don’t have a lot of time to read, but we listen to a ton of podcasts.”
Currently Listening:
A - “Homecoming was REALLY good, and I think we both listen to The Daily every single day.”
E - “I listen to Lore to scare myself in Anna’s basement.”
Current Inspiration:
E - “Shapes. Interior design is big for me.”
A - “I’m constantly inspired by travel.”
Favorite IGWM product:
A - Mini Copper Indian Coin Ring
E - Chill Out sweatshirt
Dave Crawford grew up skateboarding in the suburbs outside Atlanta. There comes a point in the lives of a lot of young skateboarders when you discover that your skillset will probably not land you on the cover of Thrasher any time soon, and you have to decide what to do with that information. Dave decided that positioning himself behind the camera would keep him in the game, so he started shooting. For the next several years, you could find him wherever the action was. He shot skateboarding, wakeboarding, punk rock shows, whatever he could find. If it involved high energy and a healthy distrust for authority, Dave was about it.
A few years in community college cemented in Dave the idea that he did not want to go to community college. He left to pursue his passion for pictures. For the next three years, he did what most of us do in pursuit of a dream: odd jobs. His time spent as a bread delivery man, golf caddy, waiter, bar-back, and bartender sustained him financially for a while but mostly served to strengthen the level of passion he had for photography. He decided to take the leap.
Dave took the Pioneer Spirit that had kept his dreams in his sights and doubled down on making it happen. He shot weddings for money and took other projects as they came. Including, as it was, some of the earliest In God We Must promotional images.
Dave was instrumental in helping us craft a visual identity that we still adhere to today. Some of you are reading this note because an image crafted by Dave looked cool to you, and we couldn’t be more thankful for that. To him and to you.
These days, Dave shoots inspiring images for brands and commercial clients as well as capturing images he finds inspiring. If you want to see some of them, click this.
If you need a good dude to shoot your photographs, call Dave.
Until next time,
John - Founder of IGWM
Pioneer Selects: Dave Crawford
Currently Reading: “Most of what I look at is visual stuff - photo campaigns and stuff like that. I like to see what’s going on in the photo world.”
Currently Listening: “I always have The Cranberries going,Young Dolph - definitely on that record, and I always have various hardcore bands in the mix.”
Current Inspiration: “These days I’m trying to work on myself, and a lot of my work is therapeutic. My wife is a huge inspiration in that way. She keeps me in check.”
Favorite IGWM product: The “Your Mentality is Your Reality” shirt. It’s so true - positivity is always the right road.”
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Mike Dunn is a jack of all trades by necessity. I know him best as a musician and a songwriter, but depending on your place in the world and your interactions with Mike, you might know him as a videographer, photographer, graphic designer, professor, tour manager, or event planner.
Mike put his first album, 2007’s “Edge of America” EP when he was 24. Fresh out of the University of Central Florida with a degree in philosophy, Mike drilled down into the road-warrior life of a touring artist with his band the Kings of New England. Most folks who’ve been there will tell you that playing in a band is not a good way (read: is a bad way) to make a living, so longevity in that arena generally comes from acceptance of functional homelessness or a willingness to get creative. Upon recognizing that he was giving up a significant portion of the money the band was earning and of the artistic vibe he was attempting to create by farming out content creation to others, Mike realized he could control the narrative and put his a little more gas in his tank by taking over that creation.
With a bootlegged copy of photoshop, Mike learned to mimic the 40’s and 50’s utilitarian graphic style that created beautiful works of art out of potentially deadly pieces of machinery. These days, a Mike Dunn design or photograph is as easily recognized as his gravelly Springsteen-influenced Americana.
Mike is still making really cool music. His last record, “Hard Luck Soft Rock” came out in 2015 and has been a steady presence on my record player since. You can also find him traveling the country with Orlando’s Standard Motorcycle Co. shooting videos and photos for the likes of bulwark American brands like Harley Davidson.
