Abstract Conformity

Meet Morgan Weber, Purveyor of Good Times

Houston may be the fourth largest city in the United States, but its heart was built by small town folks. Hailing from Yoakum, Texas, one of these small towns roughly three hours from Houston, Morgan Weber brought his ferocious appetite for tinkering and built that curiosity into a series of bars and eateries for all to enjoy.

One of the best patio bars in town.

As owner and beverage director of Agricole Hospitality, his domain reigns over Houston favorites neighborhood butcher shop and café Revival Market, Texas-flared Italian restaurant Coltivare and bar Eight Row Flint with more coming soon. Whatver you may fancy, Agricole has you covered.

 Leuisure or pleasure. They have it covered

After Hurricane Harvey bullied his way through town, I found some time to grab tacos and a drink at Eight Row Flint. As my favorite spot in town, it was only fitting to grab a chair with Morgan,and see how they were doing after the huge storm hit and then dive a little deeper into his story.  

Luckily, Eight Row Flint weathered the storm without physical damage, allowing the doors to reopen quickly with relief in mind. Thanks to Morgan, they have been heavily involved in relief efforts even putting their cocktails to good use, raising $40,000 with fashion designer Billy Reid during a warehouse sale of clothing in which all proceeds went to food and industry people affected by Harvey. Between these efforts and sales of specific cocktails, Eight Row Flint is sending 100% of those proceeds to Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund and Southern Smoke TX.

Long before these efforts, Morgan departed Yoakum for Baylor University, he originally was in the pursuit of church music, but found his passions shift towards jazz. When graduation came, he headed to Houston for a job in real estate acquisition, departing from the music industry before he even began.

Inside or outside, standing or seated, Morgan is always glad to see you.

In those early years, Morgan took his “inherently curious” character down a rabbit hole in the cocktail world to start the well-known bar Anvil. He soon left this venture, returning home to Yoakum in a new pursuit on the family farm that his grandparents had run. As he puts it, “I nerded out on pigs,” raising a few varieties that brought him right back to Houston. Selling to several key restaurants in Houston, Morgan naturally fell in with industry chefs and purveyors. With Chef Ryan Pera, he would open craft butcher shop and café called Revival Market, then Coltivare, an Italian restaurant, before establishing Eight Row Flint. “The concepts just happened organically.”

Take a seat...if you can get one.

“Fancy cocktails” as the menu proclaims 

Throughout our conversation, it was abundantly clear that Morgan thrives off of curiosity. If something sparks even the smallest attention, “I’m going down a wormhole. I won’t settle for mediocre knowledge.” This thirst keeps his concepts fresh down to the minutest details. Although you may not realize it when entering these establishments, those are the elements that make them unique and subconsciously keep us returning. Even further, you may not realize it upon the next return, but those details are also constantly evolving. “My goal is to better an idea, so it’s a constant pursuit.” To some it may seem overwhelming, but for Morgan, this keeps him going. “If you are not happy with where you are, you never achieve the goal.” This is progress in its simplest concept.

His roots brought him from a small town to a major metropolis where the tinkering nature of his grandfather has been allowed to flourish. The products may be housed in Houston, but the concepts generally come to life when he is free from this environment. Forced creativity is the absolute worst roadblock for Morgan.

Knowing this, he surrounds himself with curious people and refrains from those whom are close-minded. It’s simple, don’t be the most interesting person in the room.  It’s also easy to adhere to this when pursuing his favorite activities of hiking and camping, fly fishing rivers and fall duck hunting. “My best ideas have come while sitting around a campfire drinking a little whiskey.” Life in a city is noisy; we could all use a little escape to nature for a reset and clear thinking.

 In the end, Morgan may struggle with forced creativity, but his tenacious “pursuit for better, not the best” keeps the ball rolling. He will explore new avenues even in established markets because there are always unopened doors and tweaks to be made.

One of the many taco options that should gladly accompany your drink of choice.

This is not for decoration. This is where the real magic happens.

 When asked for advice to other business owners, Morgan left it straightforward. First, don’t make excuses. Second, failure cannot be an option, it’s not only for yourself. “You have to go down with the ship or be the leader that pulls them up.” Finally, “sociopathic compartmentalization is what keeps me alive. You will either learn to compartmentalize concepts or let them eat you up.”

Joshua Black Wilkins strumming some tunes on a Tuesday evening. You never know what Eight Row Flint could do next.

Morgan Weber. A man certainly not scared to use his own hands in the work.

With this many choices, you may need to come more than once.

Meet Travis Weaver, A Teller of Stories

Walking door to door in the Houston summer heat selling fax lines is no small feat. Do this in a suit and you, too, would be looking for a new direction in life. Travis Weaver, owner of Manready Mercantile, @manreadymercantile, the purveyor of quality goods both handpicked and handmade, has experienced this first hand. Many years before Harvey hit Houston and with no shortage of hard work, he started that new direction — which became Manready — in his apartment, accepting American Express from the beginning. This is his story.

