Kickstarter

Well shoot! 

Round one didn't work, so we're going to try this a new way. The only difference between this info and the previous project is that I have dropped the target goal (short blurb on this below in the "Money" section), which means I am working basically to afford the equipment. Means I won't get paid for my time, but in the long run it is DEFINITELY worth it to expand my abilities and try this stuff out. 

--------------------------

So here's the sitch. I have been making jewelry for a long time and only had a small time to learn and practice stabilizing using resins and vacuum pumps, not to mention wood, bone, and antler carving.

 What the heck are you talking about?

Basically, you place the material in question in a medium (such as a resin or plastic, or sometimes heavy oil) and set it in a vacuum bell. The pump sucks the air out, which forces the fluid into the pores and inner space of the material. The medium dries and viola! What was once brittle, soft, weak; possibly with worm holes or large empty spaces, and generally not ideal for jewelry, knife handles, and small sculpture, is now stabilized!

So what's the project?

The basic jist is, I will be stabilizing a bunch of wild harvest materials  to be used not only on pieces and projects in the future, but on your incentive items! These will range not only from simple pendants, to more complex hand carved pendants; rings, to earrings, to knife handles! This project line will be cohesive in it's material use, and general aesthetics, as well as design style, but will include a pretty wide range of different items! Most of my designs are drawn either directly, or abstractly from nature, so you can bet that whatever design you get, it will have a direct conversation with something you have evolved around for ages.

What the heck is "wild harvest"?

I use this term loosely to describe anything I "harvest in the wild". Sometimes this is antler, horn, or bone from wild animals found on the trail or through friends that hunt. Sometimes this is an oak branch that is sticking into the road and hitting the garbage truck. I even use this phrase to describe metal I find in junk yards (hey, digging through car parts is hard work!). The important part is it is material that wouldn't be used unless I took it, and often times it is free!

What's the plan man?

The issue is my compressor broke, and I don't have a bell jar, so that's where the project starts. I begin by purchasing the vacuum pump and bell jar, build a small vacuum table, and I get some resin and/or plastics.

This allows me the chance to really delve into a new process and medium for my business and not lose a few weeks of potential work doing it. Economy is rough right now, but with this project I would be able to learn, create, and perfect a new material process and have another awesome product to offer!

Alright, lay the money talk on me one more time...?

In order to get started I need a vacuum pump in the 5cfm range, a bell jar big enough to do either a few pieces at a time or one nice big one, and a vacuum table, which is basically a rubber mat on a sheet of metal. If I can find it all used and in good working order this could end up as cheap as $400, but if I have to buy anything new( probably the bell jar) it could get as high as $800. In addition, I would need to buy enough resin to at least do the incentive pieces. This means my costs are probably going to be in the 600-900$ range. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Since the first round didn't succeed, I re-set it to the bare safe-minimum I need to do the project. Ideally, we would be adding on about two weeks working on incentive awards and perfecting these techniques which means I can't take additional jobs during that time, and the rest of the money invested will allow me to put 100% of my attention on this project.

This means that ANYTHING above and beyond the goal is helping me make a living. The original goal was 2700, so think of that as our secondary goal.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Final Note about Incentive Rewards...

The progressions are based on a number of factors including time of production, rarity of material, and difficulty of additional processes. In some cases, such as the lower end items the complexity of the design I carve for you will increase as you approach the next benchmark. Example: a $10 investment will result in a lovely simple pendant, whereas a $19 investment, while still in the same bracket, will have just a tad more character. granted, that extra $1 will put your snazzy simple pendant into an less-common bone or horn pendant!

Sketches!

If these don't do it for you, keep checking back in the comments to see what sort of other sketches I'll be pumping out in the next 4 weeks. Or better yet, post some ideas of concepts or objects you'd like to see!

New sketches of Rings and Bracelet Toggles 

(Thanks for the idea mike!) Aug-7-2011

Toggles will be the same size as the Simple Pendants, only have a leather cord with a 2-knot slip lock to wear on your wrist!

here are some not so impressive sketches of ring ideas:

And photos of two rings I carved from deer antler in the past.

Complex pendant designs!