I know that it is not Valentine's day but...

[Toney Robertson]

here is some FTD for you.

Trying to make something that SELLS.

Red Mallee, Spalted Maple and copper.

Not much turning involved and to be frank, they were a pain in the rear but I hope they sell.

All comments welcome.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj101/iublue/Roses.jpghttp://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj101/iublue/Roses1.jpghttp://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj101/iublue/Roses2.jpghttp://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj101/iublue/Roses3.jpg

Toney

[Ryan Baker]

Spectacular!

[Brodie Brickey]

Those are great. How are you aging the copper stems?

[charlie knighton]

very nice...

[Keith Burns]

Spectactular !

[Steve Schlumpf]

Toney - these are fantastic! Love the imagination!

[Bob Borzelleri]

Toney...

These pieces are exquisite. If they don't sell, I suggest you pack up and move to a locale with a greater appreciation of fine art.

[Dan Forman]

Brilliant! Love to see new, out of the blue ideas.

Dan

[Bill Bolen]

Beautiful pieces and a fantastic presentation. Gosh i hope you sell a ton of them...Bill..

[Jarrod McGehee]

Man that is pretty awesome looking. did you make the HFs too? if I were you I'd also make some outta some nice wood to match the "flowers"

[Billy Tallant]

Those are great looking. Cannot see any reason why you would have any problem selling out of them quickly...

[John Keeton]

PITA, for sure, but those are without doubt true art! Great work, and just beautiful with the black vases.

[Robert McGowen]

I don't know what your hourly rate is going to be, but those are sure to sell. Very creative and great job!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Beautiful Toney. Really a nice job. Those should do well.

[Greg Just]

Toney:

Those are beautiful - the imagination of the members here is incredible

[Steve Schlumpf]

Toney - I keep coming back to these and finally had to save the last photo to my favorites folder!

We all believe that these will be big sellers for you - so, please keep us updated! They sure look like they would be right at home in a fancy gallery somewhere!

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with next!

[gary Zimmel]

Nice, very very nice.
I would think they will sell in a heartbeat...

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Toney,

I have come to this thread so many times I have lost count.

That is one of the freshest and most artistic turnings I have seen in quite a while. I am truly astounded!

Your ingenuity and execution are impressive!

Nicely done Sir!

[Dave Rudy]

Really beautiful work!!!!! If you don't mind sharing, I'd be interested in how you price them and what success/customer reaction you have.

[Curt Fuller]

Tony, those are incredible!

[Steve Mawson]

Wow, wish I still lived in Indiana so I could take a look in person.

[Toney Robertson]

Those are great. How are you aging the copper stems?


Brodie,

I used a chemical that I obtained from Basiccopper.com.

Works OK but if I do it again I think I will buy the chemicals myself so that I can mixed it a little stronger.

Thanks,

Toney

[Toney Robertson]

Man that is pretty awesome looking. did you make the HFs too? if I were you I'd also make some outta some nice wood to match the "flowers"

Jarrod,

No, the vases are glass except for the bud vase.

I thought about making the vases but I was afraid that a real pretty wood vase would detract from the roses instead of enhancing them like I think the black glass does.

What is your opinion?

Thanks,

Toney

[Grant Wilkinson]

Those are incredible, Toney!

[Bob Borzelleri]

Toney...

I showed your pictures to my wife. How much?

...Bob

[alex carey]

Took me a while to realize the flowers were wood. Very cool, never seen it done before.

[Toney Robertson]

I appreciate the kind comments. Thank you.

I did take them to a Christmas bazaar at a high priced private club.

I sold two individual roses but NO ONE was selling much of anything. A jeweler sold one piece for $45, a potter sold nothing, the people behind me sold $12. It was pathetic. I hope that is not an indication of the popularity of my roses.

Toney

[John Keeton]

I hope that is not an indication of the popularity of my roses.

ToneyI doubt that! More likely just an indication of the pathetic state of the economy. Your roses will have their day, but it may be a few months until the confidence level improves. Even folks with "real" money have tightened up.

And, I think you are right on the black glass vase. The contrasting gloss and the black really sets off the roses.

[Ryan Baker]

I appreciate the kind comments. Thank you.

I did take them to a Christmas bazaar at a high priced private club.

I sold two individual roses but NO ONE was selling much of anything. A jeweler sold one piece for $45, a potter sold nothing, the people behind me sold $12. It was pathetic. I hope that is not an indication of the popularity of my roses.

Toney

I think you are looking at it the wrong way. The success of the others is an indication of the market at the time. The fact that you sold two roses in a market that wasn't buying anything is a pretty good indication of the interest level in them over the other stuff.

[Gary Conklin]

These are great, how about some info on how you did the stems?

[Toney Robertson]

These are great, how about some info on how you did the stems?

Gary,

The stems are 1/8" refrigeration copper. The leaves are sheet copper. I cut out the leaves, drilled holes in the top part and formed the leaves around the stems. I used epoxy to bond everything together.

I then age them with a patina solution that I bought at the same place as the copper - basiccopper.com. I then top coated them with some clear enamel to protect the patina.

I hope that helps.

Toney

[David Hostetler]

I've seen wood roses before, but those are a lot nicer than the ones I had seen previously.

The prior wood roses I had seen were basically plane shavings that were dyed, and formed into the rose shape with glue...