This year, Mike is throwing the 3rd version of what began as a one-night showcase for the vibrant songwriter scene in Central Florida. The 2018 version of Folk Yeah! will spill over into a second day and feature artists and musicians from all over the country. In addition to giving a stage to some of the country’s most interesting artists and writers, Mike’s Rust & Rebel Media Company will provide photography and videography free of charge to Folk Yeah! Participants as a way of giving back to the DIY community that embodies the Pioneer Spirit it takes to forge ahead into new creative ground.
So if you’re in Orlando this Thanksgiving, get down to Will’s Pub and find your new favorite band.
Until next time
- John, Founder of IGWM
Pioneer Selects: Mike Dunn
Currently Reading: I've been going through the collections of my favorite photographers, Mark Seliger, William Albert Allard, Annie Leibovitz, Danny Clinch, Dan White and Richard Avedon. They're huge fancy coffee table books and they're way too expensive but sometimes you can find a decent used deal.Annie Leibovitz "At Work" is my current favorite.
Currently Listening to: I've been jamming "Pennied Days" by Night Moves pretty steadily all year. It's like an alternate universe where Stevie Nicks was a dude and had a bunch of guitar pedals, which is rad.
Current Inspiration: Comedy. Anything that makes me laugh. I've watched the John Mulaney "Kid Gorgeous" special multiple times this year and I thought it was a meticulously crafted and performed piece. Neil Brennan's "Three Mics" was equally impressive in a whole other way as well. The maker "hustle" mentality can get pretty tiring. I love people that take what they do really seriously but don't take themselves seriously at all.
Favorite IGWM product: The "Emergency Candle" in a tin can is pretty genius and it looks great on my nightstand.
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Phil Sanders was an ATL-based photographer working out of his home when he got the idea to dedicate a space to wayward, creative entrepreneurs like himself. He established Foster ATL in 2014 to be a home-base for Atlanta’s creative-minded vagabonds. Foster hosted artists and creators from a myriad of disciplines. Periodically Phil would invite makers and artisans from around the city to gather in the Foster space to host a local flea market of sorts, a pop-up he called “In Good Company.”
Around this time, construction was finishing on an ambitious remodeling of a massive 100-year-old former Sears & Roebuck building in the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood of Atlanta dubbed “Ponce City Market.” With 2.1 million square feet of available space, Ponce was looking for tenants. As it happens, the developers of the project had taken note of Phil’s pop-ups.
Phil was invited to tour the unfinished project, and was lead to a massive space on the second floor of the food hall. The big idea was to put a retail store in the space, and they wanted Phil to take his pop-up concept permanent.
Citizen Supply was the first store to open on the Ponce City Market second floor, and In God We Must was one of its first vendors. We sold jewelry and apparel in a booth tucked along the back wall for the first year or so of Citizen’s existence. Last year, we moved our entire operation within the walls of Citizen Supply. We not only sell our goods (our only brick and mortar outlet), but we make them here as well. You can find us here at Citizen Supply every day, making all our jewelry, drinking too much coffee and talking with the lovely people coming in and out of Citizen’s doors.
There are over 150 makers, artists, and artisans represented at Citizen Supply. A project unlike any other, Phil is carving out a space in an increasingly homogenized retail world for real artists to thrive. We are so proud to be a part of this collective. Phil’s Pioneer Spirit has given IGWM room to grow into the company we are today.
If you’re in Atlanta, stopping by Citizen Supply is a must. You can say hi to us and experience the greatest collection of artisans within four walls that I’ve ever seen. We’ll be waiting for you.
Until next time,
-John, Founder of IGWM
Pioneer Selects: Phil Sanders
Currently Reading: Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
Currently Listening: Japanese House
Current Inspiration: “Lately I’ve been inspired by the things I’ve been working so hard on starting to work.”
Favorite IGWM Product: “I love the Find Yourself tee - it’s always been one of my favorite items at IGWM.”
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If you’ve ever emailed In God We Must, you’ve met Maryl.
In the winter of 2014, Atlanta was ravaged by a minor snowstorm. It was chaos. The interstate highway system through the City became a 7-mile-long frozen parking lot as thousands of travelers and commuters abandoned their vehicles, sacrificing them to the gods of mild winters and poor infrastructure. People camped in their cars and even some professional baseball players had to be rescued by other professional baseball players.
