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Thomas and Yolanda’s artwork has inspired each other for the foundations of their relationship. Falling in love with the craftsmanship and the quality of each other’s work, they quickly decided to start collaborating on projects. Thomas is able to use wood and other materials as his foundation, and Yolanda uses metal fabrication and jewelry-making skills for the foundation of her creations. They got married, and after Yolanda’s graduation at the Academy of Art University, they moved back to Thomas’s hometown of Gainesville, Florida, and set up shop as TlukePart and Yolanda C. Studio.
Thomas had found inspiration to create goggles one day when he was helping Yolanda in her studio. He came across a pair of welding goggles which had a unique steampunk style, though they were made of plastic. Thomas started to think, with all the plastic produced in this world, it has hurt our environment and brought down the craftsmanship and quality of the products we acquire. He had already been utilizing broken skateboards to create art, jewelry, and various products; so why not create a pair of goggles with the quality and craftsmanship of his own hands and make something of beauty out of the discarded remains of broken skateboards? Yolanda has been working on a project of her own called Box Fetish. Thomas had seen the way she was creating the hinges and clips for her boxes and decided to ask Yolanda to make the hinges, clips, and buckles for the goggles. |
