For ‘Triple Beam Dream’, NOWNESS approached ELISHA SMITH-LEVEROCK and LIEF to write a film shining a spotlight on JON GRAY, the co-founder of Bronx-based culinary collective Ghetto Gastro, whose new glassware collection takes unexpected inspiration from the history of crack. 

Working at the intersection of food, design and culture, Gray calls himself “the dishwasher”—an unceremonious title that belies his part in changing the restaurant game by replacing the traditional gatekeepers of gourmet food.

In this Solange-soundtracked project, Smith-Leverock traveled to Venice to meet Gray and the team of world-class glass artisans working on his first kitchenware collaboration, Triple Beam Dream, a name which is shared by Rick Ross and Nas’ 2012 coke ballad. 

“Just like Ghetto Gastro and Jon himself, Triple Beam Dream challenges peoples’ perceptions,” says Smith-Leverock. “It’s a Trojan Horse. A meticulously hand-crafted, hyper-luxurious, carefully designed re-imagination of glassware that Jon used to cook crack with.”