I, however, was snowed in with a woman who would become my wife.
We’d known each other for a while and she’ll confess to having always had a little crush on me, but there’s no better way to really get to know someone than to be stuck in a home waiting for the world around you to thaw.
We started dating shortly after the storm had cleared. In March of that year a completely new storm blew in and I was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes. Shortly after my diagnosis, I lost my job and with it any way to pay for my medications (If you missed that story, check it out here). It was a rough time, but Maryl was there. She had recently returned from a trip to Nicaragua and brought back some coins. She wanted a way to keep them close to her, and I, having some newly found time on my hands, resolved to make her something. After a sustained YouTube deep dive, I learned to make coin rings. I fashioned one for her from the centavo she had brought back. By now you know that sparked something in me that led directly to the creation of In God We Must.
Maryl and I would eventually move from Atlanta to South Carolina, back to Atlanta, get married, and start building a life together. She would go from doing hair full time at a high-end salon to getting burned out and managing a doggy daycare (her dream job, tbh), and finally to running IGWM’s customer service.
Maryl is the voice on the other end of the line if you’ve ever contacted us here at IGWM. She came on board around the Black Friday rush last year and has since revolutionized our customer experience. She packs and ships almost every order that goes out, and is fully dedicated to keeping us running like a well-oiled machine.
Throughout all of it, Maryl has been there. This company’s existence can be traced directly back to her. If not for her presence and support on that trip through Murphy’s Law in 2014, or her inspiring me to create those first IGWM pieces, or her constant championing of me and this dream, I don’t think we would be here. And if it weren’t for her tireless work on behalf of our friends and this Pioneer Spirit family, we certainly wouldn’t be where we are today.
I may be a little biased, but I know I’m not wrong.
Until next time,
- John, Founder of IGWM
Pioneer Selects: Maryl Richards
Currently Reading: Harry Potter (“It’s for a girls’ book club, which is mostly just an excuse to hang out, but somehow I haven’t read them before.”)
Currently Listening: “I just realized how awesome Post Malone is.”
Current Inspiration: “I just started doing Yoga, and I’m hooked. Totally obsessed. It’s helped me to figure out what I’m grateful for, and to refocus on important things.”
Favorite IGWM Product: “My favorite jewelry item is the item is the Mini Silver Indian Coin Ring. My favorite apparel item is being released in a few weeks so I can't spoil that :)”]]>
When Robert Watkins was 17 or 18 years old, he took his head in his own hands. That is to say, he got tired of the salons and barbers in his town not understanding how he wanted his hair cut. This lead to him first to grabbing the scissors and fixing their mistakes, and soon after he was foregoing the salon experience altogether and cutting his own hair.
His friends started asking him where he got his hair cut, so naturally he was soon cutting theirs too.
What started out as an annoying necessity soon became a passion. He started falling down Youtube rabbit holes of barbering videos, getting wrapped up in the classic barbershop culture. Robert soon left school, where he was studying photography, to apprentice at a local barbershop. Thusly armed with a licence to cut, Robert struck out on his own, traveling from one end of Florence, SC to the next to cut hair in his clients homes.
After gathering enough of a clientele to make it inconvenient to continue making house calls, Robert connected with a friend who had recently opened a business in downtown Florence. Setting up a one-chair barbershop in the back of the business, the two dubbed it “the Mailroom.” Out of that one-room operation, The Mailroom has now grown to two multi-chair operations in two South Carolina cities (Florence and Greenville) with sights set on more in the near future.
But that’s only half the Mailroom’s story.
Once The Mailroom got started, Robert started to notice that haircare products that were available weren’t living up to his professional expectations. Either loaded down with chemicals, pushed by shady corporations or just largely ineffective, he figured he could do better. He sourced the ingredients he needed and made a batch in his kitchen. Right off the bat, he knew he had something great. The Mailroom product line has expanded to include multiple pomades as well as mustache wax, beard oils and even candles.
