Aaron Furlong gets up at 5 a.m. six days a week. He bikes fifteen miles to his community pool where he swims for an hour, covering 1½ to 2 miles. After swimming, he bikes to work, another two miles. At the end of his work day Mr. Furlong bikes home. On alternate days, he goes for a run. He runs between 8 and 16 miles, covering between 28 and 40 miles per week. Mr. Furlong says it is important to work out when you are tired in order to prepare for a longer race. On weekends, marathon races are part of Mr. Furlong’s recreational activities. Mr. Furlong will be competing in his first ironman race in Napa Vally in July 2011.

For those of you who may not know, an ironman competition consists of a series of long distance races - a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike race and a marathon (26+ miles.) The races are performed in that order and without a break. All ironman events must be completed within a time limit of 17 hours. Furlong is training hard to complete his first ironman in less than 12 hours.

Aaron Henry Furlong, esteemed goldsmith and jewelry designer by day, is a committed athlete who loves to push himself beyond his limits. In last weekend’s Los Angeles Marathon, Mr. Furlong completed the race in the top 5% of the 21,000 people who crossed the finish line. He described the experience of the race as wonderfully colorful.

“You could not go 10 feet without running by a cheering crowd. There were Mariachi bands and Japanese Koto drummers. All of the ethnic groups of L.A. were represented in those throngs.” He also said that at a certain point he was in a fair amount of pain, and he thought to himself, “I could stop and walk, but I’m still going to be in pain. If I run faster, I’ll be out of pain sooner.” So he ran faster.

Convinced that preparing for the ironman competition gives him greater focus, Mr. Furlong loves the time spent training. He says that while exercising, he becomes lost in thought. He is often working out a math problem related to the speed and distance he will cover, but the chief effect of putting himself in a different environment and pushing himself physically is that he gets “in the flow” and is able to look at design problems differently.

 “When you run by architecture or landscape elements, you may not see them in focus, and so some element of the landscape might capture your imagination in a bit of a blur. Later, when you are sitting at your bench, trying to expand on the idea or the form that intrigued you, you find that you have invented something new.” He calls the advantage of seeing the world in a blur, “mis-perception.” And he says, for him, it is a great way to come up with new ideas.

Mr. Furlong ran by some lattice fence regularly on one of his routes and was intrigued by the texture. He found himself musing on it when he was at his bench. Later when visiting a mission in San Juan Capistrano he saw some baskets. The weaving and lattice combined to form a new design in his mind and at his bench. Here are some images of the outcome of his “mis-perception.”

Mr. Furlong also volunteers as a ski patroller during the winter months. He says it gives him perspective on his day-to-day responsibilities as the CEO/ Designer at Aaron Henry Designs. His discipline and athletic training reinforce his ability to exert mind over matter.

Aaron Henry Jewelry’s accolades include Spectrum, Niche, Signity and Diamonds Today awards. Jewelers Quarterly Magazine has also named Mr. Furlong as a Designer of the 21st Century. In addition, Mr. Furlong is a past president of the Contemporary Jewelry Design Group.

             -CJDG Editorial Team