Holi-daze

Been bumming around the past few days, enjoying the Holidays with family and friends.  Gonna be getting back into the swing in a few days, once everything calms down a bit.  New hand plane template out, and prototype coming soon.  Hopefully a few will hit local shops for summer fun down the road.

Stay tuned.

Enjoy the Stoke.

Christmas Happenings

Here's a really, really crappy image of some gnarly little balsa pig ornaments I've been working on.  I shaped one last year freehand, and I loved it so much, I wanted to make more.  They're perfect for any Christmas tree or rearview mirror.  Look for them posted on the Etsy soon.  They can be to you by Christmas, for sure.

Hand painted with nail polish, because of the readily available colours and awesome sheen. 

Also, took another drive down Ocean Parkway tonight and visited Gilgo Beach for the first time since Sandy.  I was actually surprised at home good the beach looked (albeit it was pitch black) after the amount of water and force that rolled through.  Most of the taller dunes were still intact, and although a lot of the smaller ones are gone, the beach is no worse off than it has been in recent years.  There's a lot to be done still, but Gilgo will live to see another day. 

Stay tuned for more.

Enjoy the Stoke.

Nothing like following up a day of procrastination with a day of super productivity.  An order for 4 Bottom Feeder Ply Hand planes came in last Saturday, and I finally got around to cutting and shaping them today.  It the first planes that I've shaped in over a month or so, and honestly I was going a little crazy without a serious craft to do.  Once you starting doing something and it begins fun for you, not doing it is torture.  I'd compare it to an addiction of something illegal, but that probably wouldn't be proper. 

Earlier in the afternoon, I went and got some custom Christmas cards printed for my Etsy customers, as a token of my appreciation to them throughout the year.  Customer relations and service is something I feel a lot of companies lack, and it seems that the smaller the company, the better they are with reaching out to customers to show them how much they care.  True, larger companies have more volume, so it's harder to account for everyone, but you're still never treated as an individual, just a demographic.  I'm going to do everything I can to prevent that.

Rounded out the day with Christmas tree shopping (although that isn't Points East related...) and had some wood burning done for one of the planes.  

More to come.

Enjoy the Stoke.