Post by Doc Barranti on Apr 21, 2014 7:01:43 GMT -5
A while back, I received a call from someone who chose to remain anonymous, but wanted to place an order for someone else; okay, I thought...I've done special orders like this before (the gift part, not the anonymous part), and I enjoy being a part of the surprise, so I was in! The caller wished for a Best Grade, floral carved rig with a dyed background, and wanted me to include the recipients monogram, and, as a tip of the hat to their French lineage, the Fleur de Lis. Upon completion of the rig, I was to send it to an address in Morgantown, WV with no explanation. The caller got quite a chuckle out of that part, thinking about the look on the persons face as they opened the box wondering ‘what the…’!
Prior to the order coming up on my bench, I pondered how I would incorporate the Fleur de Lis into traditional, classically styled floral carving. What I was seeing in my head wasn’t looking too good, but then I thought why not stick with a French theme for the carving as well? I studied up on classic French scrollwork and started sketching some ideas and liked what I saw on paper. This was going to be a challenge, which I like! Much of the carving was actually done while looking through a magnifying glass. After carving, I began the background dying… A slip of the hand, and you have one of two things: a black rig, or a ruined the project.
Upon completion, I boxed up the rig, insured it, and left it in the hands of the USPS. I ship all of my gunleather Priority Mail which claims 2-3 day delivery, and my packages usually arrive anywhere from 1-4 days depending on the location. Morgantown is supposed to take one day…ha. I watched the tracking, and was shocked when the only tracking information I received was when it left Pittsburgh. After that, I heard nothing…for over two weeks! I had visions of a Postal Service warehouse employee wearing the rig with his staple gun crammed into the holster. Finally, I got notification that the package was delivered. It seems this box went north, rather than south, and it spent 2 weeks sitting in Buffalo, New York. The thought of losing such a rig, which has some of the most detailed carving work I’ve ever done on gunleather, didn’t appeal to me, but it worked out in the end.
I received an email from the recipient of the package a short time later asking if I cared to disclose who ordered the rig. I explained the mysterious phone call, and that the person had wished to remain anonymous… I wonder if that person will someday step forward, or if they will leave us all scratching our heads while they continue to chuckle to themselves like they did on that phone call?
Prior to the order coming up on my bench, I pondered how I would incorporate the Fleur de Lis into traditional, classically styled floral carving. What I was seeing in my head wasn’t looking too good, but then I thought why not stick with a French theme for the carving as well? I studied up on classic French scrollwork and started sketching some ideas and liked what I saw on paper. This was going to be a challenge, which I like! Much of the carving was actually done while looking through a magnifying glass. After carving, I began the background dying… A slip of the hand, and you have one of two things: a black rig, or a ruined the project.
Upon completion, I boxed up the rig, insured it, and left it in the hands of the USPS. I ship all of my gunleather Priority Mail which claims 2-3 day delivery, and my packages usually arrive anywhere from 1-4 days depending on the location. Morgantown is supposed to take one day…ha. I watched the tracking, and was shocked when the only tracking information I received was when it left Pittsburgh. After that, I heard nothing…for over two weeks! I had visions of a Postal Service warehouse employee wearing the rig with his staple gun crammed into the holster. Finally, I got notification that the package was delivered. It seems this box went north, rather than south, and it spent 2 weeks sitting in Buffalo, New York. The thought of losing such a rig, which has some of the most detailed carving work I’ve ever done on gunleather, didn’t appeal to me, but it worked out in the end.
I received an email from the recipient of the package a short time later asking if I cared to disclose who ordered the rig. I explained the mysterious phone call, and that the person had wished to remain anonymous… I wonder if that person will someday step forward, or if they will leave us all scratching our heads while they continue to chuckle to themselves like they did on that phone call?