Long before STRETCH, I, Boyd, was an engineer. I worked with automation, and this week I automated our campfire!
If you have been through the reception at STRETCH you know the campfire. We love the concept of people gathering around the fire for conversation before/after class. For over a decade the fire was ‘lit’ by coloured bulbs on the end of a cord. Finally, it’s got an LED upgrade, and some life.
With some strip LEDs and an ESP32 microcontroller, the campfire now flickers like real fire… and it does more than just that… Whenever someone signs up for a class, the fire ‘sparks’. It’s subtle, but noticeable.
Why bother? Because the fire is more than decoration. Humans have sat around fires for nearly as long as there have been humans. Around the fire is where we slow down, tell stories and connect. When you enter STRETCH, you come in from a busy street, you take off your shoes, you sit down by something warm, and the pace of life changes. The fire in the lobby signals your nervous system it can let go, preparing you for what you’re about to experience on your yoga mat.
And it is Thanksgiving. If you have a few minutes before class this weekend, come early, sit on a bench by the fire and think about one thing you are grateful for this year.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
-Boyd