Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Ideas to Customize Your Wedding or Event!

As the new year approaches plans for celebration and new beginnings abound. Here at Revisions Design Studio, we can help make your special day even more lovely with just the right details.

Cake Toppers
In this picture, two of our porcelain love birds adorn the top of this beautiful wedding cake. This cute little accent can be found in our EcoElements shop. (set of 3 birds for $13.50)





Guest Favors

Perhaps your looking for a unique wedding favor or party gift for your guests? How about sending each of them home with one of our adorable Porcelain Egg Candles! Revisions offers substantial price breaks on custom quantities based on your guest list.

Porcelain Egg Candles (set of 12) $48.50

Table Centerpieces & Place Settings

Incorporating special and unique elements into your wedding or party can make it all the more memorable. One of our clients was looking to create a flower stand to use on her round tables that wouldn't impede the view of her seated guest. To solve this problem, Revisions created an elegant silhouette from clear acrylic. The slot fit design is both modern yet elegant.

You can get your here: (clear acrylic flower stand, $30)

Some other ideas include our Silver Spoon Napkin Rings or perhaps a batch of our Porcelain Egg Sprouts to use as place name settings!

No matter your personal style, Revisions Design Studio can help make your event decor just right! Contact us today!



Wednesday, December 14, 2011

The Silver Lining Process!

   What better way to up-cycle and re purpose the treasured heirloom of family silver than creating wearable and usable items from these ornate utensils.  The history behind them is honored with their new function.  Having myself a set of prized "silver" in the family I am all to aware of how often it gets used and appreciated. The idea behind the Silver Lining line at Revisions Design Studio is to give value to an often forgotten item.
   That said, going from spoon to ring takes a number of steps not to mention swipes of the file. The following is a step by step summary of how our studio takes tableware from tarnished to terrific!

One of the many great things about the use of silverware in this application of household use and fashion, I feel, is the little amount of space and tools used to make such an adored product. The studio space shown in this picture is where each of the steps takes place! In the corner a board for patina, containers for files and the few other tools used in the process, the bottom left corner a table vice for cutting and most importantly on the edge of the table the bending tool which really makes it all happen.

The process begins simply, with a nice smelly bath in liver of sulfur for each handle.  This yellow liquid is brushed on as a patina which darkens the metals surface. 
    After the patina has had time to work its magic, usually it takes a while and often two coats are necessary for an even finish a quick rinse with warm water and the bending process begins.






   In making rings the utensil is left whole and only cut after measurements are estimated and ring size determined. I have learned all to many times that you can always take metal away but it is rather difficult and in the case of our spoon jewelry impossible to add metal back. 








    Gripped between the interchangeable front metal dye and the white plastic puzzle like piece, the spoon/fork handle is gradually bent and manipulated to fit the size required. Once properly adjusted excess metal is cut using a Dremmel tool and finishing touches begin.

   Sharp edges are filed down to create a smooth edge for the wearer. After filing the ring is bent to proper size and position buffed and cleaned using a rough scrubbing pad. Lastly the end product needs a light coat of jewelers wax applied using a soft cloth.  This last step not only protects the metal for wear and tear but also offers a smooth and shinny finish.
   Once  inspected and properly package the Silver Lining items are ready for purchase and to be sent home to our dear customers!

     Hoping this gives readers some insite and appreciation into the process involved in  creating these products! Wishing you Happy Holidays and safe travels!







Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Holiday Custom Ornaments

It's that time of year again!
Christmas is right around the corner and we have been hard at work! We have recently finished a custom order, asked by Lake Superior Hospice, to create ornaments for their patrons!

The design was drawn in Rhino (a 3D modeling software) then laser cut and engraved. We chose to use mirrored acrylic, giving them a more dimensional quality. Once cut, they were painted and carefully assembled... 
and WAH-LAH!


HAPPY HOLIDAYS



Saturday, December 10, 2011

Renegade Holiday Craft Fair



This holiday season, Revisions Design Studio decided to participate in the Renegade Holiday Craft Fair!  After much success with the Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago which was held outside on Division Street, we really wanted to give the indoor version a try.  With over 1500 applicants to this particular holiday craft fair, the Pulaski Field House was only able to accommodate about 300 vendors so we felt very lucky to be able to get into this one. 




