I have a some good friends, Steve and Kris, that run a small business called Oneicity out of Seattlle...or just wherever they feel like traveling to on any given week. A few months ago, I received a phone call from Steve. He and Kris had just returned from a business trip to Hawaii. Pineapple this, surfboarding that…well, he goes on to tell me about this great coffee shop in Lihu'e on the island of Kauai and the great things they are doing in the small community there. He tells me he engages in a conversation with the shops owner, regarding their cold brew coffees and teas that they locally source, roast and brew right on the island. The conversation quickly turns to their tap system and the owner tells Steve that basically their handles were just quickly put together, and used just whatever was on hand and cheap (free). Steve brings my name into the conversation, sharing what I do brainstorming that I might be able to do to help Jeff get rad tap handles like he's been wanting. Because this shop's focus on the community and helping the people there, spending money on the tap handles wasn't high on the priority list.

Now…the coolest part to me of this whole story.

Steve, after mentioning my woodworking skills and hearing this coffeeshop owner's passion and story, tells Jeff that he and Kris wanted to commission me to build him tap handles. As a gift from Oneicity. On their dollar. A way to give back to this small business for all they've given in their local community. Jeff is stoked.

Steve calls me, asks if I'm interested. I say to him, "duh". He hands me off to Jeff. I sketch up a few ideas. I make handles. UPS takes them to Hawaii. Jeff installs them. Cold Brew comes out. Everyone wins.

I love this story. It's simple. It's empowering. It's inspirational. It's a beautiful win for small businesses. It's crazy. It's beautiful. And I want to be a part of more of these stories. I love being able to connect with others, old friends and now new ones. Please go visit HaCoffeeBar and Oneicity on the web and read about what both of these small businesses are doing for the people they serve.

I hope you enjoy looking at these rad handles as much as I enjoyed making them.. I'm so happy with how they turned out. They are half handbuilt and half machined. If you have a signage/engraving project or know of someone that might, Second Chance Custom is the perfect place to start. Thank you for taking the time to visit.

Aloha!