The importance of samples

I've often stated just how much I believe in sample pieces for my shop. I knw from experience just how much they can change the direction we take. My customers would have a hard time visualizing the things we can do without the samples to show them. They help build confidence in our abilities. The samples are also a great chance to learn how to do new things. Although I don't always achieve it my goal is to create one sample each month. It is a solid investment in our future.

I started the latest sample at the Sculpture Magic Workshop a few weeks ago. It was cool but it needed more. So we created a ficticious business name and then built a sign to mount the mammoth head to. Hailey did the honors and called the business Wooly's Carpets. We have now completed the base colors and permanently mounted the head. Now the sign will get the final glazes before we finish the lettering.

mammoth base paint.png

Wooly makes me smile each time I go into the shop. I'll post more pictures as soon as we are done.

-grampa dan

What are we trying to do?

Anytime I design a project for a client I ask mself what it is we are trying to do with the piece.. I learned this many years ago. Once I learned to ask this question designing became a whole lot easier.

One of my early projects was to design displays for a Yamaha dealer. They sold ATV's, motorcycles and snowmobiles. The answer to the question was obvious in this case. I was to design display to help them sell their product. To sell snowmobiles I designed a display that placed a snowmobile in the snow. The dirtbikes were suspended from the ceiling on wires as it went over a jump that looked like dirt.

When it came to the ATV we went all out. We would perch an ATV in the wild, above a real waterfall. We sourced some realistic Christmas trees and sculpted the rest with fiberglass-reinforced-concrete. The display was self contained and rolled on hidden wheels to make it easy to rearrange the showroom.

atv display.png

The displays worked exceptionally well for the dealer. They were popular with the customers and were also featured in the motorcycle trade magazines. The displays did exactly what they were designed to do.

-grampa dan

Custom Design & Construction