Coming from Zephyr, Texas, a town in the literal heart of Texas with a graduating class of 22 people, Travis Weaver lives the American dream. He graduated from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas with an advertising degree that was never put to use. While selling those T1 fax lines under the Texas heat, he learned valuable lessons about not succumbing to failure and learning to be creative in his sales approach.

Welcome to Manready Mercantile

Step right up, there are goods for everyone.

It is the attention to detail that grounds the Manready story. Everything matters.

 With $100 dollars, Travis started making candles in his apartment. “Why were candles only for women?” Focusing on products that were sold in a gender specific market, he found an open market that could be capitalized on. “I didn’t invent anything. I just learned how to market it.”

With candles cooking on a stove, Travis built the Manready Mercantile website on his phone with photos edited using Instagram filters. Once the candles were selling, he kept expanding the product line along the same concept.  It was all “stuff I wanted or needed.”

Growing up, Travis spent much of his weekends attending flea markets and picking antiques with his grandparents long before it was “cool.” It was only natural that while selling these new products in flea markets he found items that would find a home in the online store.

Now with a brick and mortar store in Houston Heights , you can find all of these items and an ever-expanding product line of other makers under one roof. With a drive to share stories, “I am able to not only share mine, but the story of others.”This is the motivation and inspiration that keeps him going each day. Housed in a building that has seen countless storms, Manready weathered Hurricane Harvey with good fortune, unlike many. Once the weather passed, they came to the aid of Houstonians in need by opening the doors to receive donations of goods which were dispersed around town to shelters in need. The employees delivered them once the van could no longer hold even a sock and then went a little further by dontaining their own time and effort in the shelters. “I wish we could do more” Travis told me.

“We made an art gallery of sorts. Our art is quality, ”  Travis explains. “ Everything has a story, we give those stories to people to ensure the customer leaves with an appreciation for what they’re buying. It’s an investment, not just a purchase.”

Even as the brand grows, Travis refuses to remain idle. “’If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ is the worst saying ever!” He says that you must constantly adapt, looking forward to where you are going. Change is constantly taking place, but convincing others this is necessary remains one of his largest roadblocks.

 Never fear, Travis is not shying away or lowering his level of expectations. People come to Manready with the understanding that “if it’s good enough for me, customers know it’s the best. I won’t sacrifice!”

The latest rendition of candles from Manready.

What Travis lacks in big business presence, he more than makes up for with quality and a story that others will share for them. “I do just what my granddad would have done in the pre-internet days.”

 When his customers come to take those stories and goods home, American Express is there to help keep the dream alive. Since it’s so easy to use Amex’s online merchant portal, Travis is able to spend more time telling those stories than hovering over a computer. Did you know that in 2016, over 1,000 more clothing locations in the Houston area started accepting American Express cards? Manready was well ahead of that curve, but it’s never too late to start.

Travis shares stories of the products with an employee to pass on to customers.

TX pride comes in many forms.

Although he is always hustling, Travis still finds time to leave the shop for a few hobbies. Junking and picking, camping, hunting and fishing remain at the top of his list with leather working being the favorite.

With a new interest in photography who knows where Travis may end up next. “I made my hobbies into a business and put my favorites in a store.”  Whether you visit online or come through the door, it’s inevitable you will feel the truth behind Travis’s mantra of Manready, “Work Hard, Live Well.”

ENSENADA, MEXICO

When one thinks of Mexico, sunny skies with turquoise waters lapping upon smooth sand come to mind. On this morning, the approach to Mexico delivered a rather distant view, one we could not even see due to the density of fog remaining 200 nautical miles offshore. Warm air blowing off Baja California settled over a cool Pacific Ocean, producing a blanket so dense we were not able to see the very bow of our ship a mere 151 meters ahead. Proceeding through a bank of this limited visibility leaves everyone on edge as to the possibility of what may be lurking in the abyss, only to be startled every 2 minutes by the deep belch of the ship’s whistle warning any possible vessels of our presence. Shortly after breakfast, patches began appearing as the low layer of clouds dissipated into the morning as a haze only to open the shores of Baja California vividly ahead of us in all her clarity. 

NANAIMO, CANADA (B.C.)

With a fresh crew aboard the MV Ocean Glory, we set sail from Tacoma for a short run into Canadian waters of British Columbia. Naturally sheltered, the harbor of Nanaimo, Canada served as our loading port for the upcoming voyage. Not only was it her first trip to Canada, but it was my first trip as Captain aboard her.

TEXAS TEAL SEASON OPENER - 2016

Thursday morning, word on the street was that teal were showing themselves in good numbers through the rice fields of Anahuac, but movement across the marsh remained slight. This was not the favorable news we had anticipated to here, but there was very little short of a hurricane that would stop us from being in the field first thing Saturday morning to open up duck season.

