urthling 1:1 | Darin Steege

Darin Steege

color:
camo

veggie:
green peppers

dessert of choice:
cinnamon rolls

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Darin Steege is our resident yogi master, marathon runner and tiny house dweller. Darin came to us on a recommendation from Adrienne Van Eron. She thought that his background in pottery might be the perfect fit in our patina building. She was right! Actually,… we don’t know if it was his background or, his general awesomeness that made him the best fit. Either way, we are thrilled he found his way to us!

Darin grew up with that strong midwest work ethic only a small northeast Iowa town can instill. Before leaving Iowa and finding his way to Fort Collins, he took every pottery and sculpture class offered at the local Community College. He was obsessed and his path was set. Upon landing in Fort Collins however, his fantasy of making his income as a potter did not pan out as quickly as he hoped. Though he did find himself working with other artists, instead of working in a studio making art, they found themselves in a kitchen prepping the dinner menu. Classic!

 

Espresso Cups by Darin Steege

 

After two years in Colorado cooking and exploring the Rocky Mountains, Darin enrolled himself at Colorado State University. He jumped back into his passion for pottery and immersed himself in the art department. Four years later, with cap and gown, he received a BFA in Art.

As he struggled those years as the perpetual artist, his ever growing minimalist tendencies landed him in a box truck down by the river (we are not making this up.) While he got used to the small living quarters, he built an 11′ x 9′ tiny home where he currently resides. He’s parked on a vegetable farm with fantastic roommates, sheep, veggies and farm-nirvana. Fortunately, there is also a pottery studio right between the pigs and the chickens where he can make art.

While he works with clay at night and on the weekends, he works with patina during the day. Darin has worked with Stefan for a number of years and has become a fantastic artist in the medium. He says it is a daily, creative, challenge but, also quite rewarding. Patina pushes even the most patient of people to take a deep breath and remain in the moment. He is resilient, persistent and tackles each new job with a fresh motivation. He also says that it beats selling vacuums or working in a yogurt factory (we were hoping he would say it was better than working on the set of a Victoria’s Secret photo shoot or, test driving race cars but, we will take it).

Bonus Darin info…

Darin is our in-house espresso cup maker and makes a mean guacamole. He also elevates our bowling average and is always up to share a pitcher of PBR with Amy. We love having him around and look forward to seeing what he creates in the years to come!

 

#DarinRocks!