A Good Plan Comes Together: 15 Boxes, Two Weeks, and the Work You Didn’t See

I love how a good plan comes together.

Fifteen seeding boxes. A two-week deadline. My first time taking on a project like this. Through my partnership with DTLR, I was creating for an activation celebrating the Nike × UGA × Outkast collaboration. There was plenty to be excited about. There was also a lot to make.

So I went silent and started creating.

These are the photos from that part of the story. The workbench. The pieces waiting to become something. The details you don’t see when the finished project finally makes it onto your feed.

Before there were 15 numbered boxes, there were individual parts that needed my attention. Every layer had to find its place.

The hardest part was keeping quiet

In a world where social media posts can feel like proof that you’re moving, keeping quiet was hard. I wanted to share what I was working on. When you’re excited about an opportunity like this, you want to let people in.

But the deadline was two weeks away. My attention had somewhere to be, and the next step was right in front of me.

The interior had its own story to tell. Lighting around the lid. Space for the pieces inside. Gold details and a record-inspired design connecting the presentation to the music.

Seeing those pieces come together gave me something real to measure my progress by. I could look at the box and see what had changed.

One detail, then the next

That’s what a project like this asks of you. You can imagine the finished piece, but you still have to work through everything between the idea and the result.

The clear panels, the corners, the engraved details. Each choice affected how the whole thing would feel when someone opened it.

Working with the visual language of Nike, UGA, and Outkast made this project especially meaningful. Those names carry so much history, and here I was in Atlanta, making my contribution with my own hands.

Even the sides of the boxes became part of the presentation.

Then there was the repetition. Making one piece is one thing. Carrying the idea across 15 boxes means returning to the details again and again.

The growing batch made the progress visible in the workshop, even while I was quiet online.

I’m grateful to DTLR for trusting me with this opportunity. Our projects together keep giving me room to explore what else I can make, and this one pushed me into a format I hadn’t worked in before.

There’s a particular feeling that comes with seeing a new idea become something you can actually hold. I got to experience that throughout this build.

The work was still moving

These process photos remind me that progress happens long before there’s a finished image to share. Sometimes it looks like a crowded table, loose pieces, and a project that still needs your attention.

I’m learning to give that stage its space. To let the work develop without feeling like I have to announce every step.

Fifteen boxes, numbered 1 through 15. Two weeks of bringing the plan into the world. My first seeding-box project became part of a DTLR activation for the Nike × UGA × Outkast collaboration.

I’m still wrapping my head around that. But looking back at these photos, I can see how it happened: one decision, one detail, one completed step at a time.

The finished result

Here’s where those two weeks led. The loose pieces, repeated details, and quiet work became the finished presentation.

Inside, the lighting frames the lid while the gold record-inspired insert and numbered plaque give each box its place in the collection.

Closed, the layered graphics bring the collaboration together. Fifteen boxes, numbered 1 through 15, created for a DTLR activation celebrating Nike × UGA × Outkast.

If you’re in a quiet season of building, keep giving the work your attention. You don’t have to post every step for those steps to count.

I love how a good plan comes together. Especially when I can look back and see the work it took to get there.

Stay in motion.
Baker Bezalel | @shoebaker_atl

See the finished boxes and the activation story →

Explore the portfolio project →