From the Foundry

Joe Sandor's Original Dispatches

Between August 2012 and March 2013, Joe Sandor sent a series of updates to the backers who believed in him. They are part product report, part artist's journal, part love letter to the craft. We've preserved them here — in his own words — as a record of how the Captain Crepe Pan came to be.

---

Update #2 — Awesome First Week

September 1, 2012

You all rock. Thank you so much for joining me on this. I'm super excited to make this project happen. I'm with my family in Wisconsin for the holiday weekend and we just made some super tasty crepes. My favorite is the savory ham, egg and cheese. I discovered that Nutella and Strawberry is a pretty good combination as well.

Thanks again for all your support.
— Joe

---

Update #3 — Happy Blue Moon

September 3, 2012

I wanted to share a photo with you that I took of the moon (with my tiny iPod) this weekend. It was a Blue Moon this weekend and there was a lot of great energy around, especially for Captain Crepe Pan. It made me aware of something with how this all came to be.

First off, there is the pattern that I have made on the underside of the pan, the Triskel. It's an old pagan symbol associated with the Celtic tradition. In Bretagne (Brittany) France, where I first saw crêpes made this way (with a big cast iron disk), there is strong Celtic roots and this symbol is familiar there. I actually wasn't aware of that when I made this. Through the magic of the internet, a Bretagne man pointed that out to me. I always thought it was a cool Celtic symbol that looked nicer than a plain griddle.

And originally, I had wanted to make my pans using the sun design (which you can see on the KS story below). But I could never get a good casting of that design. I guess the moon came through for me this time.

Thanks again and keep spreading the word.
— Joe

---

Update #4 — The Culmination of a Broad Education

September 6, 2012

I entered Chicago as an Abstract Painter and now I've become an Industrialist. It seems like this is the town for that to happen in. My University education began with an emphasis in Journalism/Mass Communication but changed into Politics. By the end, I had spent a third of my time in France and realized I needed to make art for the rest of my life. After that I spent some time working in the shipping industry, getting a feel for small business and networking. Then I decided I needed to go to Art School to learn how to cast metal, which led me to iron and making my own cookware (and I spent a lot of time studying French new wave films). And here I am now on this amazing venture.

I figured the fun part of this KS process is sharing with you how things happen. Right now, I'm just finishing up my pattern that will be sent to the foundry. I'm carving the pattern in wood on my CNC machine at my studio in Chicago. I spoke to Rick yesterday — he's the main guy at Washburn Iron Works — and we're getting the production lined up.
— Joe

---

Update #5 — It's a Beautiful Day in Chicago

September 10, 2012

Today I am putting the finishing touches on the pattern that I'll be sending to the foundry right on schedule. I've also begun the task of cutting out all the pieces for the handmade wooden utensils. Melting iron is great fun, and pouring it into a pumpkin is even more fun.

P.S. — At some point, once I get past all the technical production stuff, I can start voicing these updates as Captain Crepe Pan — there's a lot of creative stuff planned on that front as well.
— Joe

---

Update #7 — Iron Backers

September 25, 2012

I am happy to inform you that the wheels of the cast iron crepe pan factory process are rolling.

I wanted to give a shout out to my friend and fellow metal caster Alisa Toninato — who after her success on Kickstarter for her cast iron map of America, went on to start another super successful line of cookware featured on Martha Stewart. I helped her pour some of her iron hearts. She helped me pour my crepe pan prototype.

And a shout out to my amazing Korean sculptor buddy from the Art Institute, Yong Choi, who has been graciously concepting some new images of Captain Crepe Pan for an illustrated users manual.
— Joe

---

Update #9 — The Legend Lives On

October 20, 2012

It has been determined by the Gods of Iron that the crepe pan will be made of a special alloy of iron — Captain's secret recipe. It is a stronger, more durable alloy that will allow for thin castings. Et voilà!

Backer: "As long as Captain's secret alloy recipe doesn't contain lead, count me in!"
Joe: "No lead, but possibly a trace amount of Cryptonite."
— Joe

---

Update — Discworld

November 15, 2012

I got my first couple samples back from the foundry. They're awesome. I seasoned one right away and fried an egg on it.

I found a gorgeous piece of Walnut at WoodWorld in Chicago that I'm using for the spatulas. It feels good to be working with wood again.

And I wanted to wax philosophical about the crepe pan for a moment. The night that my Kickstarter hit its goal was at the time of the Blue Moon. I was feeling elated and I went for a walk on the Lake and saw an astronomer club with giant telescopes set up. They let me take a picture of the moon with my iPod. Now I have my cast iron crepe pan and looking at it, I realized it looks just like the moon. It's beautiful. So you get to cook on the surface of the moon. I'm a very visual person and this is how I see the crepe pan. It's the moon.
— Joe

---

Update — Reflection

January 9, 2013

The basic idea with the packaging was to make it like a vinyl record album, since the seasoned crepe pan looks like a vinyl record. I've been reading the Steve Jobs biography and he was very focused on packaging and presentation. And this is the iPad of cast iron cookware that I made.

Consider the silkscreened package you got a collector's item. And remember — the more you use it, the better the seasoned surface will become. Eventually, it will be a smooth beautiful black surface.
— Joe

---

Update — December Dispatch

December 19, 2012

I've returned to the city. I hit a massive blizzard near Minneapolis and got stuck for 2 days in a lodge at the bottom of a hill in a two-wheel drive city truck. I saw 7 bald eagles flying over our lodge the day the plows came.

Craig and I made it to Washburn Iron Works by 3:45. I got my bucket of crepe pans. I went and talked to some of the ladle crew who just finished pouring some iron molds. We bonded because we started talking about the Packers. I'm a real Wisconsin boy. With a trailer full of crepe pans.

We built the seasoning oven out of an old steel bed frame and kiln bricks. Every flake of snow leaves a rust circle which I have to polish out with a wire brush. I'm a metal worker learning to use spreadsheets.

Get together with your friends and family and share tasty food together.

Happy Solstice. Happy Holidays. Happy Crepe Making.
— Joe

---

Update #16 — Final Shipment

March 11, 2013

I holed myself up in a mechanics garage for 9 hours with my friend Craig and we ground every one down. Good or bad, my human hand is on every one of these.

Just so everybody knows — these are all one of a kind castings. It's like micro brewing beer but for manufacturing. Small batch manufacturing.

Right now there are 273 of these casts scattered on the globe. I started to see them as a new form of currency, like giant iron coins. Can you cook food on your paper money?

The beauty and simplicity of this cast iron disk is that it's only one piece, one part, one button to push and it will never break or fade away.

I treated the seasoning like patina work in sculpture or like glazing in pottery. Every one is a unique shade of amber to black.

In the end, I'm happy with it. It pleases me to know that I made a functional piece of art that encourages social gatherings around food. If you like it, please let anyone know if they'd like to join the club.

Cheers,
Joe

---

March 12, 2013

The day after Joe's final Kickstarter update, he pulled up to an alley in Evanston, Illinois — Captain Crepe Pan on the tailgate of his truck. He was meeting Ryan Jones of Gotta B Crepes for the first time.

The chapter he had just closed with 273 backers opened again immediately, with someone new. He didn't know that. But you do now.

---

"Get together with your friends and family and share tasty food together."
— Joe Sandor, December 2012

← Back to the Captain Crepe Pan Story    Join the Crepe Club →    Care & Seasoning Guide →