A few weekends ago I attended the Seattle Wine & Food Experience and apart from the overall experience of sipping AMAZING wines and tasting samples from local chefs, I had the great pleasure of meeting Matt from Angle 33. Matt hand crafts lovely cement wine thermals as well as wine and beverage coasters. Whether making them for individual use, or branding them with company logos for commercial use, they are the most useful and lovely addition to any wine drinkers “tool box”, trumped only by the glasses with which to hold the lovely libation!
We have been looking for a wine chiller bucket for ages and NONE could fit the bill for our stylistic choices.
I was drawn to his table by the simple, refined and classic nature of his products. Matt was displaying both his retail products, as well as a few examples of his branded commercial use products which featured various customer logos and I loved the chic style, neutral and sophisticated color palate and his welcoming “hello there, would you like to enter a drawing?” which believe it or not, I WON!
(I’d like to state that the win was purely coincidental and in no way related to the posting of this article. Now, if only I could hone that win to a lotto ticket purchase!) We are LOVING our Angle33 Wine Thermal and yes red wine drinkers…you need one too! Read below and you’ll see when and why!
I love that Angle 33 is a Montana-based, family business who so diligently pursues innovation, perfection and sustainability. Anyone who’s tag line is “We strive to offer the best wine-related products on the market, so you can focus on the wine” is a friend to wine drinkers everywhere in MY book! Matt so graciously agreed to let me interview and feature him so without further long winded introductions, please welcome Matt!!
What was the inspiration for Angle33?
I have always wanted to manufacture a product out of concrete on an international scale. I have been working with concrete for 18 years and most of what we make tends to be limited to our local region because of weight. Wine has also always intrigued me mainly because it has a lot in common with concrete. They both require lots of chemistry and each artisan or winemaker gets different results with different techniques. Weather and elements effect the end result of both wine and concrete, which is always exciting because there is an “unknown” factor that can be involved so each day is like unwrapping a Christmas gift.
Where did the name come from?
After months of filtering through different ideas, I chose Angle 33 because of its simplicity. Angle 33 refers to “the word of mouth buzz a name creates.”
What did you two do in your “previous life” before Angle33?
I owned and operated a concrete flat work company in Billings, MT for 5 years. In 2008, Marge and I moved back to Missoula and started Stamping Ground Studios. I still own SGS along with Angle 33.
Matt, How did you get started in Concrete?
My first real experience with concrete was as a laborer for a company in Missoula during the summers of my college years. Funny thing was, all of the guys I worked with then told me to stay in school and “NEVER” get into the concrete world. Obviously I didn’t listen to well as 18 years later I am still going strong and enjoying concrete as a medium as much as I ever have.
What is your favorite part about running Angle33?
Networking and finding people that can do the parts of business that I am not strong at. I enjoy learning about all facets of business from people that know their specialties really well. I don’t believe in a “jack of all trades”, so I prefer to find people that are great at what they do and work alongside them.
Fun Fact (About yourselves, the company, or the product) Our motto is “start early so we can play late”. Missoula is one of the greatest places on earth for outdoor activities, so we pride ourselves on being as efficient as possible at work so we can take advantage of skiing, fishing and camping as much as possible.
So, you can chill red also?
Here are a couple good articles from The Wall Street Journal and The Kitchn about what reds are good chilled. Also, as most know sunlight is not good for the wine, so even if you don’t want your red chilled, it is a good idea to keep your bottle in a thermal while outside to keep the sun off of it.
Advice for someone looking to follow their dreams and start a new company?
One of my favorite sayings is “Focus on the process, Results will take care of themselves.” Stick to your strategy and don’t stress about the results, they will come. Build your business how you want to build it, don’t follow someone elses business model because what works for one person won’t necessarily work for you. Use your core values to build the foundation and always find/hire people smarter than you and incorporate them into your business in as many ways you can.
Connect with Angle33 on their Website, Facebook, and Pinterest!
We were so thrilled that he included a few Family photos for the family business!!
