Hey Look What I Made

Here's the front view:

Cigar with a tar block filter. LOL - I didn't know that was going to be part of the picture. The guy who was nice enough to take a few pics wasn't a photographer either.

That looks awesome man!!

Very creative from you!

I wish you the best of the best!

Keep up the great work for sure!

Cheers!

Looks like atree stuck on a chocolate donut. Yum.
Wait- gonna hit the supermarket for some chocolate donuts.

I've never met anyone who jasper makes think of donuts before. There are some pretty darn edible looking agates around, though.

Nice. It reminds me of bonsai trees I used to grow

The cigars are the same size as cigarettes. They have fewer additives than cigs over here. The blocker is a little filter you stick on the end and it traps all the tar so you're not smoking that, too.

The tree - I'll be making these now. I'm getting some stock up for a rock and gem show - maybe just a booth somewhere the first year or two, then will be making my own RHS1 rock and gem shows. I have some pretty large chunks of opalized wood and other rock to put them on. Not all will have the garnet "blossoms".

Each of my family has one and they get a lot of comments. I think other people seem to find trees as aesthetically pleasing as I do.

My thanks button just died. Suzanne - I might end up making a few shaped like bonzi. Never know. Depends upon what I'm putting them on. I've seriously mulled the idea of a two foot copper pine tree.

I also thought immediately of bonsai trees, especially from the second picture.

You could sell these for a decent price at Etsy. I normally never buy stuff like this, but I'd be tempted just because I really like crystals and gems. One angle or idea is to call them bonsai trees; never need pruning, watering or whatever.

Ken

Absolutely awesome gift and I'm glad you see retailing them - make a lot of people happy
with a special decoration. Boutique hotels as well.

Dan

PS - you could be a hand model. LOL

Thanks Ken - shipping is a problem. They are extremely fragile. Thinking maybe wood box with anchoring so it won't move and the wire won't touch anything - that wire is small gauge and bends real easy.

Dan, thanks also. But hand model? LMAO. My hands are the only really geriatric looking part of my body. Well, feet, too. I don't think I'd make much with the wrinkled, age spotted mitts. My hands weren't all that pretty when I was 18 and they haven't gotten better since. Trust me on that one.

If you want to spot a rockhound or other geologically entertained person in the crowd - check out their hands. YIKES.

Bubble wrap, Styrofoam peanuts, balloon type packing thingies you can probably get at a FedEx, UPS, or pack and ship place should do just fine.

I knew a hand model. The picture with your hand reminded me of her.

Dan

Understand about mass production. That's OK, these are artworks so people will understand that you cannot or will not mass produce them. And that's another factor that accounts for the higher price. Exclusivity and all that stuff.

As for shipping; anything can be safely shipped. This is the twenty-oneth century, after all.

Looking at the image, and I didn't notice your hand before, you just need to anchor it very well so it won't move even if the box is upside down. Maybe experiment and build a frame with plywood so it protects it from pressure from above. Then, put the frame in a heavy cardboard box. Of course get stickers for fragile, this end up, do not drop, etc. I think that will work.

Naturally, figure in the S & H into the price and tell 'em "Free Shipping."

Another cool thing is to include a document for each tree explaining the crystals or gems in their tree and maybe a little history of them. You know, some gems/crystals are supposed to have certain energies were/are believed to be helpful for certain things. People will like it.

You know how it is, there are people who will pay a moderately hefty price for something like that. And it's art which helps justify the high price.

Ken

Look at you girl! I love it and am impressed.

I like it better than the belt your niece made you and I adored that!


Terra

That looks good, it's pretty. Naturally, you can plant a seed in peoples' minds that adds value and therefore further helps to justify the price. The seed is telling people.how you trek, hike, and generally go through hell and high water to find all those rocks. Then you creatively torture yourself for endless hours as you create each piece.

Are you planning on making a website just for this project? I think it's a good idea.

I got an idea yesterday. It's for pieces targeted to those who generally believe in energies ascribed to crystals and gems. You can make something like a tree with stones in it, but use a particular type of stone or several different types of stones that complement each other, energetically.

An example would be a tree with crystals/gems helpful for opening chakras. Then you would call that piece something like the chakra tree, or chakra opening tree. That would appeal to that crowd, and the possibilities are nearly endless for products of that type.

Here's another idea. Make dream catchers with crystals/gems in them. Then do everything else with info about the stones. I'm sure you could use stones that are appropriate for sleeping and dreaming. Sort of an upscale native thing.

There's a lot you can do with this, so I hope you get it going and it goes well.

Ken

Interesting thing about pricing such art.

I talked to a wholesaler of pretty, painted ostrich eggs. They retail in Georgetown, CO for $80.00 and $800.00 on Vail, CO. Yep, ten times difference. The market is different, and so is the amount retailers have to pay for retail space.

Actually - I have a friend who's been doing rock shows for many years - he says any time you attach the metapysical uses of the stones, they take double to triple the prices. I have about 100 lb of small stone and petrified wood that I will be selling as "wellness" stones with info about what they are traditionally used for.

Incidentally - I wrote an article once on stones being used for health (I called it "Take Two Crystals and Call Me In the Morning", lol). Becuase of the vibration of the different minerals, the idea that they can help heal isn't all that strange at all. Some were ingested for healing, and again - the mineral content would make sense helping for some maladies. Quartz crystals do ionize water. So, all in all, there's scientific basis for that tradition now that we know what we know about minerals. Some can make you sick or kill ya, too.

Anyhow - there's always ways to market beautiful stone. I have some petrified wood that the guy I hunted it with cabs (cabochons for jewelry and belts) that he's getting $80 for just the unmounted cabs. That's a little work for him, but experienced lapidary artists can make money that figures into some pretty impressive per hour rates. Those that get nice enough stone......get rich.