IT’S SAID THAT WHAT WE DO BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 6:00-9:00AM DEFINES WHO WE ARE. THE MORNING ROUTINE IS WHAT STARTS THE DAY FOR SOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE. WHETHER IT’S HAVING THEIR COFFEE OR TAKING A COLD SHOWER, EACH OF THEIR MORNINGS ARE FILLED WITH TASKS THAT NEED TO BE ACCOMPLISH TO BE SUCCESSFUL THAT DAY. WE SIT DOWN WITH SOME OF TODAY’S MOST INTERESTING AND INSPIRING PEOPLE TO SEE HOW THEIR DAYS STARTS…
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NDREW COSLOW IS A FURNITURE DESIGNER AND FABRICATOR BASED IN UNION CITY, NEW JERSEY. WHAT STARTED OUT AS SIMPLY BUILDING FURNITURE FOR HIMSELF, TURNED INTO BY ANDREW COSLOW - A STUDIO COMPRISED OF A SMALL TEAM OF SKILLED PROFESSIONALS, WHO TAKE GREAT PRIDE IN HAVING FUN AND MAKING BEAUTIFUL PIECES. THOUGH NOT MADE IN HIS SMALL APARTMENT ANYMORE, HE STILL REMAINS TRUE TO WHAT STARTED IT ALL…SINGLE PIECES OF FURNITURE THAT ARE CAREFULLY HANDCRAFTED. HIS PORTFOLIO OF WORK HAS RAPIDLY EXPANDED SINCE HE ESTABLISHED THE BRAND IN 2012. HE NOW INCLUDES SHELVING, CUSTOM EVENT SPACES, RETAIL STORES, RESTAURANTS, AND EVEN ARTISTIC MURALS. NO PROJECT IS TOO BIG OR TOO SMALL FOR ANDREW AND HIS TEAM. WE GOT THE CHANCE TO SIT DOWN AND SPEAK WITH ANDREW ON HOW HIS MORNING ROUTINE MAKES HIS DAY, FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE.
WAKE UP AT…
I WAKE UP AT… whenever my body decides to get up. I loathe the idea that the first thing I hear in the morning is a repetitively obnoxious alarm. Typically, if we have an early install or a stressful workload, I will set an alarm, but I usually wake up before my alarms go off and turn it off as if it’s one of those scenes in a movie where the bomb has 10 seconds to be defused before it denotes!
HOW MANY HOURS SLEEP DO YOU TYPICALLY GET?
Big fan of 7-1/2 hours. 8 or more I feel sluggish.
TYPICALLY MY GROOMING REGIME CONSISTS OF…
Hop in shower – bathe with Old Spice Swagger because the name is hilarious, paired with music (Shakey Graves, Gary Clark Jr., Ron Gallo) – got to get those vocal chords loose as well right? I use these Japanese towels that a salesperson assured me would change the way I think about bathing. Turns out to just push the water around my skin and hair until it evaporates naturally. Beard oil called Dude No. 2 if I have a meeting coupled with my top secret hair product that I will disclose, as long as I am not being judged! Jergens Ultra Healing Lotion – BOOM! Check it out, growing up with having to use product in your hair has always been a disaster. Gel hardens and makes you look like 90’s kid listening to Blink 182, wax leaves a crusty (worst word) residue with this horrid scent like you’re disguising your natural musk from someone. Jergens just gets it done – 2 pumps, pull through my hair, and voila! The lowest density wax that evaporates and makes your hair look smooth, no scent, and when someone runs their fingers through your hair, they are not left with having to wash their friggin’ hands! You’re welcome world.
WHAT DOES THE EVERYDAY UNIFORM LOOK LIKE?
Levi 511 – makes the buns look good. American Apparel T’s and long sleeves with an array of derelict flannels, crappy sweaters my mother buys me every year from Macy’s for the Holidays which always have an animal as a logo on my left pec. When going to a meeting, I often wear Rag & Bone denim, Barbour outerwear, and mostly likely gifted shirts I’ve been lucky enough to acquire throughout the years from small brands.
Levis 511 / Barbour ‘Ashby’ Coat / Eastland Lumber Up Boot
COFFEE? TEA? WATER? OTHER?
Coffee with Almond Milk because I’m a bitch.
WHAT DOES BREAKFAST LOOK LIKE?
Usually a croissant that I never eat and leave in precarious places that my employees find like a game of hide and seek. When I had a drinking bender and I don’t want to hate myself too much the next day, I will go into the grocery store and buy a tube of carrots and celery, and graze all day like a rabbit.
WHAT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT YOU MUST DO EVERY MORNING?
I love waking up on the later side of the morning so that the hustle and bustle of the day has already made it to work so I can walk my dog Winston while catching up with neighbors on my way to my car. I find it therapeutic.
WHAT PRODUCT OR THING COULD YOU NOT LIVE WITHOUT WHEN YOU WAKE UP?
I hate things in my pockets, so the thinner the better. I have this wallet that is pretty much a folded piece of leather that destroys my crappy printed TD Bank cards and makes me look homeless. Eastland boots because they are unfairly comfortable from the second you put them on. And finally, whichever hat that is not completely destroyed from welding at the shop.
Olive Oil Shelving Unit / No Ring Coasters / Garden Bench
HAS YOUR MORNING ROUTINE CHANGED OVER THE YEARS?
Absolutely. This is where it gets depressing. Before I started my business, I was up super early, made all my own meals, trained for and coach triathletes for monthly triathlons – those were the days. Now, because of the chaos of my business, I wake up later, eat things that are easy to purchase en route to my car, and tend to need to see a massage therapist monthly to get my back worked on.
WHEN YOU DON’T FOLLOW THIS ROUTINE, HOW DOES THAT AFFECT THE REST OF THE DAY?
I think a lot of small business owners would say that they typically work a 10-15 hour days, and when you have that much time in the day for work, there are a lot of times of the day you can catch up on things if you fall out from your routine. Maybe?
DO YOU FEEL LIKE HAVING A ROUTINE HAS BEEN ESSENTIAL TO YOUR SUCCESS?
Sure do. In business, it’s obviously essential. Keeps those variables that could knock you off track too much from reoccurring. In regard to my personal life, my work routine provides me with enough time to be able to disconnect from the saw and steel dust and get the hell out to wherever my friends are attempting to be degenerate alcoholics stuffing their faces with fried mac n’ cheese and Guinness.