 With our last experience with the Renegade, we needed to learn a few things about high traffic sales.  The usage of Square-Ups in combination with our smart phone technology allowed much easier processing of transactions.  For all those "craft-fairers" out there, if you are interested in accepting credit cards, keeping track of your cash till, and value a very low rate on the sales, you really need to jump on this wagon.  Sign up is easy, deposits automatically go into your business 
account the next day, and customers can even receive a receipt via email or text.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Marquette Holiday Art Sale, Beth Millner

Our awesome friend and talented fellow alum, Beth Millner is also down at the sale today until 4. Her silver jewelry designs feature things that inspire her. Owls, trees and other natural wonders found in the Upper Peninsula are all common themes found in her work. Checkout her site at:  www.bethmillner.com


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Marquette Holiday Art Sale, Beth Millner

Our awesome friend and talented fellow alum, Beth Millner is also down at the sale today until 4. Her silver jewelry designs feature things that inspire her. Owls, trees and other natural wonders found in the Upper Peninsula are all common themes found in her work. Checkout her site at:  www.bethmillner.com


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Marquette Holiday Art Sale

This holiday season, Revisions Design Studio decided to participate in the Marquette Holiday Art Sale.  This community event is being held in the Peter White Public Library in Marquette, Mi today from 10a.m. to 4 p.m.  This year, the Marquette Holiday Art Sale is featuring over 25 local and regional artists which should make for a very interesting spread! 


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Sunday, October 16, 2011

Kohler factory/foundary tour

At the tail end of my week long vacation my husband and I had the opportunity to take a tour of the Kohler factory in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. This was something I had been looking forward to all week and I wasn't dissapointed. If you like the popular series How It's Made or Made In America (which did a segment on the Kohler factory) then this (free!) tour would be right up your alley. We began the tour in the ceramic production area and I loved seeing the ceramics on such a large scale production. The size of the building is truly unbelievable! Although we didn't get to see any of the molds being poured, we did see toilets and sinks in various stages of greenware, from just taken out of the molds to the ones going through the drying room. The kiln for such large production is open ended and has a conveyor belt that automatically moves the greenware through for firing. Post firing every piece is inspected and reglazed if necessary. The most impressive aspects of the tour were the obvious high standards the company sets for the quality of product leaving their factory and I have to say it was the cleanest ceramics production I've ever seen! After the ceramics building we toured the foundary where they do all the iron casting and metal work. This area was equally fascinating. My father has a pattern shop and I spent two summers working there, milling and using machinery so the processes were already familiar to me on a small level. To cast iron you need a metal (or sometimes plastic) pattern (these are what my dad works on). Then a sand mold is cast from the pattern. The sand mold is what the molten metal is cast in and it only lasts for one cast. So for every cast iron tub or sink they produce they also have to make a sand mold. For me the best part of the foundary was seeing all the robots because let's face it, robots are pretty cool. My husband gave me all sorts of extra information on the automation as that is what his degree is in. Overall the tour was a great experience and I hope others will take advatage of the opportunity to see in person how it's made.
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Thursday, September 29, 2011

Shipping Assistant

The Foundary orders are going out today. I think I probably have one of the cutest helpers ever... Calvin! He just insists on inspecting each product before it goes out.
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Tuesday, September 27, 2011

New Product Designs



The Silver Lining... Upcycled Statement Necklaces


WIth the Holidays quickly approaching, Revisions has been hard at work stocking up new and unique designs. Last month at the Renegade Craft Fair we debuted a new line of statement necklaces created from silver serving pieces. The response was overwhelming! I'm so pleased that many people found these as fascinating and cool as I do! If you missed us at the Renegade, you can now get your very own in our Silver Lining Etsy Shop...


Silverware Bracelets

An item we have been getting a lot of requests for is now available. Perhaps you need a bracelet to match one of your Revisions' spoon rings? Don't see your pattern available? Just ask! We would be happy to create a bracelet for you in any pattern design. The best part about these bracelets... they close using a magnetic clasp! No more struggling to put it on. Check them out, also in our Silver Lining Etsy Shop...