In both cases, Robert saw a need and made moves to fill it. His embodiment of the Pioneer Spirit is the innate drive in a person that causes them to push boundaries. The thing that allows people to feel empowered to never settle for the lot they’ve been handed.
The Mailroom Barber Co. exists to help people feel good about their hair, and by extension, themselves. No matter who you are, you are welcome. If you’re in Florence or Greenville, South Carolina, I encourage you to stop by for a haircut or shave.
You’re going to look great.
Until next time,
- John, Founder of IGWM
Pioneer Selects:
Currently Reading: Ideals of the Samurai
Currently Listening: IDLES - Joy as an Act of Resistance.
Current Inspiration: “Finding joy in the simple things in life - a clean home, pictures, greenery. I’m inspired by a drive to find peace and security in the world.”
Favorite IGWM Product: “I wear my Tag Necklace almost every day. I love it.”]]>
IGWM’s Taylor Friedrich is a sculptor, a potter, and really, really good at making IGWM stuff.
You wouldn’t necessarily expect someone from Boise, Idaho to find their footing crafting products for a company whose major offerings include a t-shirt with the word “y’all” scrawled onto it. But luckily for us, Taylor has.
Taylor Friedrich is a maker at In God We Must, and spends her days making rings (the wheat penny ring is her favorite) and other jewelry to live on the hands and necks of the world’s best people. But it wasn’t her jewelry-making ability that drew us to Taylor. Mostly, it was just her constant presence at the shop.
Taylor started hanging out at IGWM when she was in between jobs, having just met Samar at Georgia State University, where she’s currently studying studio art. When we needed some help, there she was. I put her to work helping fill and ship orders, but quickly realized that wasn't her highest and best use. I wanted to utilize her sculptor’s touch, so I taught her to make our state rings. Needless to say, Taylor crushed it straight away, and now some of our most beautiful products pass through Taylor’s hands before they end up with you - our Pioneer community.
Taylor has always been creative. Learning to draw from her mother and being steeped in European culture by her German immigrant father, there is a deep well of creativity and inspiration for her to draw from. Taylor has a bit of a wanderer’s soul. She loves to travel and speaks often of its formative nature in a person and her intentions to fully experience the rest of the world.
She’s the kind of maker that finds inspiration in the utility of the work she creates. She’s told me more than once that “eating cereal from a bowl you made is literally the world’s best feeling.”
I can’t confirm this fully, but I know Taylor well enough to know you should trust her.
Eventually, Taylor will have her own pottery studio and you’ll be able to buy the functionally beautiful artwork she produces. She’ll make good on her promise to travel and will likely be found hiding out in some far-flung reaches of the world, but for now we’re lucky to have her in Atlanta creating stunning work for In God We Must.
Until next time,
- John, Founder of IGWM
P.S. We're still looking for members of the IGWM family to feature in these inbox profiles. If you have a story that embodies the Pioneer Spirit, we want to hear it. Get in touch with us and let's talk.
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For our first Pioneer Spirit profile, I talked with Michael Sponsel of Freedom Barber Co. in Atlanta about striking out on your own
Once, I asked Michael Sponsel what got him interested in barbering. His response?
“I needed to make money!”
Little did he know his need to make a living would turn into a bright light for his community.
Michael is from Indiana, and he went to college to study education. He originally wanted to be a football coach, but the interviews weren't going as planned. He came to Georgia on a hunch. Cancelling his lease, he packed his car, pointed it south and wound up in Atlanta. Michael needed a change.
He wrote down three questions to help him figure out his next move:
The first two would point him in the direction of a fulfilling career path. The last would steer him away from a lifetime of high blood pressure medication and yelling at the TV. It allowed him to devise a plan to create a path for himself that wouldn’t make him feel bogged down by his everyday experience.
He liked working with his hands and interacting with people. He wanted to add value to the lives of those around him, to build confidence in his neighbors and create lasting relationships. He settled on barbering.
In establishing Freedom Barber Co, Michael wanted to do what he felt most shops aren’t doing these days: put the customer first. By focusing on customers’ needs first the business will naturally grow.
