Commission a custom dreamcatcher

where to begin. I suppose critical info first, details later.

I am offering forum members the chance to commission a custom dream catcher from me. the price will vary greatly depending on what options a person chooses. the variables are as follows:

1. ring size, smallest I have yet made are 3" rings. I could make 2D ones on a smaller ring easily enough, but I am making 3" the smallest for a 3D one. largest rings I have are like 18"

2. 2D or 3D. pretty simple, 3D ones will be twice as much as 2D ones, all other options the same. 3D ones could come in a few designs, the main one I make forms one continuous hyperbolic paraboloid dream catcher, but I have other ideas too

3. painted or unpainted. this is the biggest factor in price. a painted one takes an order of magnitude more time to make than an unpainted one, unless only one color is desired, that will not add too much to the price. the buyer can dream up paint schemes for me to do if they choose. the GITD colors require at least three coats to look really good

4. marble or no marble. I got a 1/12 portion of the marbles from this thread:

http://laserpointerforums.com/f39/c...ut-business-opportunity-sold-out-93126-5.html

in large catchers, I will use a large marble, in medium-small ones, a small one. however, I'm only offering 2 more large clear ones and 1 more crackled large marble, I'm keeping one of each for myself. however, if you look through that thread and see who bought them, you may be able to PM some of them and perhaps one of them will part with one for you, I can size the hole to fit one using one of mine and they can send the marble if willing, you put it in yourself, simple.

I can also make them without a marble for a few bucks less, and make the center hole smaller, if desired.

5. Black, smooth leather lace, or whitish grey suede, or brown-tan. I've seen other colors, if there's one you want and I can find a suitable lace with that color, I'll do it

6. spacing. I can, to a very large extent, make the weave as tight or large as desired. measured by the number of initial spaces between thead anchor points around the rings the first time around them. the one in Brucemir's thread is 10 spaces per ring half. on 3" ones, this is the maximum. on larger ones however that number could easily double. more spaces potentially means more painting which means more time and more money. this is the biggest reason I will need to qoute each individual order a price.

So a small, 2D, unpainted, no marble dream catcher will cost around $10 plus shipping. a huge, multi color painted, large marble one will run around $500 or more. for the one in Brucemir's thread, which is I think around 8" rings, I would want $225 plus shipping. a large 3D one unpainted I could probably manage for around $100. I will time each build, and if it takes less time than I thought I will lower the price post-quote, if it takes longer, I will honor the quote. As I have not tried all sizes, I cant be too sure how long it will take, I will try to be a good estimator. on large builds I will err on the expensive side but if it should happen to take less time, I will not get greedy. I want the price to be very good. many are reluctant to pay a lot for handmade items, and still more will have no interest in such an item, but as Brucemir can testify, the quality is good

all orders would need to have other minor details worked out, like feather color options and such, and I will quote what I think is a sorta fair, sorta slave labor price. the one in brucemir's thread took about 53 hours to complete, never mind cost of parts. If I charged even minimum wage for the hours it would be $384, so I feel like $225 is a very fair price.

I should mention that I am not a Native American, well, I heard I may have a bit of blackfoot in me, but I dont go around claiming it or anything. I'm just a regular, white guy. these are not authentic native american dream catchers, as defined by 25 U.S.C. 305 ET SEQ. they are however much more bad ass than many of those I have seen which were "authentic". I take great pride in my work, nothing half assed from me. in fact, my technique has improved even since the one in Brucemir's thread, not to sound arrogant. (as a side note, I'd be willing to bet any native american is allowed to claim this when making them, when it was probably unique to maybe as few as one actual tribe, but whatever. hey, I'm Native American like Caitlyn Jenner is a woman. I think it's also interesting to note that the supreme court ruled that the news lying to the public is protected speech. they can sell you lies on t.v. even when promoting a war when they hold stock in military industry stuff and stand to make money if we the people go along with their ideas. that's totally not a conflict of interest, but if I sold you a dream catcher claiming to be native when I'm not, that's not protected speech and boy would I be a bad man for doing so. It doesnt bother me that I cant claim to be native, I just find it ironic.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamcatcher

I am not a "New Age" person. at least not enough of one to identify as such. isn't imitation the sincerest form of flattery? I have seen authentic ones with a certificate which were quickly thrown together, I could have done them in half an hour or so. whats worse? using your race to sell cheaply made stuff, or making another culture's thing but doing it well?

