Hot pink walls and electric green chairs? I would have turned around and walked right back out the door. That much color would make my head spin before I even looked at the flash. I can see how it would make the stronger designs stand out, but I bet a lot of people get fooled into thinking a mediocre piece looks better than it really is. Sounds like that shop is more about the vibe than the actual work.

and honestly that whole time i was probably blaming the pork, like oh this cut is just tough or the knife needs a good sharpening, when really i was the problem the whole time. reminds me of the time i spent a whole summer using my hand mixer on the lowest setting because i thought the higher speeds were for like, industrial bakeries only, turns out my cookies were flat because i was basically just stirring them. i get that sick feeling in your stomach when you finally see the thing thats been messing with you for years and its just you, plain as day. at least you found out now though, imagine another 10 years of sawing through meat and feeling bad about your tools. actually my neighbor once told me he used a nail file on his chef knife for like a month before someone stopped him, so it could always be worse.