Behind the Bubblewrap: Tako Glass knows their ship!
(If you’ve purchased anything from Tako Glass this year, there is a good chance Will B prepared and shipped your order!)
At Tako Glass, every piece we create is more than just glass — it’s art, it’s someone’s future heirloom, and it’s sometimes its even a little piece of our heart! That’s why, long before your order leaves our studio, we treat it with the kind of obsessive care most people reserve for newborn babies (or at least very expensive wine glasses). Shipping potentially fragile hand-blown glass through the wild west of modern parcel delivery isn’t for the faint of heart, but we’ve spent years perfecting a packaging system that goes above and beyond industry standards, so that even the clumsiest delivery driver would have a hard time breaking our spirit (or your piece). In this post, we’re pulling back the curtain back to show you exactly how we wrap, pad, reinforce, and double-check every single shipment so it arrives at your door in the same perfect condition it left our hands.
Once your order has been placed and verified, it goes into our shipping queue. Each business day, the Tako Glass Shipping Department, run by Will B, starts their day by printing the packing slips for all of the orders that are ready to be fulfilled. This sheet tells us what items to pull from inventory, and how many we need. Then, its as simple as gathering the items, and preparing them for boxing. We check each item off as we go, making sure that nothing gets left behind! Small hand pipes, bubblers, and other items of this size are wrapped in protective bubble wrap, and then taped down to secure it. This first layer builds some padding around the glass, to insulate it from contacting other items that may be shipped along with it.
Larger items such as bongs, also get the bubble wrap treatment, but we start with bigger bubbles (which feels very apropos) and fold over the wrap to double up the thickness around the foot or base of the bong, as well as the downstem. These parts tend to stick out a bit, so we inspect for ‘hot spots’ where you can still feel the glass through the bubbles, and if needed, we add extra layers in these areas. Then the bubble layer is wrapped again with cling wrap. This layer compresses the bubbles so they won’t move or shift, ensuring that our wrap job stays intact and none of those hot spots get exposed!
(We keep lots of boxes on hand! Glass comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and so do our boxes!)
Now that all of the items have been picked and prepped, we choose a box. The box your items ship in has a huge job to do! It needs to hold everything together and maintain its rigid shape, all while protecting the contents from scuffs and impacts. The box needs to be large enough to hold all of the items in the order, but not so big that it costs extra to deliver. For our large shipments, we opt to use boxes with double wall thickness, which increases their resistance to impact damage. For our small items, we use Indestructo boxes, which start flat and conveniently fold up to form the box. This makes them fast to put together, and naturally doubles up the wall thickness, making them very impact and crush resistant.
We start by filling the bottom of the box with a couple of inches of biodegradable packing peanuts. This Earth friendly alternative to styrofoam is great at adding internal cushioning, as well as locking everything in place inside the box so that the individual items can’t slide or jostle around. Then we carefully arrange the items and place them into the box, and fill with more peanuts.
For single items, such as this Purple Plasma Spoon Pipe by Tako, we often use crinkle paper, another environmentally safe packing material. Deep inside an Indestructo box, swaddled in crinkle paper, your piece is about as safe is it will ever be! Without any other items inside the box, this simple packing method is ideal, and you get the satisfaction of uncovering your new glass, brushing the paper away, and inspecting it like Indiana Jones eyeing the idol. We want unboxing to feel fun, not frustrating!
Before closing up the box, we have just a few more steps to complete however. Every package includes a couple fun goodies! We include the checked off packing slip, as well as any SKU tags from the items in the order. Each SKU tag corresponds to an item, and includes a unique SKU number, and a QR code that links directly to that item on our website, so that you know you are receiving the exactly what you ordered. We also toss in our handy cleaning guide with some quick tips on getting and keeping your glass clean, as well as a Tako Glass postcard that highlights one of Tako’s own heady creations.
(You guys help keep the dream alive! Stacks of shipments like these are what motivates us to bring you guys the highest quality American functional glass, and keeps us vigilant so each package arrives perfectly intact!)
Now that everything is all together, we seal up the box, and affix the shipping label. Any packages with expedited shipping are hand delivered to the local drop off point, to ensure prompt delivery. Standard rate packages are picked up from Tako HQ daily by the USPS, and begin their journey to their new homes. Whether the intended destination is a few miles away, or a few continents away, each package is meticulously prepared to for the trip!
We know that buying anything online can be tricky! We want to take as much stress out of that process as possible! That’s why we go above and beyond to ensure each package arrives intact and safe!
