Our current climate has been hot. Hot, like the first real day of summer, when you can see heat hovering over the pavement and condensation slowly drips from your cup. Hot, like three-thousand-degree sand melting into molten glass. Tempers and tensions continue to rise as we all take part in a global pandemic. In the darkest times, when the world feels like ashes, family, friends and those we hold intimate relationships with show themselves as the truest value of our existence. Without them, what are we?

Robin was an admirer of Keiko’s work long before Keiko ever knew. Perusing a glass shop in Tokyo with Akari Endo-Gaut, in 2016, Robin first laid eyes on these organic, tactile pieces. She immediately fell in love with Keiko Lee’s perfectly imperfect glass forms, delicate, yet functional. But could not find her contact information. Female glassblowers in general are rare, especially in Japan. Robin and Akari could relate to operating in professions dominated by men. In the tradition of women supporting women, they made it their mission to find Keiko Lee. An artist with whom they shared so much of the same philosophy on making; focus on the earth, utility and beauty. In 2017, Akari caught word she was showcasing her works at a small gallery in Osaka, she was found!  A relationship, and more importantly a friendship was born. That same year RW GUILD’s first production order was placed and Keiko Lee became an inaugural artisan at The Guild, launching her collection for the first time in the United States.