The Birthday Practice
- Rich Labot
- Apr 9
- 1 min read
Some people take the day off, but I’ve always found my celebration at the bench.
There is a specific kind of peace found in the repetition of the craft. It is my birthday week, and as has become my tradition, I’ve spent the mornings in the studio. Looking back at photos from five years ago, the growth in the work is visible, but the feeling of the tool in my hand remains exactly the same. For me, "me time" has never been about escaping the work. It has been about the freedom to pursue it without distraction.
This year’s celebration is a quiet one spent among hides and thread. It feels appropriate to mark another year by working with authentic materials that require patience and precision. Every detail I focus on today is a reflection of the years of practice that separate this morning from those early snapshots of the studio. We often measure success by output, but during this week, I measure it by the satisfaction of a single, perfect stitch.
I am often asked why I don't take a break during a week like this. The truth is that Twenty-one Astor is the result of what I do when I have nowhere else I have to be. It is a celebration of the craft, and I am grateful for another year to keep refining it.
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