In the realm of unforeseen opportunities, the story of Spritz & Pyro's journey begins with an unexpected twist. It's a tale of adaptation and innovation sparked by the global upheaval of 2020, leading to the discovery of a mesmerizing art form known as fractal burning. Join us as we delve into the remarkable adventure of Caitlin and Phil, who, after facing a unique set of challenges, uncover the electrifying world of fractal wood burning, igniting their passion and carving out a new path in the wooden world.
Have you ever seen an unknown opportunity sitting in front of you? It’s undetectable by the naked eye, it’s something to be sensed within yourself, your whole being. In 2020, there was a global change that ignited opportunities for more than just a few people. It wasn’t simple, far from easy, but it existed. How could they pass this beautiful moment?
At the time, they had been cleaning for a year and were just short of celebrating the anniversary by a week when the lockdown went into place. The unknown brought them to their office contemplating, discussing, and reviewing what they could do to survive the lockdown as a company. How can we come out of this lockdown as one of the first to help clean homes? After two weeks of trying to source cleaning products from distributors, wholesalers, and even the direct brands themselves, they finally had their answer.
With such an unrealistic limitation to work around, it was time for them to think outside of the box. They asked themselves,
"What do we really want to do? Look forward to what we do on a daily basis. What do we even have access to? Well, there are all those tools we have in your parents' garage..."
Suddenly, there was a spark as they looked at each other, hunkered down, and threw themselves down the YouTube rabbit holes. After hours of videos of research, listening to people debate, watching people from multiple countries explain their process, experiments going well and wrong... The spark grew from a kindle to a complete
don't-tell-your-parents-about-this-sized bonfire.
The mesmerizing fractal wood burning, that they watched endlessly, left them craving more. Caitlin looked to Phil, remembering his experiences in multiple avenues, and asked him, "how comfortable would you be creating this machine?" Not that he had an abundant experience of wiring Lichtenberg machines precisely, but his earlier dabbling in boat mechanics made this intangible method suddenly a possible long-term business idea. There was so much to think about when they approached the design of their Lichtenberg machine and knew they wanted to address some of the problems they noticed other creators struggling with.
Phil wired the first Lichtenberg machine of Spritz and Pyro back in April of 2020. The first time they had the exhilarating pleasure of testing out their very first 10,000 Volt Lichtenberg machine was on their screened-in balcony. It was a late afternoon moving away from the cooler months and everything was set up safely to test their fractal burning machine on the back of one of their personal cutting boards. Phil plugged the machine in, looking at Caitlin with pure excitement he
asked, "you ready?"
Giddy with equal anticipation, Caitlin could only muster a nod before he turned it on.
BZZZZZZZZ!
It was so electrifying, the air felt like it was vibrating from the raw sound and power of the Lichtenberg machine. Caitlin went from giddy to understanding the intensity of this machine so quickly, that they didn't burn the cutting board much longer than 20-30 seconds. Phil couldn't help himself from laughing at her sudden change in mind. Still, they continued with the process of cleaning out the burns and filling them with colored resin. The whole process had them overflowing with ideas and wonder that something really shifted within them.
Every day was a new experiment to document whether it was a new wood species, different electrolyte solution, or just different weather/time of day. The sound of energy, the power of it carving through and eating away at the wood, the smell of a fire burning. Experiencing fractal wood burning first hand is intoxicating and they sought out to understand it better and enhance their skills from the day before. The first purchases happened right inside their garage as people came by and witnessed them crafting, heard them explain the new process, and saw what they could make with it.
The fire couldn't go out, and they wanted nothing more than to share how exciting this was to others and to bring a breath of something different to the world. Their electrifying mark on the wooden world of serving trays and charcuterie boards was only just about to get started. Can you feel the electrifying excitement?
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