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Josh | Custom Coasters & Art

@capworks804

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Unique drink coasters & artwork created from recycled bottle caps, cans, & more. Click the links for more info and to shop. Think outside the bottle!

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Before CapWorks was really CapWorks, there was this. 🍺⚔️

Years ago, I decided it would be a perfectly reasonable idea to build a full suit of armor out of bottle caps.

A few thousand caps, a couple months of work, a lot of drilling, punching, stringing, reshaping, and figuring-things-out-as-I-went later, I had somehow made this.

It was ridiculous. It was heavy. It got a lot of attention.

It was also the first time I really started seeing bottle caps as something I could build with instead of something to throw away.

The suit has long since been retired from active duty, but a lot of what eventually became CapWorks started right here.

Still one of my favorite things I’ve ever made.

Happy Halloween from the original bottle cap experiment. 🎃🍻 by @capworks804

If I have to flatten hundreds of bottle caps, I’m probably not going to do it one at a time by hand.

So I built the Crushinator.

It takes a repetitive step in the process and turns it into something fast, consistent, and precise. Feed the caps in, let the machine do its job, and they come out ready for whatever I’m turning them into next.

That’s a big part of how CapWorks has evolved over the years. I’m always thinking about the finished piece, but I’m just as interested in building a better way to get there.

The art is handmade. The process is engineered.

And yes, watching the Crushinator flatten a pile of caps is still extremely satisfying.

Follow to see more of the machines I’ve designed and built for the CapWorks process. by @capworks804

Your Halloween decor is missing something. 👻🍺

Skulls, zombies, monsters, ghouls, creepy creatures, and a whole lot of beer art that understood the assignment.

I pulled together some of the most Halloween-ready coasters already in the CapWorks shop and they look right at home this time of year.

Swipe through and pick your favorites. A few spooky-season favorites are featured here, but the shop has plenty more that fit the mood. by @capworks804

One of my favorite ways to spend a road trip? Brewery hopping. 🍺

This time I made my way through Maryland, with stops at Denizens, Crooked Crab, Heavy Seas, and Checkerspot, and of course I couldn’t leave without bringing home a few labels to turn into coasters.

Every brewery has its own personality, and I love finding ways to capture a little piece of that in something people can actually use.

If you’re in Maryland, these are all worth adding to your list.

Do you have any favorite MD breweries I missed? Let me know so I can check them out next time!

And if you’re a brewery looking for custom coasters made from your own cans or labels, I’d love to work together. Send me a message and let’s make something for your taproom. by @capworks804

Good beer gets my attention. Great label art gets taken back to the shop. 👀🍺
Nepenthe Brewing gave me both.

I really enjoyed the beer and was seriously impressed by the artwork from Mike Moses, so Cryomancer and Space Jellyfish were coming home with me.

Naturally, I had to give those labels a second life as coasters.

If you’re in Baltimore, go check out Nepenthe. And if you’re a brewery sitting on cans or labels with artwork this good, I’d love to turn them into something your customers can keep.

Tag a brewery whose cans belong on a table, not in the trash.

@thedrowntown @nepenthebrewingco by @capworks804

Meet the Cutter-Slicer-Flattener. You will NEVER guess what it does.

It cuts. It slices. It flattens.

Ok, I know the name leaves very little room for suspense, but these three custom machines handle several of the first steps in turning some beer cans into coasters. And if you have a more creative name, I’d love to hear it!

I built the cutter to remove the top and bottom of the can, the slicer to cut the remaining aluminum open, and the flattener to turn it into a sheet I can actually work with. Three machines, three jobs, and a lot less wrestling with curved aluminum.

They may not have the most mysterious names in the CapWorks lineup, but they’re extremely satisfying to watch.

👉 Follow for more machines I’ve built and the art they help me make. by @capworks804

Some labels are too good not to turn into coasters.

This one started with a Furious George Hefeweizen from Crooked Crab Brewing and ended with a coaster I’m pretty happy with.

I always like when a beer label has enough personality to carry the whole piece, and this one definitely does.

Cheers to good beer, good label art, and giving empty cans a second life.

What brewery has your favorite can art right now?

@crookedcrabbeer by @capworks804

Sometimes a custom project starts with, “Can you make me a… dog poop bag holder?” 😂

My friend Erin at Final Gravity Brewing gave me that challenge, and this little guy is what I came up with.

I also made a limited run of Starman coasters using labels from their special 11th anniversary beer, and they’ll be available at the anniversary party this Sunday.

I always love projects like this because they let me take a brewery’s artwork and turn it into something completely different.

If you’re in Richmond this weekend, go celebrate 11 years with Final Gravity and come check these out in person. 🍻

Happy anniversary, @finalgravitybrewingco. by @capworks804

Good beer deserves a good coaster. 🍺

I had a great stop at Atomic Clock Brewing in Durham. Great beer, great food, and some seriously good can art, so naturally I couldn’t come home without something to turn into a coaster.

Movement Pilsner got the honors. And after a highly scientific quality-control test, I can confirm the beer tastes just as good sitting on its own label. 🍻

Keep watching to see how I made it, and if you’re in Durham, put Atomic Clock on your brewery list. 🍻

Thanks for the beer and the inspiration, Atomic Clock!

@atomicclockbrewing by @capworks804

Meet the Cap Restorer. It does exactly what you think it does.

It may not have a name as dramatic as the Crushinator or the De-CAP-itator, but it earns its place in the lineup.

Used bottle caps often arrive bent, dented, or misshapen. I built this machine to press them back into shape so they’re ready to become part of something new.

Not flashy. Not threatening. Just quietly undoing years of bottle-opening damage, one cap at a time.

👉 Follow to meet more of the custom machines behind CapWorks and see what these restored caps become. by @capworks804

If you’re pouring at Battle of the Beers today, come find me. 🍺

I’ve been getting ready for the 757 Battle of the Beers by turning materials from some of today’s participating breweries into CapWorks coasters, and I’ll have these and plenty more with me at my booth.

With 40+ breweries all in one place, I’m looking forward to trying some great beer, seeing a lot of familiar brewery friends, and meeting a few I haven’t had the chance to work with yet.

If you spot your brewery in this reel, come say hi. I’d love to meet you, show you what I’ve been making, and talk about what we could create with your cans, labels, or other brewery materials.

And if you’re here for the beer, stop by the CapWorks booth and see which of your favorite breweries I’ve turned into coasters. 🍻

See you at Battle of the Beers! by @capworks804

Only two of these sets exist. And tomorrow is your only chance to get one. 👀

I made two limited-edition CapWorks coaster sets for the 757 Battle of the Beers, featuring this year’s festival artwork by Eric Leach.

Each set comes with a custom stand and box, and the coasters include a little extra nod to all of the breweries participating in this year’s event.

They’ll only be available through the silent auction tomorrow, and once they’re gone, they’re gone.

I’ll also be there with plenty of other CapWorks coasters for sale, so if you’re heading to Battle of the Beers, come find me and say hi. 🍻

And definitely don’t forget to check out the silent auction. by @capworks804