Michael’s dedication to his customers, community and staff are unmatched. Freedom Barber Co’s slogan is “A Modern Twist on an Old-School Artistry.” But it’s more than a haircut or a shave. It’s a safe haven. A gathering place.
Freedom is an old-school barber shop, but not just in the sense that they have a barber pole outside with hot-lather shaves inside. It’s an old-school shop because their first priority is to be part of the community. Recently, I’ve been working with them on an initiative they’re calling “Care More than Hair,” to design a line of apparel with the proceeds going to charities around Atlanta. This community-mindedness is what the Pioneer Spirit is all about. If you take care of your community, they’ll take care of you.
Until next time,
- John, Founder of IGWM
Pioneer Selects:
Currently Reading: Crushing It by Gary Vaynerchuk
Currently Listening: My Favorite Murder
Current Inspiration: “My staff. My mentors taught me to be successful, hire people who are better than you. They’re my friends, they’re my family, and seeing their work inspires me every single day.”
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I’ve known Zach almost literally forever. He is my younger brother by five years, and growing up he was always following close behind in my footsteps. Although we didn’t spend a lot of time together, I always knew` that he looked up to me. The sports I played, he played - the music I listened to, he listened to. I’ve always been proud to be his brother and hoped I had something to do with the person he turned out to be.
A few years back, near the holidays, IGWM was receiving orders faster than we could fill them. Zach was home from school, so I asked him if he would be interested in helping out for a few weeks. It seemed like a good way to kill two birds with one stone - get the orders out on time and spend a little extra time with my baby brother. Win, win.
It turns out Zach excels at this type of work. Now, a full-time team member, Zach works alongside Samar as our production manager. Almost all of what comes to you from In God We Must has passed through Zach’s hands - he’s a huge part of what we do and I’m thrilled to have Zach be part of the IGWM family, as well as my actual family family.
If you ask him, Zach will tell you that the Pioneer Spirit is about breaking new ground, about going where others haven’t and making a difference. Last year Zach teamed up with an organization called Kosovo Hope in a town called Suharekë to run an English camp for locals. About 200 students reliably turned up to learn from the team, and were able to connect personally and share their stories on a level that they hadn’t been able to previously.
Zach’s experience with IGWM has ignited a passion for making things and led him to change the course of his studies at Kennesaw State from physics to mechanical engineering. One day you’ll most likely find him wrenching on a Formula 1 racing team, or tooling around on a ship headed to the farthest reaches of the solar system - but for now we’re happy to have him in our humble camp.
Having family around is great. Having family like Zach around is incredible. I’ve had the unique opportunity to watch my little brother grow from someone who imitated me at every turn to being his own man with his own dreams and aspirations. Getting to work with him is a privilege. We wouldn’t be who we are without him.
Until next time,
- John, Founder of IGWM
P.S. We're still looking for members of the IGWM family to feature in these inbox profiles. If you have a story that embodies the Pioneer Spirit, we want to hear it. Get in touch with us and let's talk.
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When I met Samar he was working retail at Citizen Supply, the Atlanta makers market where we house our production space. Once we got to talking, we discovered that we’d been raised only a few blocks from one another, and had spent most of our formative years in the same grungy clubs seeing the same bands and hanging out with the same people.
A few months later, when Samar needed a job, I hired him on to tackle some of our logistics and shipping work. I started to teach him the ropes of our products - how to make the rings, leather goods, etc. An experienced creator, he took to the process right away.
These days Samar works as a Production Manager at In God We Must. He works with a small team making all of the IGWM products and overseeing quality control of the pieces before we ship them out to our customers.
At just 22, Samar is already a talented photographer and filmmaker. In addition to his work with us, he is studying design at Georgia State University in Atlanta.
Samar actually began his college career with a focus in business, but while traveling with his family in India a few years back, he had a lightbulb moment. Samar knew he was a creator. His passion didn’t belong in a marketing classroom. When he got home, he changed his course of study to put him on a path to continue that passion of creation.
If you ask Samar when his passion for making things began, he’ll tell you it’s always been there. As a kid, Samar learned from his father the joy of getting your hands dirty working on cars, and from his mother the satisfaction of building a beautiful piece of furniture.
