When Allen first approached me at a festival with his idea of commissioning a cigar watch, I had serious doubts that it would come out good. How could a cigar come alive on a watch dial? It was so out of my wheelhouse that I found myself wondering if I wanted to take on the commission. I almost said no.
But he kept talking. The more I listened to him, the more I liked him. He promised that I could have 100% artistic freedom. He said no boundaries and no guardrails. He encouraged me to think and approach it however I wanted.
Now I was intrigued. There was a big blue sky right in front of me.
We talked awhile about cigars in general and his cigar club. He showed me pictures of cigars being rolled. He said he liked the thin ones. I researched cigar tobacco and processing while looking at endless pictures of cigars and flipping through Cigar Aficionado magazine. I hunted for inspiration. I thought about how a cigar, leaves and smoke would look on a watch but nothing jumped out and said yes. I pondered what to do for a few months and wasn't feeling any energy for it so I called him to talk about it. I hadn't formally agreed to the project yet and again, was about to say no.
But that phone call changed everything. It was a promise of light at the end of the tunnel. Thank goodness I called instead of emailing or texting. He reminded me about taking off the guardrails and the more we talked, the more fun it became to imagine something wild. It didn't have to be realistic and it didn't have to be dark or brown like tobacco or cigars. It could be anything. And finally, the fire was burning.
Close to thirty years ago a group of us friends tried smoking a cigar in an effort to feel like we were Demi Moore or Whoopi Goldberg or one of the other women celebrities who were making cigar smoking fashionable. We felt like strong women. It was rebellious, outrageous and made us laugh. It was about expressing ourselves and trying something we'd never done before.
I'm proud to present Express Yourself! It's different and edgy. With this on my wrist, I can delight in feeling my inner rebel.
