I'd like to offer a public thankyou to Darren and Helen

Marcel

Marcel

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Marcel
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(Mr and Mrs Cowasaki).
Today, at the end of the convention, I was called up to the front of the 'rabble' and given a thankyou gift for providing the forum.
The gift was an absolutely brilliant pair of silver cufflinks, handmade by Helen.
To say I was chuffed is quite an understatement, and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you both publically on the forum (I'm crap at doing it infront of people :lol: )

Seriously, thankyou both. The mere thought of the gesture has really touched me.....and topped off by the really spiffing cufflings :D

So have a big :thumbs: and a :clap: from me.

For everyone else reading, I'll put up a shot of the cufflinks in a moment (Card is still copying the shots over)
Here's a shot of the cufflinks....

 
You'll never get them to work on a tp t-shirt:bonk:
 
Arrrr shucks.......

We joined 2 years ago when I bought my first DSLR and have learnt so much from the people on here. I have now found myself showing other people what to do so I have obviously picked a lot up. I still have a long long way to go but I am enjoying the journey. I did look at several forums when I started and this one was just so much friendlier and far far more helpful. We have found friends on here from all over the country and a few from even further afield. Without this forum I would probably have given up and sold the camera after 6 months.

None of this would have happened without you three starting the forum in the first place and spending your time and money on it. We wanted to say thank you and the present couldn't have been more unique. We are really pleased that you liked them.

... and I REALLY LOVE THE PLACE :)
 
Marcel said:
(Mr and Mrs Cowasaki).
Today, at the end of the convention, I was called up to the front of the 'rabble' and given a thankyou gift for providing the forum.
The gift was an absolutely brilliant pair of silver cufflinks, handmade by Helen.
To say I was chuffed is quite an understatement, and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you both publically on the forum (I'm crap at doing it infront of people :lol: )

Seriously, thankyou both. The mere thought of the gesture has really touched me.....and topped off by the really spiffing cufflings :D

So have a big :thumbs: and a :clap: from me.

For everyone else reading, I'll put up a shot of the cufflinks in a moment (Card is still copying the shots over).
Click to expand...

It was my pleasure Marcel! It was well worth it for the lovely kiss and cuddle I got from you! :) It was great to meet you and I look forward to meeting up with the crowd again soon.

Thanks for your lovely message.
 
Thanks very much you too :thumbs:
I forgot to say, there are some here for both Matty and Brian too! (Will mail them over to you both tomorrow).
 
For anyone interested, I'm planning to make some more pairs and offer them for sale on TP. Note the TP on the cameras! They'll be a MkII version with a deeper etch probably. Sorry for the shameless plug Marcel - that's not why you got them - you got yours for all your hard work. Everyone else will have to cough up some dosh if they want some!
 
What a really nice gesture, it does mean we'll all need to chip in and buy Marcel a shirt now though :naughty:
 
You'll have to offer Nikon/Canon versions for all us dyed-in-the-wool geeks...
 
Wow they are pretty cool... and much deserved present.. oh and thanks to you Flash for donating those prizes even if I didn't win any of them..:razz:
 
Marcel said:
(Mr and Mrs Cowasaki).
Today, at the end of the convention, I was called up to the front of the 'rabble' and given a thankyou gift for providing the forum.
The gift was an absolutely brilliant pair of silver cufflinks, handmade by Helen.
To say I was chuffed is quite an understatement, and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you both publically on the forum (I'm crap at doing it infront of people :lol: )

Seriously, thankyou both. The mere thought of the gesture has really touched me.....and topped off by the really spiffing cufflings :D

So have a big :thumbs: and a :clap: from me.

For everyone else reading, I'll put up a shot of the cufflinks in a moment (Card is still copying the shots over)
Here's a shot of the cufflinks....

Click to expand...


That's a brilliant gift for you and the guys Marcel... :thumbs: ...a big WOWSA... :eek: ...to Helen for crafting such a fine pair... :D

Mrs Cowasaki said:
For anyone interested, I'm planning to make some more pairs and offer them for sale on TP. Note the TP on the cameras! They'll be a MkII version with a deeper etch probably. Sorry for the shameless plug Marcel - that's not why you got them - you got yours for all your hard work. Everyone else will have to cough up some dosh if they want some!
Click to expand...


Howsabout this being a TP type bulk buy/purchase... :shrug:


Please count me in for the first pair on offer Helen... ;) ... however they need to be purchased... :naughty:




:p
 
Can I add my thanks too, Helen is a very talented lady and I was presented with a beautiful necklace as a thanks for organising. Like Marcel, I really don't do public speaking very well, but it was the most pleasant surprise, so THANKYOU :D :clap:


Eidt: I will take a pic but want to set it up nicely first ;)
 
Yv said:
Can I add my thanks too, Helen is a very talented lady and I was presented with a beautiful necklace as a thanks for organising. Like Marcel, I really don't do public speaking very well, but it was the most pleasant surprise, so THANKYOU :D :clap:


Eidt: I will take a pic but want to set it up nicely first ;)
Click to expand...

