Master Blaster

   Our story started a long time ago, around the time I was 16 years old.  My dad, Tony, had a good friend named Roger Palace, and one day Roger had an idea. He wanted to start engraving personalized gifts, so he began researching and gathering equipment to bring his vision to life. He started a business called Wine Art and rented a small studio warehouse on Industrial Road. One day, Roger called my dad and asked if I would be interested in helping him with a wine engraving order; he needed someone to help sand blast the bottles. I was in high school at the time and had only met Roger once before, but I needed to make some money, so I agreed to go to his studio and give it shot.

 

   That was the first time I was exposed to sandblasting, and I loved it. I helped Roger for about two weeks and we got the job done. After that, I didn’t work for him again because I was focused on school. The years went by, and no one really heard from Roger. Then, out of nowhere, my dad received a call from him. He explained that he had lost his studio and was now engraving from home and he had just found out that he had cancer.  doctor's didn't give him much time, and my dad was in shock. They had been friends for many years, and the news was horrible. Roger got straight to the point and told my dad that he needed help and wanted us to consider continuing his work after he was gone. This was unexpected, and when my dad told me about the phone call, I didn't know what to think. I loved sandblasting and engraving bottles, but what he was asking of us was a life-changing decision.  We told Roger we would think about it, but in the meantime I would help him. Since I was no longer in school, I started going to Roger's house to help him engrave bottles.

 

   One day, my dad sat down with me and asked a question I'll never forget: "Do you want to engrave  bottles for the next 30 years or so?" I thought about it but I didn’t fully understand what it meant; he basically suggesting we start our own engraving business.  During this time, Roger was getting worse by the day, and we had to make a decision.   We agreed to move forward and commit to this, and Roger was so happy when we told we would continue his work.   From that day forward, I went to Roger's house every single day. I had so much to learn, and we were racing against the clock, I spent hours with Roger, sometimes up to 12 hours a day learning as much as I could from him. We were engraving out of a small trailer in his backyard, which was hot, old, had little ventilation and no A/C. He showed me how to create artwork using graphic software, where to order supplies, and how to take in orders.  It was hard watching him deteriorate, but I stuck with it. One day just as I was about to leave for Roger's house, my dad pulled me aside and said that Roger had been sent to hospice. I knew it was coming, but I thought we had more time. I had learned so much from Roger that started taking in orders without him. I made mistakes at first, but his customers were kind and understanding. I would engrave bottles and take them to show Roger and get his blessing before delivering them to the customers. Even on his deathbed, Roger used the little energy he had to explain what I did right and what I could improve.

 

   One day, Roger called my dad and me and asked us to come by and see him. When we arrived, we could tell he didn’t have much time left, and I think he knew it too. He expressed how happy he was that we had agreed to take on this responsibility and told us he had come up with a new name for our business: Art in the Cellar, since we specialized in wine bottles and were creating art. I didn’t care for the name at first, but over the years, it grew on me. Roger passed away a couple of days later, and my dad and I couldn’t believe how quickly everything happened. We were engravers now, and part of the arrangement was to obtain all of Roger's equipment and clients. We bought a new sandblaster and other equipment and hit the ground running. We worked out of our house for the first couple of years until we got a warehouse on Main Street in the downtown area. We worked there for a while but ultimately decided to move back into our residence, where we still operate today. We officially opened in 2006 and have been going strong ever since.