Lake House Glass Kula Cloth® Artist Series - 'Heart of a Hiker'

Regular price: $22.95
Sale price: $22.95

Dear Kula friends,

This is Kula founder Anastasia here to write this product description, which is extremely near and dear to my heart... because the artist who created this Kula is also very near and dear to my heart... it's my husband Aaron, the founder of Lake House Glass.

I've known Aaron for over a decade now - and we've been married for 7 years. He is a visibly kind man who exemplifies patience, humor and compassion. For almost the entirety of our marriage, Aaron worked 12-14 hour shifts (many of them in the middle of the night), and while we always managed to 'fit in' spending time together, it was usually at the expense of his sleep schedule.

When I decided to leave my job in 2017 and pursue a, 'career in the outdoor industry' - I honestly didn't have a clue what I wanted to do. I had the idea for what would become Kula back in 2016, but I never had done anything with it - and it was, quite frankly, intimidating. Aaron never flinched - he never told me that I was being reckless, or that my dreams weren't possible. Sure, he was nervous - but he supported me 100% every single step of the way. Even when I was lying on the ground crying (many times) as I attempted to start this business... he was right by my side to tell me that the ideas that I had were not foolish.

Me and Aaron at a Kula Event at Deception Pass State Park.

Aaron has always put his whole heart into everything that I wanted to create in my life - and I've always wanted him to discover HIS passion. I am a bit of an over enthusiastic visionary - while Aaron is much quieter, and he admitted to me that he often didn't think that there was really 'anything' out there for him. I always told him that he didn't need to look for it - that the answers would just come to him ... and lo and behold, he suddenly started feeling a calling to start working on stained glass again in 2021. He had been passionate about stained glass many years ago - but had given it up in the pursuit of a 'responsible' career. Excitedly, I urged him to follow his heart and, 'just see what happens'.

In May of 2022, Aaron walked out of his stressful job for the very last time - and he has been working on his stained glass art full time ever since. In the past 6 months, I've seen him come alive in ways that I never thought possible - and we've re-established a relationship based not on sporadic text messages about grocery shopping, but based on uplifting each other in love and in life in new and exciting ways.

His piece, 'Heart of a Hiker' was a custom commission that he made for a customer... and I absolutely fell in love with it and *knew* it would look amazing on a Kula Cloth. This is OUR first collaboration in 'business' - but I hope that you all know that this is really a collaboration in connection, joy and love. I hope that you feel that when you wear this Kula on your pack and that it reminds you that your dreams, no matter what they are, are possible.