What about me, when I started speaking everyone left :lol:
 
Dis one all mine Mwahahahahhhaaaaaaa.... :D

Helen, not sure I have done it total justice, but feeling a bit groggy, think I have a cold starting, so it was just an excuse to get the camera out for 5 minutes.

3983380091_bc2457f516.jpg
 
Yv said:
Dis one all mine Mwahahahahhhaaaaaaa.... :D

Helen, not sure I have done it total justice, but feeling a bit groggy, think I have a cold starting, so it was just an excuse to get the camera out for 5 minutes.
Click to expand...

Its funny, Helen was only telling me on the way home that she had actually forgotten to photograph that piece before giving it to you! I really like it :)
 
Really looks the business Yv... :thumbs: ...not bad for a groggy shot but it did look much better on that Danielle bloke... :naughty:





:p
 
Yv said:
Can I add my thanks too, Helen is a very talented lady and I was presented with a beautiful necklace as a thanks for organising. Like Marcel, I really don't do public speaking very well, but it was the most pleasant surprise, so THANKYOU :D :clap:


Eidt: I will take a pic but want to set it up nicely first ;)
Click to expand...

My pleasure Yvonne. You deserved it with all your hard work.
 
Yv said:
Can I add my thanks too, Helen is a very talented lady and I was presented with a beautiful necklace as a thanks for organising. Like Marcel, I really don't do public speaking very well, but it was the most pleasant surprise, so THANKYOU :D :clap:


Eidt: I will take a pic but want to set it up nicely first ;)
Click to expand...

Yv said:
Dis one all mine Mwahahahahhhaaaaaaa.... :D

Helen, not sure I have done it total justice, but feeling a bit groggy, think I have a cold starting, so it was just an excuse to get the camera out for 5 minutes.

3983380091_bc2457f516.jpg
Click to expand...

Not bad, and nice mineral specimen too. The trouble with taking photos of jewellery against such pretty items, is that you want to look at the pretty crystals. According to the jewellers on my jewellery forum, the way to photograph jewellery, is to use a light tent and diffuse the light in through the sides of the tent, and then use either a soft box for the front lighting, or a diffused flash, otherwise you get harsh reflections in the silver/gold or whatever metal you've used. The best background is to put the jewellery on a graduated dark grey down to white backdrop/card (which I've not yet purchased or printed out) and that really makes the jewellery pop. These are all things I need to work on, to really promote my work properly. Any local TPers doing jewellery or general product togging?
 
Not heard of using a graduated backdrop thing before, trying to imagine how it would work, but definately you need very diffused lighting for anything that mirror like. That was a single SB600 strobe through a big soft box, plus silver reflector to left and using a piece of glossy print paper, set up on box next to my desk :lol:
 
Venomator said:



That's a brilliant gift for you and the guys Marcel... :thumbs: ...a big WOWSA... :eek: ...to Helen for crafting such a fine pair... :D




Howsabout this being a TP type bulk buy/purchase... :shrug:


Please count me in for the first pair on offer Helen... ;) ... however they need to be purchased... :naughty:




:p
Click to expand...

Cool Venomator! I'm not sure how the bulk buying thing would work, as I make every piece by hand, by myself, so a bulk order would take me a very long time to fulfill.

The MkII version will be made from slightly thicker silver, so that I can do a deeper etch for more detail. I'll be sourcing some ferric nitrate rather than the nitric acid I used, as the nitric if far more aggressive than ferric nitrate and it attacks the resist medium quite quickly, so I'll be able to get nice crisp detail and a deeper etch for added contrast. They will cost £40 a pair and payment will be via Paypal, but I'll source what I need and make and photograph a pair before offering them up for sale in the right section of the forum. Let me know if you are serious about emeralds for the lenses Venomator. Sounds bizarre but it's not out of the question for a bit extra.
 
Yv said:
Not heard of using a graduated backdrop thing before, trying to imagine how it would work, but definately you need very diffused lighting for anything that mirror like. That was a single SB600 strobe through a big soft box, plus silver reflector to left and using a piece of glossy print paper, set up on box next to my desk :lol:
Click to expand...

I've sent you an email to your private email address with an example picture, rather than publicly, as I don't have permission to plaster the image over the internet.
 
