WAS THE NEWSLETTER #95

I’m Paige Wassel. WAS the Newsletter is your weekly dose of design inspiration, where wine glasses are back baby… and a few other things.

THE 9/28 WAS RE-LAUNCH!

Let’s start at the very beginning. The year was 2022, when insecure billionaires started a space race and WORDLE was the only thing holding this country together.

Despite having no idea what I was doing, I thought, Everyone’s driven to drink in this news cycle, so why not make some wine glasses? My internet friend Momo Gordon (aka Slippy Peach out of Portland) doodled this little tomato sketch with a fork and knife, and we slapped it on some thick italian glassware.

Leaning heavy on my background as prop stylist, we did a fun shoot with oysters, stinky cheese, and weird vintage props. Everything was shot by Kim Kovacik in Chicago (I was still living there at the time) and my sister, Teague, joined in as the PA (production assistant).

I didn’t know what was going to happen when I listed 500 of them online on Black Friday. To my complete shock, people actually bought them. Like… all of them. I roped my entire family into wrapping glass after glass. The stemware filled our lake house floors. I was like, “Happy Thanksgiving, now start packing.” I added a handwritten note for every order. As a family unit, we all stressed out over bubble wrap, and it took forever. Have they forgiven me yet? Unsure.

What’s cool is that these glasses are what started WAS, so I had them remade for this relaunch. They’re back for one final run, this time minus the handwritten note. (Sorry, not sorry.) Then, they’ll live in the archives forever, so don't miss out.

THE IGNITION

Then came 2023, when the Eras tour launched and I had the bright idea to design a tote bag. Am I a fashion designer? No. But I thought, why the hell not make some bags from upholstery fabric.

The shoot for it was peak WAS chaos. (Sensing a theme here?) Now that I was living in LA, I had Julien Sage shoot in the basement of a church and it was styled by my friend, Rachel Tubbs. I couldn’t believe what an incredible team I pulled together. This felt really high end. I also remember being annoyingly sick on this shoot and had to keep running to the bathroom to couch for 30 seconds straight.

I kept a few of those totes tucked away, and they’re coming back for this drop. I don't have a lot of them in stock, so don't wait around. NGL, when I first released the totes, they weren’t even my fave. But over time, it became the bag I keep reaching for.

THE BLAZE

In 2024, I teamed up with Liv from ABLE Shoppe in Chicago. We went all-in on a kitchen collection because… why not? We did aprons, linens, placemats, and coasters. The coasters became the breakout star and we love her for that.

We sourced the vintage striped fabric in Chicago, and I literally hauled duffel bags of it back to L.A. Again, it was kind of a nightmare process, with the shipping, sourcing, and late-night packing sessions with unsuspecting friends. We even did a Chicago pop-up that was complete madness but also really fun.

I hate wasteful packaging, so I got creative with the coaster sets. We ended up holding them together with chip clips. It was cheap, functional, and maybe my best idea yet. I still love the coasters, and I’ve been hoarding a few extras for just this occasion.

WHAT’S NEXT

So that’s the deal: wine glasses, totes, coasters. All dropping this Sunday, September 28 @ 12PM PST. I am going out in Santa Monica the night before so please bear with me if I am 15 minutes late.

So yeah, It’s basically a little “greatest hits” collection, and once these are gone, sayonara.

If you’ve been wondering why 2025 has been a quieter WAS year, it’s because I’ve been… drowning. In life. (In a good way.) I didn’t want to rush out products that felt forced, so instead of half-assing something new, I’m giving these OGs the sendoff they deserve.

That said, the annual pillow launch happens in December. We do it every year, and it’s always the perfect timing for holidays. So if you miss this drop, there’s still a chance to get cozy with WAS before the year ends.

See you Sunday at NOON, BISHES.

READ THE CARDS

DO / DON’T by Basma Alromaih

xx,
P