I work a full time job currently, so it would take considerable time to complete a large complex one. I will make orders in the order I receive deposits. however, I will only commit to two at a time. when I complete one, I will PM the next person in line, if one forms. speaking of deposits. I feel they are appropriate because if I make one painted to your specifications, it is unlikely someone else will want it. I dont want to spend a crap load of time on something and then have the other party back out. I think a 40% deposit is fair. when my seasonal job ends, i will have much more time to spend on this endeavor.

a bit of backstory:

I learned to make these when I was around 13 or 14. they arent as complex as one would imagine. my first attempts were unimpressive compared to what I can do now. some record of this exists in the "post your random pics" thread, those who follow it closely might have noticed.

one difference between mine and many I see is I try to hide the artificial sinew in between the leather wraps rather than wrap around the outside of them. this allows me some advantages. accurate and even spacing, and I like how it looks much better. the weave sort of seems to just emerge from within the rings, and the lovely leather wrapping is un-obscured, I think its a more refined look. other trade secrets are proprietary:shhh:

when I initially got the marbles I had no plans for them. only recently did I begin making catchers again. a coworker saw one and told me of ones he saw that had GITD painted strings. however ones he saw were 2D and only one color, I knew I could 1 up that. it then occurred to me to use the uranium marbles as center pieces. a perfect combo. I will post more and more pictures soon of dreamcatchers I make, though my skills are inferior to Brucemir's. that is part of why I had this idea of collaboration with him. to advertise. I will be making under minimum wage though so :na: not a sell out. plus, I suspected both he and you all would enjoy them very much

that's all I can think of for now, this thread will be updated I'm sure

http://laserpointerforums.com/f48/shakenawakes-dreamcatcher-94719.html#post1374758

in the event you are seeing this but are not a lpf member and want to get one without signing up here, you may email me directly at shakenawake87@gmail.com

I wish I had seen this before now. I'll send you a PM after dinner. ik very excited these will be for sale. I saw the thread Brucemir made of shooting your dream catchers and I would love one. Let's chat.

some I made recently. the 2d ones were gifts for my brothers for christmas. they are huge. the grey one I took a picture of on the floor has a quarter by it for size reference. that was a poor choice of spots to do the pic, the weave doesnt contrast well with the floor. oh well, you get the idea. it's identical to the other one other than leather, bead, and feather color

a price on the big 2d ones would be around $50 plus shippng. I could put more feathers and crap on it if desired (more $), I'm usually somewhat minimalist in that respect. my main focus is the weave. I could do beads, maybe even in a pattern on the weave too, if desired (more $). basically I have the skills to do any type, even if I havent attempted it before

I don't wanna say how much I'd want for this painted one. lets just say it's more than I'm guessing anyone here is willing to spend. if you have deep pockets and a strong desire to possess one, we can talk. you'll forgive me if something that takes an entire work week to make doesnt come cheap. you could always get an unpainted one and paint it yourself, course then you'll find out how much time and patience it takes. a steady hand and the correct type of brush help.

I recently saw pics of 3d ones made on 3 rings that are basically the same pattern as mine but extrapolated to three rings instead of two. something I had thought of trying but had not yet tried. it's very simple to extroplate the pattern though and was an early thought I had after making 2 ring 3d ones. didnt suprise me to find other people making them. the person that made them was selling them and wanted $370 for the one in question, which I know I could put to shame with my skills. well, put to shame the weave tightness and anchoring technique. I've got nothing against their dreamcatchers, in fact they are pretty kick ass. but I think my weaves are better. to be fair, some of their materials sound more expensive than mine. right now I have plastic beads and dont use "gold metal finishings", whatever those are. if a buyer wants all that stuff and is willing to pay I can do it, but it's not like I get any of my materials in bulk at a discount, I get them from the craft store.

lemme see if I can find it, here we go:

http://www.agaazra.com/#!product/prd14/4345278315/bronzite---orb-of-paradise-triple-dreamcatcher

so If I did this design, mine would use artificial sinew instead of hemp twine but my wraps would be hidden in between the leather on the rings instead of wrapped around the outside. my weave would have tighter spacing. i admit they do a bang up job with the feathers.