We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Abby Garner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Abby, appreciate you joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
In 2015, I was offered a role at Apple which would relocate my family to California from Wisconsin. My husband David and I were both born and raised in Wisconsin, including our parents, and their parents. Our parents were just entering retirement, and our children were 9 and 2 years old. We built and operated David’s tattoo business there since 2000. I had a 19 year career at SC Johnson. Life was comfortable. Navigation on autopilot. We decided to take a risk and accept the offer. Shut down, sell, and say our goodbyes. Become uncomfortable, resulting in growth. But, Apple didn’t work out. After two years, we decided to change our environment to what felt like a better fit, Southern California. The mountains, palm trees and ocean. This is where I learned to fuse glass. My husband has practiced exclusively in large black & grey tattoo pieces. Each of our art creations end up being a single, unique object. With a supply chain background, I wondered how we could share our creations to a wider audience. His art on my glass art? Instead, we envisioned David’s charcoal art combined with his tattoo style on white porcelain dinnerware. Functional art. Together we created California Artware.
Abby, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Abby has had a fascination with glass since she was a child, collecting paperweights along the way. When COVID slowed the speed of life, Abby saw an advertisement to learn how to fuse glass at a local business, Glass Arts Collective. After one class, she was hooked and spent the next 4 years experimenting and practicing, creating functional art through dishware. David was born with a pencil in hand, and has always enjoyed drawing. A chance meeting became a tattoo apprenticeship in the 90’s. Tattooing professionally since, and practicing exclusively in black and grey for the last decade, David’s art, especially birds and animals deeply captivated clientele.
Together they’ve created California Artware.
We make high quality, white porcelain dinnerware featuring David’s unique artistic designs. We were tired of shopping for dinnerplates with the same old traditional patterns, floral borders, and designs. We wanted something cool, different, unique. Something that could be used daily, dishwasher and microwave safe. Not your grandma’s dishes. We currently offer a modern skull design, as well as two hummingbird designs, and also a barn owl.
How’d you meet your business partner?
So this girl walks into a tattoo shop….. Somehow destined to meet, but not at the greatest time. After a very complicated beginning, we spent New Years of 1999 together dreaming about future business possibilities, and also hoping the power wasn’t about to go out due to some Y2K technicality. We opened our first tattoo business, Skin Candy Tattoo in 2000.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
After 7 months building a career at a start up consumer goods company, Abby was given 24hr notice that 30% of positions were being eliminated, including hers. While hard to swallow being in a position with no control, Abby and David worked together to reignite an old dream to produce David’s drawings on dinnerware. Abby had to pivot from stable W2 income and insurance coverage to using this time as a gift to pursue possibilities. She began learning about website building, creating product lines, and vetting out potential suppliers.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.CaliforniaArtware.com
- Instagram: CaliforniaArtware
- Facebook: California Artware
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/abby-garner-5646191a
- Yelp: David Garner Art, Ink & Paper Studios