Mrs Cowasaki said:
Cool Venomator! I'm not sure how the bulk buying thing would work, as I make every piece by hand, by myself, so a bulk order would take me a very long time to fulfill.
Click to expand...


Darren was only saying the other day how he needed to find something to keep you busy... :naughty:

OJ... :D ...when I say 'bulk buy' it would obviously need to be guaged for interest and certainly I am not sure how many members may be interested so it could still work if interest was moderate... :shrug: ...just a thought for the Mods anyway... ;)


Helen said:
The MkII version will be made from slightly thicker silver, so that I can do a deeper etch for more detail. I'll be sourcing some ferric nitrate rather than the nitric acid I used, as the nitric if far more aggressive than ferric nitrate and it attacks the resist medium quite quickly, so I'll be able to get nice crisp detail and a deeper etch for added contrast.
Click to expand...

Sounds like it's quite involved then... :suspect:

MrsC said:
They will cost £40 a pair and payment will be via Paypal, but I'll source what I need and make and photograph a pair before offering them up for sale in the right section of the forum.
Click to expand...

Sounds entirely reasonable to me... ;) ...especiallyfor a touch of uniquity (?) ... new word invented here on TP to copyright... :shrug: [/QUOTE]

MrsC again said:
Let me know if you are serious about emeralds for the lenses Venomator. Sounds bizarre but it's not out of the question for a bit extra.
Click to expand...


:eek: ....you gotta be kidding me... serious... Emeralds... :love:

Name your price Helen... :D





:p
 
Venomator said:



Darren was only saying the other day how he needed to find something to keep you busy... :naughty:

OJ... :D ...when I say 'bulk buy' it would obviously need to be guaged for interest and certainly I am not sure how many members may be interested so it could still work if interest was moderate... :shrug: ...just a thought for the Mods anyway... ;)




Sounds like it's quite involved then... :suspect:



Sounds entirely reasonable to me... ;) ...especiallyfor a touch of uniquity (?) ... new word invented here on TP to copyright... :shrug:
Click to expand...





:eek: ....you gotta be kidding me... serious... Emeralds... :love:

Name your price Helen... :D





:p
[/QUOTE]

Yes, I see what you mean about the bulk-buy thing now. I'll get to work on the MkII pair so that we can gauge interest.

Yes, they're very involved. The silver has to be abraded and cleaned, before the design is applied by way of PCP Blue (printed circuit board transfer film) which is ironed onto the surface. The sheet is peeled off, revealing the design. The mordant (for example ferric nitrate) then etches the exposed silver, which takes a couple of hours, leaving the design in relief. Then after neutralising and cleaning, each "image" outline must be individually cut out of the silver using a jeweller's coping saw. The edges must then all be filed meticulously using different grades of needle files, until smooth. This alone takes hours of work. During the sawing and filing, they often need to be annealed from time to time too, to soften them as they become too hard to work on. Then, the sterling silver cufflink findings are soldered (more correctly called brazed) onto the backs, using an oxy/propane torch. They're pickled in sodium bisulfate to remove any oxides from soldering and flux residue, then tumbled in steel shot and burnishing compound for two hours, which gives them a degree of work hardening. Then they are polished using my bench polishing machine, before being thoroughly cleaned.

I can bezel-set an emerald into each just for you Venomator if that's what you really want. Price would depend on what quality of emeralds you'd want - you can obviously spend between a nominal amount and a fortune. I have some that I think would do the job, which I could do for an extra £30 for the pair (ie £70), as there would be a fair amount of extra work involved making and soldering on the settings. Let me know what you think.
 
Mrs Cowasaki said:
Any local TPers doing jewellery or general product togging?
Click to expand...

I did some very early in my photography 'life' for a friend who did wedding costume jewellery and cakes and things. I'll dig out some examples if you like.
 
I'd definitely be interested to see them Marcel, thanks. Darren's keen for us to learn how to do it though, but it's always good to see others' examples of how they interpret things.
 
What a lovely couple Mr & Mrs C are! Really nice gestures.
 
Mrs Cowasaki said:
I've sent you an email to your private email address with an example picture, rather than publicly, as I don't have permission to plaster the image over the internet.
Click to expand...

Now I see what you mean, that really does work very well indeed. Looking forward to seeing your stuff done like that, its much more to my liking jewellery wise. Not sure Yves Geza's credit card will enjoy it as much :whistling: ;)
 
Sorry I missed the convention - sounds like a good time was had by all.

I am most definitely interested in the cufflinks - a TP set would do me proud, but I'd also be interested in an initialled pair for my bro and my dad if that would be possible? :shrug:

The way you describe it, presumably changing the initials wouldn't be a major effort? :shrug:

Anyway - interested in a pair regardless - they look awesome :thumbs:
 
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