I promised in the last blog that I would show the new pieces we have been making while locked down.
We have been asked to produce a bespoke piece for a wholesale client who wanted a large snail or a prawn. Well Howard came up with a snail of 1 kilo.
The client didn’t like the fully textured finish for their needs, so we have arrived at a compromise and they will be having a version of this piece with a smooth body and a textured shell so I have been spending quite a few hours gazing myopically down the head loupe smoothing out the entire crinkle on his body.
The compromise is that we will be producing and selling the original version of the snail with the textured finish for ourselves so after making the case and my endless scratching here he is crinkled and lovely just for us and here is a glimpse of the smoothed out version, so you know I have been working hard.
As there is usually overspill when making moulds and as the Silicone itself for the moulds is fearfully expensive, Howard always makes a case for another mould to take the overspill. Often this is a chance to replace damaged moulds or bring back older prices that have fallen into disuse as the moulds need repairing. This time for a change however, we have finished a piece that we had started a few years ago and then lost interest in.
We were actually looking through the proforma shelves for the Chinese Mandarin as he could do with a new mould when Howard found the nearly finished pair of small praying hands, so in a couple of hours I finished them off and he made them as well. I did think we would get the medium lying down Thai style Buddha moulded also, but there’s too much work to be done on that one. So perhaps on the next round of mould making, say for production in November and Christmas.
It’s invigorating to have new things come into the product line. Yesterday the parcel with the 1st of the smooth snails was collected by TNT to go to our client for final approval.
I can’t wait to get out and about again with the new pieces on the stall.
Talking of which, yesterday the Prime Minister Edouard Philippe made a statement describing the measures that were going to be put in place to begin the start of lock down which should commence from May the 11th onwards.
As ever we waited with bated breath and listened very patiently to the Prime Minister statement yesterday and hearing nothing about non-food markets except for the part about foires /concerts etc. of 5000 people or more won't be considered until Sept.
Therefore I was delighted to hear the news anchor on TF1 lunch-time news add, after an article about the small boutiques opening, and of course markets will be allowed to open again after the 11th unless the prefecture decides not to do so. I checked in with a FB group who are usually up to date with such things and yes there on the left hand side it says commerces and marches.
We are so excited to have this glimmer of hope. Let’s hope the market organisers agree, and maybe we will see you sooner than the previously threatened rendez-vous we had planned in September.