Custom Kink

Oh how we love our photographer

Tess2 — Sun, 02 May 2010 00:22:06 +0000

So, I unloaded a box of dozens of things to her. She just smiled and said “this might take awhile”, how awesome is she? Not sure what I would do without the amazingly talented people in my life who make this all happen!

At the Bizarre Bizarre April 10th.

Tess2 — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 09:04:02 +0000

What a fun day! We had great weather, I didn’t have to run the generator which means I could HEAR, and we met some fantastic people.There’s a slideshow below with some random photos from the day. We had a working booth. I painted, Daddy T did some handle wraps, Kay even brought a clothespin project. I will get some better pictures of the art up soon. Please be understanding of the photographs, Tina did not take them so you are all going to be subjected to my blurry snaps with no composition at all!

In the background is Daddy T. He is the genius responsible for all the super creative floggers and all the cool handle wraps. That gorgeous woman is his partner Enigma and she helped to make it a fun day.

[[Show as slideshow]]

Kay and Rikki are the best pals Marc and I could ask for. Truly blessed. They even brought us breakfast (because they ROCK!).

Special thanks to Sam and Lisa for their amazing support. The day would not have been the same without Lisa’s art. Dude, you make me brave! Sam kept me on track and Sam is the ultimate task master and without her I never would have been on time (for most of my adult life!). I love you guys.

We got to talking to the folks at the show and lost track of time. Deb at the wood shop was texting to see how things were and I didn’t even realize. That is why the wood shop should always have to come along! We didn’t sell much, but as it turns out neither did anyone else. It wasn’t that kind of day. We did however get great feedback from everyone who stopped in and we got a ton of interest in what we do.

It was a fun day, and looking forward to planning the next show.

April 10th: Bizarre Bizarre – Phoenix, AZ

Tess2 — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 20:13:49 +0000

Hey there! Want to meet some of the crew? We will be at this event with some of our original art. We will also be able to take custom orders. Soon we will post the picture of the piece we are donating for their auction (but it isn’t finished!)

Here are the details:

Bizarre Bizarre/APEX Community Open House

date:	Saturday, April 10, 2010
time:	11:00 AM to 04:00 PM
where:	Arizona Power Exchange
address:	4006 S. 23rd St. Suite 11, Phoenix, Arizona map

cost:	$10.00 at the door
dress code:	Street Legal

Vendors (US!), Demo’s, Fashion Show, Food. Looks to be a great time. We will keep you posted as more details become available. We will try to get some pictures up of some of the cool things we are bringing.

First Shot at Inlay…

Tess2 — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 12:29:04 +0000

Not so good. The Wood Shop is now going to hit me with an “I told you so”. Time for drastic action! While I may have failed in my first attempt, I am convinced the Dremel principle is sound.

When at first you don’t succeed…you listen to the woodworkers laugh at you!

Inlay or Embed?

Tess2 — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 19:45:51 +0000

Have a new idea. Want to embed things into paddles. There is nothing cooler than a Dremel Tool. I want Dremel out a space, inlay heavy things, and then paint the piece and use some heavy lacquer to protect it.

Note: We keep little ideas like this a secret from the Wood Shop. They would probably all have heart attacks if they find out I am doing this on the fly. I am sure their process would include blueprints, a piece of heavy machinery designed for just this purpose, and then an operator for the piece of (inevitably) heavy machinery. Bless them for wanting to save me from myself! I promise to post the ER photos when I did something they told me not to do, and then injured myself.

So, imagine if I took my Dremel, made a channel in the paddle face and then put things into it? I don’t really know what “things” are yet, have any ideas? Time to hit the craft/leather store to find things to put in there. Worried I will splinter the wood, but can’t really ask for advice (see “Note” above!), so let’s see if I ruin things!

My Dremel Tools 15 minutes of fame:

Welcome to Custom Kink

Tess2 — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:54:05 +0000

Custom Kink was hatched from the first custom paddle made for a birthday present. We got such a response from that one piece that we realized people actually wanted this.

The first piece was rough. The wood wasn’t great, there was no process to speak of, and it took a ridiculous number of hours. It was stripped and repainted several times. It was refinished several times as well. The final result was something none of us had seen before, and everyone else began to covet!

As we fielded questions we realized there was a market for this kind of thing. As we talked about it, we also realized we knew many artists who sold a few pieces locally but had no exposure. We wanted to provide a place for artists and craftsmen of quality could showcase their work.

While the custom paddle section now works pretty quickly because of the process in place and the practice we’ve had, we also have artists who do a few pieces a year, and that’s it! Keep your eyes open for those guys, they are special.

We hope you enjoy Custom Kink and you make this a part of your daily reading. We have great plans for the blog, check back to see what we are up to!