With a forecast of 50% chance for thunderstorms around daybreak, everyone figured the weatherman was rolling his dice again leading us to all leave the rain gear in the trucks. As we made our way down a dusty farm road in the darkness of predawn, the sky illuminated with lightning strikes resonating from billowing cumulonimbus clouds. Maybe the weatherman was right? All settled into our pit blinds awaiting the strike of 0631 to legally commence the season, the air began to cool from downdrafts of the approaching squall. There was no place to hide, but we welcomed the cooling effect soon accompanied by a steady fall of rain. The heavens were cleansing us of season past for a fresh start into this one and after 30 minutes of soaking, we emerged beneath a drab sky to see teal soaring across the marsh at all elevations. 

Hardly a call was needed as we called shots. 

“Pair back left..mid height! WAIT,WAIT!!! Big group back right coming in fast! Single out front, DONT SHOOT!”

WHITE-WING DOVE OPENER - DAY 2

With our position secured and the knowledge of the plethora of birds, we decided to show up a little past high noon to avoid a bit more of the sun’s brutality, but that same heat generated a mighty fine rain storm. Just as we pulled onto the farm road, the sky opened up with a barrage of droplets which turned the once dusty path into a slippery trail. Hunkering down inside the trucks until the rain alleviated was our quick and easy consensus, but gradually people began to brave the cooling rain as a refresher when the birds once again soared across the field. 

Switching over to some L.L. Bean hunting boots made trekking around much more convenient. The aide of a damn good retriever made the others a bit envious, so Nixon chipped in on their birds as well, an idea he wasn’t about to turn down. That guy was born to hunt and hunting is what he wants to do ALL THE TIME to the point he had to get into the kennel to cool down. As our final tally reached its max for the day, the group cleaned all of the birds and packed up shop, opting for a return to Port Isabel where we would grill dinner once all of the gear was rinsed of the fertile Valley soil. 

With the sunsetting over the Lower Laguna Madre, all of us sat around the picnic table at our motel, sipping cold beers with grins ear to ear listening to the sounds of fajita meat sizzling over red-hot coals, patiently waiting to feast. This capped the end of another fine hunting opener.

WHITE-WING DOVE OPENER

When kids make their return to school and summer seems to have reached its end, hunters know that the best time of the year has actually arrived. Our months of impatiently passing time have once again have transitioned to active hunting status. In South Texas, just around Labor Day, this means White-Wing dove opener marks the beginning of a ever hopeful season of fruition. 

Before I was able to drive, my dad began taking me hunting to this exact farm which continues to produce some of the finest dove hunting in all of Texas. With a few years of hardship due to poor sunflower crops and extensive drought behind us, the birds were flying in numbers that I have never seen so plentiful, and I have seen many good years down here. Honestly, I’ve never left without my limit. With friends, wife and Harper along for her first “hunt”, we all setup camp under a shade tree to partake in the most social event known. You fire up a grill, heckle one another and have the finest times under the Texan sky, which was brutally hot. As the birds kept piling up, our sun tans became noticeable brighter and Nixon’s tongue hung further from his mouth. We had a steady flow of cold water to pour over ourselves and a resaca for him to swim in while Lonestar beer kept our mouths well hydrated. 

MADERAS VILLAGE - FAREWELL

MADERAS VILLAGE - BEST DAY EVER

MADERAS VILLAGE-DAY 1

When the pilot came over the radio indicating “our initial descent” into Nicaragua there was nothing but jungle looming below us. A plethora of green accented with light tufts of cumulus all of a sudden rose to a billowing volcano sitting along the shores of Lake Nicaragua. This was our welcome view to Nicaragua.

Once touched down, a simple $10 passed through the glass granted us 90 day access into the country for our pleasure. We navigated the consistent flow of surfboard bags to find our ride, Daniel, patiently waiting with a smile and a handshake, but waisting not a moment longer to get outside into the truck. With people, bicycles, motorbikes and cars galore, first gear was kicked in and away we went for the 2.5 hr ride across the country to reach the Pacific Ocean, our destination of Maderas Village. The ride was a rush in and off itself, but if you’ve spent any time traveling through less developed countries across the globe, you’ll know what to expect.

Upon reaching the top of the hill, we were greeted with a solid handshake introduction and the most appropriate offer, “could I get you a drink?” Two beers please. If you’ve seen photos of Maderas Village, its even better than imagined in person, like NeverNeverLand you begin dreading the idea of leaving before you’ve hardly set your bags down. None the less, we enjoyed our beers, grabbed some snacks and another round before getting into our Casita. A thatched roof building looking into the jungle with nothing beyond the finest curation of simplicity. Bags unpacked, we flipped into shorts and went straight down the hill to the beach. 

LAST HUNT OF DUCK SEASON

SOUTH TEXAS QUAIL

THE HONEY HOLE

CULL BUCK

As an avid bird hunter, shooting large game has not been in my pursuits for many years, a few days short of 18 to be exact. At the age of 13, my parents gifted me a .243 for Christmas then subsequently took me to South Texas for my January birthday to shoot a deer. We grew up fishing the bays of the lower Laguna Madre so stepping off into the mesquite brush was a new world to me, one which drew plenty of excitement. Fast forward now to the final days of being 30 when an opportunity arose to shoot myself another deer purely for the meat to keep us away from the grocery store.