Here I go again, another year of getting smashed in the face by Thanksgiving. It isn’t sneaky. It isn’t quiet. It isn’t subtle, but every time it somehow comes as a surprise. So much energy is spent just getting to a “goal” called Thanksgiving that the day and its meaning seem unrecognizable when it actually shows up.

I think part of it is the expectation (or maybe it’s the hope) for perfection. The perfect menu. The perfect guest list. The perfect table, mashed potatoes, wine pairings, pumpkin pie, or whatever...

This year the quickly growing team at Graf Lantz has been hard at work thinking about what it means to strive for doing one’s best versus chasing perfection and its adjoining disappointment. The holiday itself is imperfect, but the focus on gratitude is one that we absolutely look to prioritize as a team. Gratitude, and knowing that even if we’re not perfect, we’re continuing to work towards better.

It means being thankful that our crucial raw materials shipment was only four weeks late, rather than five. That only two machines broke down instead of three plus the cutter. That the website launched with a few typos and broken links, but at least it didn’t crash. That I found two lonely socks at the back of the drawer that became a slightly mismatched, but functional, pair.

As we look into other interesting ways of doing that Graf Lantz thing, we’ve kept all this in mind. That’s how we came to create our newest GL adventure, glob. Literally speaking, glob is our new offering of fashionable, colorful, reusable bags made with recycled bottles in ripstop and mesh. Figuratively, glob is our way of speaking to doing one's part in cleaning up the world or, at least not contributing more to the problem. It's the tiny little things we do as individuals that add up. The things that are doable. You may not be able to pilot a miracle ship that removes all the pollution from the sea, but you can keep the trash from getting there.

glob is not about us saving the world, it’s about having colorful daily reminders that keep us mindful of the many small choices we make every day and how they add up and glob together. We invite you to join us in this new adventure, the glob movement.

We’re grateful to have the support to keep trying new things, to keep growing our team, and to keep striving for and missing perfection.

Happy Thanksgiving.

– Daniel