First week of Grad School Rox Chox Check-in

Hello Chocolate lovers!  You may be happy to hear that San Francisco city life and Grad School are not stopping Rox Chox production.  In fact, the tines intertwine and they are mutually inspiring.  With Sage competently holding the business reins and River manning the Chocolate Lab, I am free to think about art.  And what do I find myself doing?  Applying the art theory of Global Perspectives on Modernity and Alternative Contexts to Rox Chox.  Ferreting out the silkscreen lab and designing merch.  (And then also some secret future art projects).

Yes, Rox Chox is a little engine that could these days.  In fact, we heard via telephone yesterday that Berryvale Grocery in Mt Shasta would like to offer our treats as soon as we get our new packaging, which Sage is currently researching.  Then Yusef, the owner of Valencia Whole Foods in Ol' Frisco had a nice greeting for me: "What's wrong with your packaging?"  Vicki tells us that 'Joe' means well.  He's trying to help - he knows what sells.  California likes food that looks like it came out of a machine, as River says.  It's that hegemony of the image again, darn!  Well, we're just going to infiltrate that system of oppressive capitalism with our hard core compassionate business ethics and seductively powerful chocolate.  This isn't just a treat we're peddling, it's a message.  So today I took the lid from the box the Rox Chox checks came in, covered it in shiny gold stickers, and took it in there.  Brought my coconut water to the counter and chatted with Vicki for a minute.  She had noticed the shiny gold object and suggested I move Rox Chox up a shelf to the front-and-center spot.  As Ninja of Die Antwoord would say, "veery fahncy."

Tomorrow we pick up a rental car and hit the road again on a Rox tour.  And while I'm not thrilled to be doing so much driving, I am really super duper stoked to experiment with this videocamera I checked out from school, excited to hopefully demo at Sundance in Eugene, and really, really, really hoping that this will be the last work-party on the Raw Lab.  Whisking in and out of Portland trying to get mad biz done is kinda hectic and doesn't allow much time for visiting, but I'm sure I'll see some familiar faces, score some sweet hugs, and finally get a rice latte, which SF has yet to offer up.