March Commissions!

I finished the March commissions yesterday! Out of the six commissions I've completed thus far this year, five have been western. I have non-western projects slated for April, thank goodness, but I've gotten very good at working with cast trees!

Here's the progression of one of the latest sets.

Using the baking soda and super glue method to rebuild a horn on one of my studio seconds.

The skirt and tree, after carving and prepping for metal nail heads and before dye.

The skirts are dyed and the suede for the seat has been thinned. Ready for assembly!

The saddle (far left) has been assembled and it's on to strap goods.

The tie down has been started.

Girth! One for this saddle, one for me.

Getting the bridle sorted out and making sure everything is easy to use.

And done!

You can see more photos of this set on Facebook.You should be able to view the album even if you don't have an account.

I'm still waiting on the new owner to approve the other March commission before I post the finished photos. Here's a little sneak peek...

My Kingdom for a Horse

I've been looking for a Stablemate Valegro locally and haven't tracked one down, so I put out an open call for a trade on my studio Facebook page earlier this week. I actually found two, and in very short order! I'm trading (such a rare occurrence for me!) a western show halter for each of them.

(I'd also like to note, just for kicks, that I've managed to blog every day this week!)

Recently Finished

I wrapped up the last commission of February today! It was a pleasure set to compliment the working set I showed you on Monday.

This one has intricate carving, which prompted a purchase that will be explored next week ;) The bridle is rolled, silvered, and has a delicate chin strap instead of a chain curb.

I'm really pleased with how this one turned out!

The pleasure set and working set will be heading to the same owner, and she requested a couple of halters, too.

The black halter is actually 1/16th black ribbon. I can't say I love this material - I can't skive ribbon the way that I can leather, so it's naturally more bulky. That said, the halter is rather fetching!

Working Western Commission

I completed this commission late last week and photographed it Friday, but then the weekend hit and I haven't had a chance to post it until just now.

I love the rich color this set has, and the silver nail heads (micro beads!) are a really classy look for a working guy.

Enjoy the photos!

Recently Finished

I finished the first commissions of 2016 late last week! I had a studio guest for fitting, but because he's an in progress custom I didn't want to use stickywax on him. Seabiscuit is modelling the commissions instead, and doing his best.

I also finished the first sales piece of 2016! It's currently pending sale.

So far it's been a very productive start to 2016! Here's hoping I can keep up the momentum.

Hobby Recovery

I'm slowly working out of the hobby slump by working on a few fun, easy projects. I made an english saddle and bridle in a day and a half because I was having so much fun with it!

I've put it up on MH$P, and you can see the ad here: http://www.modelhorsesalespages.com/view.asp?id=1202755

Here's a quick gallery of the set:

Show for the Cure 2013

If you've been following my progress on Facebook, you'll have seen the completed pictures of my Show for the Cure donation. You've seen some of the frustrations on this blog; it was the donation saddle that had an unfortunate incident with nail polish remover. I had intended to start the donation over winter break, but like so many of my good intentions, it never quite made it to the action phase.

As far as I can tell (records keeping was spotty in the early days), this is the 5th straight year that I have donated.  Here's a brief pictorial history...

2009

2010

2011

2012

This year's donation is a bit of a throw back, since it's another western show set.

The most  notable feature is that this is the first completed saddle to be built on a new, sculpted tree. It's also my first saddle with aluminum duct-work tape. That stuff is awesome. The silver has tiny cancer awareness ribbons etched into the design, and the saddle is hand carved. There's a properly tied latigo (and latigo keeper!) on the left and a quick-tack-up tongue buckle on the right. The bridle is a rolled single ear with plain split reins and a photo etched curb from TWMHC.

I've spoken to Jenna Nejman, the hostess for Show for the Cure, and she's told me that the saddle will be a silent auction item. Bidding will end at the show, but if you can't make the show and are still interested it sounds like you'll have a chance to place a bid. She'll post more information later, and I'll relay that here when I have it.

New Packaging

So, after much researching (I know more about purchasing boxes in bulk than I ever wanted) and a few false starts (online, in Photoshop, and printing), I finally have some new packaging organized!

The boxes were picked up at Office Max (on sale, what's more!) and I printed the labels on my inkjet printer at home (one of two sources of printing grief, ugh!).

They replaced my previous baggie system.

