it’s down to the wire, but i have forty five minutes left to say happy birthday to my sister janet (and have it still be topical)!

for those of you who don’t know janet- that’s a reflection of her disembodied head floating over somewhere in colorado. janet’s pretty amazing, and has been a cycling pioneer for as long as i’ve known her.

case and point- fourth of july, mid-ninties. simultaneously pushing double boundaries of handlebar and bangs technology, and basically inventing the dual mountain bike disc craze that kicked of later that season.

people may not have been ready for such bleeding edge sensibilities out in the provinces, but it is a rare genius who is recognized in their own time.

someone was noticing though. and while this may have been our grandfather, it may also have been someone with an awesome cutting edge photo to blog about. as soon as the film was developed. and blogs invented. so that shot from the opposite angle is probably just now being posted somewhere. trendsetter indeed! somehow none of this went to her head and now she lives out in colorado and makes some of the most amazing furniture that i’ve ever seen.

that one was part of a set of stools she made with robby holb for our folks.

this one blows my mind every time i see it. janet and robby did some amazing work on this piece as well- inlay everywhere, found objects, unreal precision and finish. it’s such an awesome table, and an unbelievable first project. now she has some shop space of her own outside of denver and, most importantly, some power tools. i’m really excited to see what she comes up with next. read more about janet’s work here.

also, was that rob tyner in the background of the 1996 lebanon new jersey fourth of july parade photo?

uncanny. ANYWAY, to summarize- janet is an amazingly intelligent human, an incredibly talented artist/builder, and the best sister ever. she’s had by back since day one and i’m always happy to hear her opinion and take on anything and everything. and she cracks me up. happy birthday janet, and peace out!

thanks to andrew hollingsworth for dredging up some good shots from the archives.