Monday, September 19, 2011

It's like Christmas!


Today Janna and I feel like we hit the silverware jackpot! We normally spend hours upon hours scouring Ebay and thrift stores looking for used silverware. Last Thursday I contacted a seller on Ebay regarding a few nice lots that he had listed. After exchanging a few emails, he told me that he actually had the mother load of silverware and we quickly worked out a deal. Today the first two boxes arrived! Janna and I had so much fun digging through and looking at all the beautiful new patterns that we will be adding to The Silver Lining. Keep an eye out for all the updated products to come in the next few weeks.

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Wednesday, September 7, 2011

So much to do!

It's a busy week at the studio as we prepare for the Chicago Renegade. Today we're laser cutting a new and improved ring display and gathering all those little but necessary show items...tape, scissors, string, etc. Tomorrow we'll spend the day packing the vehicle and Friday we're out of here! Hopefully the weather is nice and there is a good turn out!
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Tuesday, September 6, 2011

New Product... Now available!


Just a quick note to let you know that our porcelain Mason Votives are now available in our EcoElements Etsy Shop.

Check it out here!


Thursday, September 1, 2011

New Obsession: Pinterest

I have a new obsession that I just can't quite. It's called Pinterest and I am in LOVE!

In case you haven't heard, Pinterest is a new online community that allows its users to create and share virtual pin boards. Its visual approach to organization fits so perfectly well with the way my brain works.

Users create a profile using either their Facebook or Twitter account, then create "boards" using various themes like, motivation, inspiration, spaces, etc, by virtually pinning images. These images are shared with your followers and you in turn get to view theirs through a real time news feed on the Pinterest homepage.

If you haven't yet tried it I highly suggest it. Pinterest's site is clean and easy to use. Not to mention it's totally addicting!

You can view and follow my profile here:  Michele's Virtual Pinboards

This is going to be a great way for me to collectively store and organize all of my visual inspiration for new products, patterns, and decorating ideas. My next home project is going to be painting my living room floor white. I'm loving that look right now! Stay tuned!

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Garden Harvest

As the end of the summer draws near, all three of us (Michele, Torrey and I) are enjoying the bountiful harvest from our gardens. Michele and Torrey's garden is located behind the studio, is 30' x 15' and has on occasion been overwatered. Michele makes wickedly good salsa, acorn sqaush curry and her favorite snack, caprese salad. Her dog Cash loves the peas. My garden is ironically the same size (a complete coincidence) and is usually a bit too dry. I specialize in delicious zero calorie chocolate zuchinni bread and my dog Brita adores fresh carrots. Photo taken in my garden with the little gnome given to me by my mother-in-law.
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Saturday, August 20, 2011

Traverse City Downtown Art Fair

This weekend, Revisions decided to take its craft fair gig down to the Traverse City Downtown Art Fair. After visiting last year's fair during their first wedding anniversary, Torrey and Michele decided to mix a little business with pleasure this summer.

We brought the usual inventory including our newly designed Silver Spoon Ring case rack. We were fortunate to have enough time to get it all together between our last online sales event and the Renegade Fair in Chicago in September.

We've already bumped into a few people who have seen us in Marquette so if you're in the area, feel free to stop by and say hi!
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Monday, August 15, 2011

Fab.com

Fab.com gave us a huge boost in sales these past few weeks. With such a quick leap in production, the task of boxing a couple hundred packages or so fell to all three of us. By the second day, Michele was starting to get a little loopy!
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Friday, August 12, 2011

Exciting Changes!

Hello Everyone! I have some really cool new and exciting changes to announce. This week we made some major changes to both our Etsy shop and our website. First things first, we have now divided Revisions' product line into 3 new brands! To represent these brands, we have created separate Etsy shops for each of the lines.


The Silver Lining
Our original Etsy shop has now become "The Silver Lining." This is where you will find the best spoon rings and silverware jewelry that Etsy has to offer.