Which wasn't a bad system, necessarily, but the boxes will prevent even the chance of squishing and help saddles keep their shape better.

They're extremely roomy, almost too big for simple orders like the recently finished Jezebel commission.  For larger pieces, like WeeJay and the Babysitter, or more complex orders with lots of parts they're great.  The boxes come in a smaller size, believe it or not, but this is accomplished by reducing the height and that makes it almost unsuitable.  Never a middle ground, is there?

The entire assembly is still incredibly cheap (not as cheap as the baggies at 100/$1), cheap enough that I won't need to raise prices.  Win win, right?

I'll be shipping the last two commissions and a few odds and ends out in the new boxes this week.  It's nice to have all of those loose ends tied up!

Shana's Endurance Set, Two Years Later

One of my customers posted a really awesome photo of an older piece on my studio Facebook page.  With her permission, I'm reposting it here.  It's just that cool.

This endurance saddle was made for a portrait of Shana's real horse and based on the Wintec Endurance Pro and the assortment of tack that the customer rode in.  It was intended for a customized Swaps, but looks really good on this resin.  Shana did an awesome job on the custom, too, which is a portrait of her horse.

Here's another shot of the set 'out in the field,' so to speak.  She did a spectacular job on the paintwork, as mentioned, and a terrific job tacking the horse up!  Most of what's on there doesn't move a whole lot, but it can be tricky to arrange the accessories appropriately.

The set didn't get much press when it was new, but here's the blog post it was first mentioned in.

Facebook!

Some of you may have noticed the two new buttons on the right side of the blog; one for mailing list, and one for Facebook.  That's because I've found two problems with the blogging format.

One: I don't really have the time or content to post every day.  I'd love to be able to, it's just not where I'm at right now.

Two: The blog is somewhat limited in it's reach.  Not everyone checks blogs frequently; people might miss important announcements!

This is where Facebook and the mailing list (a Yahoogroup created in 2007 that I resurrected) come in.  If you want the important updates delivered right to your inbox, the Yahoogroup is there.  It's announcement only, too, so you won't be inundated with mail.  Sales pieces/commission slots will be announced on the blog, Facebook, AND via the Yahoogroup.

And to make sure this blog post is interesting...here's the latest finished piece! I snapped a rein in two when I was tacking it up for the final pictures on Saturday, but everything's fixed now.

And Away We Go!

I got the very last scheduled donation boxed up yesterday, and today it hits the post office.  Not a moment too soon, since The Show for the Cure is March 24! This is much, much closer than I am comfortable with, and it was a combination of poor planning and !@#$%^-stupid-boots! Boots can be time consuming under the best of circumstances, and then I had to remake one particular boot twice; once because the tabs were on the wrong side* and again because I dyed it too dark.  I also remade part of the five point breastplate to correct some fit issues and lengthened the crown piece of the bridle.

But it's done, thank goodness, and will ship today along with a few extra goodies.  Here are a couple of photos:

 Now that both donations are out of the studio, it's time to really dive into the next project: a cross country/jumper set for WeeJay!  I'll be doing more boots, of course, and another five point breastplate.  I finished the figure eight bridle while I waiting for various parts of that last !@#$ boot to dry (and watching Frasier).

Please excuse the poor studio photo - this was taken indoors at night with the flash.

Compare to the two bridles below, both finished in March of last year.

The reins are slimmer on this year's bridle because I've gotten more confident when lacing reins and the buckles now have tongues, but otherwise there's not much difference, is there?  I haven't decided if that's a good thing or a bad thing.  I hadn't cleaned up the edges on the 2011 bridles yet, if anyone wonders about the light edges on some straps.  I have to trim lace for strapgoods by hand and those edges are the result of dye not soaking all the way through.  From what I've read, this is a common complaint with Eco-Flo dyes.  It's not really a problem for me, though.  I dip my brush back in the dye and run it along the edges before sealing. 




*Equine legwear is always worn with fasteners (buckles, velcro, etc) on the outside, with loose ends pointed behind the horse to prevent injuries and help keep the protective gear from being torn off by another foot.  The boot in question was for the left rear leg; when the tabs were on the outside of the leg, they pointed forward.  It would be much easier for something to tear them off as the horse is moving forward, over a jump say, than if they were pointed towards the rear.