I agree. Best thing on the Internet for us craftsmen /designers/
etc. In this field. You guys rock!!!
Several posters seem like friends, and that is really valuable to
someone living in the middle of nowhere! I’d like to name names, but
would undoubtedly leave some out. Just let me say that I am grateful
to have experts respond to questions and share their knowledge. When
I’ve made face-to-face contact with an Orchidian, it’s a special
thing - I enjoyed the Orchid dinners so much. It was especially
grand to meet Hanuman in the flesh while at the Tucson shows. I have
also broadened my list of suppliers and tool collection - all due to
comments on Orchid. Thank you Charles L-B, Hanuman, and Ton for the
conception and ongoing maintenance of Orchid, and to Rio Grande for
the equipment lottery, which helps pay the bills ! Judy in Kansas,
which sometimes feels like the middle of nowhere…
What a great thing Orchid has become. I really do enjoy the mix
people on the forum, all from the many different corners of the
jewelry making universe. I am very focused on my little niche in
business. Day to day, I tend to only deal with and talk to people
who are focused on the same somewhat narrow area. Orchid provides me
with a refreshing and often eye opening look into other peoples
shops and studios, into their challenges and successes. I
particularly enjoy the problem solving capabilities of the Orchid
collective. It has made me rethink many things that I was once
thought myself sure of.
Some have commented on meeting many Orchid members, I have not had
that pleasure. However I do have very specific images in my mind of
nearly all of the active posters. Without naming names, one looks
like John Cusack in High Fidelity, one is Grampa from the Walton’s,
one looks a lot like Gwendolyn Wright from PBS’s History Detectives,
one looks like the lateSteve Jobs, on and on. I’m so confident of
your appearance that if I met you in person and you looked
differently, I’d be sure you were an imposter.
Warm regards and many thanks to all involved.
Mark
I was there in the early years of Orchid; reading, fabricating,
growing, more reading, more fabricating, more growing and then
finally posting questions and actually some solutions. Orchid and
Orchidians inspired me to grow. Events & health knocked me out for a
number of years but, I’ve been back for a year now. Few steps
backwards and now moving forward reading, fabricating, growing and
faceting. No more inventory crunch so I can go from rough stone,
sheet & wire to fished item. Other than one 4 week comprehensive
goldsmith course, most all that I learned came from Orchid (and some
melt downs [lol]). I thank Orchidians for their helpful tips but,
most of all for the enjoyment of viewing the photo gallery of giants
in the field. When you need inspired because your brain or hands
slowed to stop, sit back and view the art in the galleries to
rejuvenate.
Thank you Orchid and Orchidians
Regis
Ganoksin gave me a resource to pick the brains of jewelers that were
more skilled then me. Until then I was for the most part self-taught
and was struggling. Now I consider myself to be pretty good at what
I do. I wish I were as talented as some of the jewelers I know but
while they may make things more beautiful then I can, there is a lot
to be said in the eyes of a client when you hand back their jewelry
after repair and it is exactly what they remember.
Gerald Livings
Though not by any means a stranger to metalwork and jewellery, every
day from this wonderful site I learn something to help my work grow
and become immeasurably better. The spirit of sharing and
encouragement is inspiring in itself! Love the discussions, humour,
side bars (i. e making shoes. on a metalworking site?? Awesome!)
Thanks so much guys. So wish I’d met you all a long time ago.
Janet Barkwith
TheSmilingFoxStudio.com
(i. e making shoes. on a metalworking site?? Awesome!)
Some of us make glasses too!
Elaine
CreativeTextureTools.com