Supernatural

The Story Behind the Design

Spoiler Warning: I share a couple important plot points in the show. If you’ve seen it or don’t care then carry on. If not, give the show a try! It’s only 15 seasons long…

Trigger Warning: In this Story Behind the Design I discuss the passing of a family member.

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It’s hard to predict what stories will stick with you — which ones you’ll forget in a month, and which ones you’ll recall years later to give you strength in your darkest moments.

I certainly didn’t expect the story of the show Supernatural to mean as much to me as it does.

Honestly, when I finally sat down in 2015 to watch after years of people recommending it to me, I just thought, “Two dudes fighting ghosts and monsters? Yeah, this’ll be fun!”

I binged several seasons in a few months, as enraptured as I was surprised by the depth of the characters and storylines.

I was on season 7 when my family and I experienced one of the most painful things a family can go through: the unexpected passing of my sister.

I would have expected Supernatural to be the furthest thing from my mind, but as my mom and I walked towards the entrance of the hospital we’d been called to — as yet unaware of my sister’s fate — I found myself thinking, “In Supernatural, human souls are one of the most powerful things in the universe. So no matter what’s waiting for us in there, we can deal with it.”

In some of the earliest hours of grief, there were moments of agony when I wanted to stop feeling everything. But, I thought, “No, I shouldn’t turn this off, feeling is a part of being human and it’s important. Sam losing his soul showed that.”

When I wanted to build emotional walls between myself and my loved ones because it was easier than vulnerability, I thought, “The worst stuff always happens when Sam and Dean don’t communicate. I need to open up.” 

In the years that have followed, the stories of Supernatural have stuck with me.

They have been places to go to help me process some of the most painful emotions a person can feel, places to rest when I can process no more, and places to laugh when I simply want to smile.

To this day, if it’s been a rough day — like, go home early, order hot wings, and curl up on the couch kind of rough day — I turn to the Wincester brothers to help get me through until the fog lifts.

For some folks, Supernatural is just a fun show — and that’s totally ok.

But, for me, a show about two dudes fighting ghosts and monsters became a show about our capacity for inner strength, the importance of being vulnerable, and the profoundness of human connection.

These mugs are my way of celebrating all that Supernatural means to me, and what it means to others — whatever that might be.