Just like that, 2024 has come to an end and the new year is here. It was a very busy year for me personally (with no lack of side projects) and also with Enso Forge. It all felt like it went too fast, but I suppose thats how you can tell the time was well spent.
2024 had a lot of firsts for me, like a lock-back folding knife, my first art dagger, and my first ever run of kimchi! (Viability of edibility is questionable.) But nevertheless I enjoyed all of these new endeavors and feel really good about them. We also adopted a dog! (See bottom photo.) The year was also filled with more fabrication and welding work which I’m thankful for. With Instagram banning knife makers, the side work really helped me to carry some weight and not stress so much and to allow myself more creative freedom in the knife making realm, which is what I always seem to desperately want and need. It also led me to participate in more local craft shows which are usually fun. Meeting face to face and being able to talk about the craft with genuinely intrigued people is a really fulfilling part of the business and I’m thankful for all those that I got to meet and talk to and to those that purchased my work.
With as fast as everything moved in 2024, I somehow managed to have a somewhat successful vegetable garden which is a big deal! I love food and I love self sufficiency so to be able to take the time to grow some tomatoes and peppers is a really rewarding feeling. And lets be real, a homegrown tomato is on another level compared to anything you can get at the store. Good food was in abundance throughout 2024.
One of the more meaningful events of the year was my acceptance into the Craftsmen’s Guild of Pittsburgh. With many things in my life, I tend to be my harshest critic and sometimes even my worst enemy, so to be recognized by fellow craftsmen and artists and to feel like part of a community is a really great feeling. I’m excited and honored to be a part of it.
Overall, 2024 was a good year. It was the first time in a long time that life sorta felt like how its supposed to feel. Dynamic, fun, challenging, fulfilling, and filled with depth. Don’t get me wrong, it was hard too, but thats one of the key ingredients needed to make it beautiful. 5 years ago when I decided to start Enso Forge, it wasn’t because I wanted to get rich, or to be an “entrepreneur” or anything like that. All I wanted was to be able to live life on my own terms, to live a life that is more mindful and intentional, to create, and to discover what a beautiful life looks like to me. And it seems that the beauty isn’t found in reaching farther or going bigger, but in digging deeper and looking closer, and in taking a few moments every now and then to breathe, and be grateful for all that life is.
Heres to 2025!