These days, Samar channels that energy into building beautiful pieces for In God We Must that eventually end up in your hands. The care and devotion he shows in his work is evident in every piece that passes through his hands.
I couldn’t be prouder to have Samar on our team. The next time you open a package from In God We Must, remember the hands that built these things. Without them, there would be no us.
Until next time,
- John, Founder of IGWM
Samar's Favorites:
Book: probably Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Film: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou by Wes Anderson (and he's easily my favorite director)
Band: The Strokes
Place in Atlanta: the High Museum
Restaurant: Gio's on the West Side
Favorite IGWM product: Our silver stackers are my favorite product. They a lot of fun to make because the silver is delicate to work with. finishing these rings is super satisfying, i love polishing them and then getting to see the finished product.
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I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 2014, during a family crisis and right before being let go from what was a pretty good job. Having settled into a relatively happy, comfortable life, I was thrust, without warning, into chaos and uncertainty. Everything was suddenly up in the air - in addition to my newfound anxiety about my health, I no longer knew how I would even begin to pay for the medicine I now needed. Suddenly I had a lot of time on my hands and a growing dread about how and if it would all work out.
All the while, the costs mounted.
In order to occupy my time and take my mind off what might be next, I started making things. One day my girlfriend, now my wife, showed me a ring she was thinking about buying. I thought I might be able to make something similar, and I needed the distraction.
I got to work.
It turned out pretty well, I thought. I posted pictures of it on the internet and people started asking me to make them one too. A light bulb went off. Maybe this is a solution to cover some of my costs and keep my head above water.
Within a few months, I was making pieces for friends, family, and complete strangers. I was paying for my medical expenses and my workspace was completely taking over my house.
The name “In God We Must” comes from the motto on the coins that have become the centerpiece of everything we do. It refers to that Pioneer Spirit and the fact that we all must do what he have to in order to survive and thrive. If there’s a mission to this craft, I want it to be to inspire people to get out and do what inspires them. To show people that if I can take this uncertainty and dread, and turn it into something productive, then they can push through the things that are holding them back. That we can all forge a path forward through whatever is thrown at us.
That is the essence of the Pioneer Spirit.
This is In God We Must.
- John, Founder of IGWM
]]>For this collaboration, we found these killer brass tokens (Yes, they are gaming tokens!). When punched, domed and bent to create a ring, you see front and center the word “Freedom”. Below this, you can see just the tips of an eagles’ wings as well as a tiny glimpse of the eagle head. We really felt like this ring was perfect because of the symbolism that it creates. Freedom is surprisingly not something that everyone has the pleasure of experiencing in their lifetime. When wearing this piece, it can be a constant reminder of the freedom that you have as an individual, and can hopefully be an inspiration for you to create that freedom for others.
Our main goal at IGWM is really just to inspire others. We want to inspire you to make things happen for yourself, no matter how difficult the road may be. ANYTHING is possible if you get in your own head and provoke that pioneering spirit that is in all of us.
Our mission:
TO PROVOKE, EMBODY, AND INFLUENCE A PIONEERING SPIRIT AMONGST OTHERS.
(We are now offering these rings on our website, and ALL profit will go towards the End It Movement.)
]]>Blended and poured by our friends at Lumary.
A concept candle birthed from the creative minds of Anderson Duncan of Lumary, & John Richards of I.G.W.M. - The concept is derived from the "Emergency Drinking Water" that was issued to the Navy during the Korean War.
Our Emergency Candles are 8 ounces of 100% Soy Wax, with a very slight fragrance of Rosemary, for comfort in an emergency. Each candle is sealed with a matchbook inside the tin - and is at a size that is easy for travel (Camping, Fishing, Hiking) where you may find yourself needing light, or even fire, and the best part is - they are sealed with a pull top lid which makes the candles safe from any sort of water it may be submerged in, or exposed to.
Perfect for use in the event of a natural disaster, power outages, or even a conversational piece for your coffee table.
Below is a video shot by our friend Matthew Baxter of us sealing and testing our Emergency Candles.
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