03.15.2025 [grand rapids]
Several years ago I interviewed for a big company. The man across from me caught me eyeing his watch, a Breitling Super Avenger Chrono 48. To each their own, and yet sometimes a choice in watches combined with other factors shows a certain… kind of hand… as in poker. This is a guy who loves BIG watches, BIG cars and violating BIG HR policies [oof]. Realizing we had less to talk about in real life actually helped me through the interview. When the right time came, I asked…
“Brietling?”
“YEAH. WOW. Do you know how much THIS COSTS?
“I don’t.” [I did]
“More than my daughter’s car probably!”
“Well. They make some great pieces!” [they do]
He went on and on. I listened and named a few other watches I liked. None of them seemed to land with him, but that’s ok. A bit of play goes a long way at work, whatever you’re doing in life. Could be hobbies, sports- whatever. That day, the “play” was watches. The interview ended, looking back I worked there way too long :)
Last weekend I was at The Cheney Place, a lovely venue with strokes of whimsical and eccentric tastes, painted over an industrial chic canvas… and the bathrooms are really nice. It’s a bit hard to dial in for sound- but they offer access to their speakers upstairs for cocktail hour, and the staff is lovely- so it’s worth the trouble.
I found my way to this wedding through a friend, Charlie, who’s got great taste in whisky. Charlie and I were eventually in a whisky club together, tasting different varieties and meeting pretty regularly. Charlie recommended me to the groom, who I did NOT know, with the statement “My only regret about getting married, is that I didn’t have Chris DJ the wedding.” [paraphrased, obviously] I imagine this was after a whisky or three, but who cares. It was high praise. This time the “play” was whisky and the drinking, had in fact, paid off. Now I just need to keep Charlie honest!!!
The bride and groom were music lovers, which meant I received an emailed playlist for EVERYTHING with permission to fill the gaps during general dancing as I saw fit. A bit of structure is actually great for creatives like me. You may or may not know, but even BIG directors in Hollywood are usually at odds with the studios funding their films. There’s always the director’s artistic vision, steeped in layers and metaphor… and then there are studio notes, with questions about going over budgets and if this will “sell some merch”.
Not exactly apples to apples, but you see what I’m getting at here. Sometimes it’s the limitations that keep creatives creating. Now, I’m not asking for every client’s full playlist of the night :P but in this round, we had all the right pieces in place. We had the structure. We had the freedom. We had a hell of a night.
Here’s to another happy couple. Cheers.