                                     Urban Analog
The Rococo Mirror and the Polyhedron Candlesticks are just a few of the products you will now find under our Urban Analog brand. Here we create an edgy and modern take on home accessories.


Eco Elements
Elements of the earth combine in our ceramic jewelry and home accessory line, Eco Elements. Our classic Porcelain Egg Candles and Egg Sprouts are just a few of the products that will now be represented under this Revisions' brand.





Be sure to visit each of our new Etsy shops and mark them as a favorite. This division is paving the way for a ton of exciting changes still to come. With having our brands or lines distinctly defined, we have so much more room for expansion of new products. Stick around to see just what exactly Revisions has up it's sleeve next!

Friday, July 29, 2011

A New Color Option!



Our Phantom Candelabra, a modern design, laser cut acrylic candlestick holder is now available in black! We have been getting several requests for this design modification and it is now available in our etsy shop. Please visit: http://www.etsy.com/listing/65822732/modern-black-candelabra-laser-cut

Monday, July 25, 2011

Handmade with Love

One of the things that truly makes Revisions different is the amount of hand crafted attention to detail we put into our products. Today Michele is putting the final touches on a batch of Incandelescents, fresh from the kiln. Owning a product from Revisions is much more than just another mass produced object. It is a one-of-a kind piece of handmade, everyday art. It's great having a connection and knowing where the things you buy come from. When you support Revisions you are supporting real people just like you. Yeah for handmade!
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New product design for the Chicago Renegade

Here is a sneak peek of a new product we are debuting at the Chicago Renegade...slipcast porcelain canning jar votives. We are thinking of offering them in several "jam" scents and doing three different sizes. Here is a photo of one fresh out of the mold, in the greenware stage.
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Saturday, July 23, 2011

Revisions Design Studio's 3rd Birthday




Sometime in the second week of May 2008, Revisions Design Studio was born in the basement of our small apartment in downtown Marquette.  On the path to turning three years old, we had moved to a location which suited the studio's needs, quit our outside jobs, and hired our first full-time employee, Janna.  In short, we've come a long way from simply microwaving a pound of soy wax at a time in our kitchen for a few dozen candles!

Growing our business from the infant to adolescent stage (i.e., employees, separate location, etc.)  took more luck than planning while sustaining Revisions Design Studio at that level is quite the opposite.  For example, one of our largest hurdles was to survive the over dependency on the success of a single product.  

Although the sales of our egg candles eventually put our small home business on the international map as well as provide us with the assets to expand, we eventually became stuck in a cycle of sale and production while slowing on the further creation of contemporary and innovative design.  If this course of action continues, the creativity and inventory of any design store grows both stagnant and stale over time.  Fortunately, we believe we have solved this dilemma at our studio through diligent balance between product design, manufacturing, and expansion.

It has been said that only 50% of all businesses will survive their first 5 years and only 50% of those will survive the next 5 years after that.  So far, we seem to be on the winning side of those odds.  Here's to continuing to run our young company intelligently, creating good design, and bettering the world around us!

Marquette Farmers and Artists Market

Today Janna and Michele are down at the market selling spoon rings, egg candles and sprouts. Its a great way for us to get out into the community and interact first hand with our customers. Stop down and see us!
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Friday, July 22, 2011

Laser Cutting Profile Candlesticks


The Epilog Helix Laser Cutter is one of our more advanced pieces of equipment here at Revisions Design Studio.  Acquired about a year and a half ago, this machine has the ability to cut and raster (engrave) several different types of materials from what are called CAD or vector files.

Here's a shot of the laser cutter opened up after carving out a few of our Profile Candlesticks.  One sheet of clear acrylic is able to produce several products at a time making this process extremely efficient in both time and material consumption.


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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Dirty Handed Designers

At Revisions Design Studio, our designers are not afraid to get their hands dirty! Here we have Janna cleaning porcelain doves and birds while Michele is busy scraping Incandelescent greenware. Normally, the studio crew will take several days off from their computers and prototyping stations to replenish our studio stockpile.
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Making Molds...

The Incandelescent is now in full blown production. The process of making all of our production molds is quite tedious. Here you can see the rubber mother mold I created to help make this process just a little bit easier.
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