CO: With the Focus of the objects we created surrounding Basketball, what is it about the sport that drove you to present these offerings? 

BB: From the age of 3, I’ve noticed the basketball goal itself as a beacon of hope. 

Over time, I noticed how people of all ages, all over the world, recognize the goal as a symbol of play — even joy. Basketball can be played alone or with others; it can be meditative, communal, and deeply connective.

There was always something in me anxious to connect with the rest of the world through the art and nuance surrounding this game in particular.

We tell ourselves stories, but there are also stories that tell us — stories through which we come to know ourselves, whether we realize it or not.

CO: The "BB ALL GOAL”, stands at 40” when assembled. At first glance, you imagine children surrounding the sculpture. When creating this design, was your intention for this offering meant solely for children to enjoy?

BB: I’ve noticed kids playing with wooden toys less and less, while plastic and screens occupy more of our waking lives. That conditioning only deepens as we grow older. Play matters. So does choosing beautiful, intentional objects to live with.

I created this piece to foster curiosity and flow — something a child might instinctively want to play with, but with a design language that could make an adult stop and wonder.

In the same way I might pause to admire an Eames chair or a perfect pine tree, I’m interested in the marvel of simplicity: a wooden basketball goal that a toddler may play with, and an art collector may want to keep.

CO: You’ve been fortunate to mold your own world with the backing of your creativity and energy. From Books to Creative Directing Globally recognized Artist's, what excites you about his project?

BB: I think I’m most excited by the chance to make something that doesn’t quite need to exist — and then discovering that maybe it does. 

I’ve somehow been allowed to move between worlds on Earth: finance, music, art, photography, creative direction, poetry. At some point I stopped seeing those as separate things. They’re all ways of paying attention. This project feels like another doorway. Something playful, useful, beautiful — but also something that might become part of someone’s memory. A child seeing a basketball hoop for the first time. An adult seeing an everyday object differently. That excites me. 

I’m interested in objects that carry spirit. Things that invite participation. Things that remind us that play is not the opposite of serious work. Maybe play is the most serious thing we can do.

CO: This is your first Sculpture being offered to the world. Why this? Why now?

BB: Because basketball was one of the first places I learned imagination. 

Before I knew anything about anything, I knew what it felt like to stand in front of a hoop and believe something might happen. So this sculpture feels less like a departure and more like a return. 

Why now? Maybe because I’ve spent years helping build worlds around other people’s ideas, and I finally felt ready to make an object from my own inner world and let it leave me. A hoop is such a simple thing. A circle. You throw something toward it and, for a second, you believe. 

I like that. 

CO: I’m sure you get approached all the time with projects and ideas from outside parties. What made you confident in your decision to partner with Cut Once Studio?

BB: For me, confidence usually comes from people before a plan.

José Vasquez’s kindness was immediate, and then you see the level of care in his craft. There’s something reassuring about someone who knows how to make things well, but still approaches the process with curiosity.

Josh Vides brought this beautiful artfulness to it — almost a theory that sometimes the reason to do something is simply because it would be cool to see it exist. I really believe in that.

Carlos Vides brought another layer of connection through recommendation. And UMRVNI has been an incredible thought partner throughout the entire process — from the earliest, sometimes ridiculous ideas all the way through figuring out how to actually produce this.

I think the best collaborations feel like finding people who recognize the same little signal you do.

Cut Once felt like that.

Everyone cared about the object, but more importantly, they cared about the idea behind the object.

That’s rare. And when you find it, you follow it.