I just received yet another posting about the Ganoksin Raffle…I
don’t get it…this is the first year that you actually get something
for your effort to give yet Hanuman is STILL trying to sell out 1000
tickets!!!
Ganoksin has been a HUGE part of my education in the jewelry field -
and the Orchid Forum has helped me out of a pickle or two!!! This
isn’t like PBS - you aren’t getting hit 24/7 with requests and
reminders that this ONLY happens if YOU support it. This is the time
of year when the raffle is always run - $35.00 for a years worth of
is NOT out-of-line…and this year for the first time
you are getting something for that donation.
The laws are getting tight specific to drawings/sweepstakes - so to
keep it legal, Charles Lewton Brain has offered downloads of his
eBook “Cheap Thrills In The Tool Shop”. For those of you who haven’t
been able to figure out how this works:
For a $35 donation pick Part 1 or Part 2 (if you have already
made a $35 donation think about going back and getting the other
half of the book)
For a $70 donation choose the whole book (this will enter you
twice)
Follow the prompts and make the donation…
you will get a message with the link to the eBook and a notice
that you are entered in the contest!
It’s that simple!!! I know that we are living in tough times but
seriously imagine just how tough it would be without a FREE source
like Ganoksin! There are close to 10,000 members of the Orchid Forum
I cannot believe that these tickets haven’t sold out!!!
Maybe you don’t need the chance at $10,000 in products generously
donated by Rio Grande - Maybe you don’t want this eBook generously
offered by Charles Lewton Brain — but if you are reading this you
are benefiting from the Orchid Forum, you probably view the videos at
BenchTube, use the archives at Ganoksin or have a blog that benefits
by being viewable by the Orchid community…is a $35.00 donation too
much to ask? I think not - hell - splurge and get the whole book!
Robyn, thank you for the reminder. Things have been so chaotic, that
I have pulled up the site a couple of times and been distracted away
and forgotten.
All I can say is DITTO! I was one of the earliest to enter and got
both of Charles’s downloads. Talk about some great ideas for tools at
low cost. It’s a real win-win, so fork it over, People.
Judy in Kansas, who is enjoying watching the ice melt.
If you haven’t purchased an Orchid Raffle ticket to help Ganoksin,
please consider doing so now. More than ever, with all the new ways
for technology to detract us from doing our job at the bench,
sometimes the old school way of doing things is easiest. Imagine the
work involved in reading hundreds upon hundreds of emails a day.
Imagine with all the fraud involved in attacking internet sites and
the updating and monitoring, all the behind the scenes that it takes
to just read your email on Orchid with simplicity and ease. How many
new technologies make it easy for us to just look something up that
we have written to add to our own sites. We don’t pay anything for
this service but we benefit from the resources that are available
online and for the vast storage of archived that will be
here for generations to come.
Hanuman and Ton work very hard to make this happen…for you…for
all of us.
Support Ganoksin. Purchase a raffle ticket and benefit Ganoksin and
even yourself with knowledge passed through new technology as an
e-book.
Many thanks to Rio Grande for supporting Ganoksin and providing 2
lucky winners a $5000 certificate each to build your bench, a local
recreation center or adult ed.
And many thanks to Charles Lewton Brain, for donating his content
and time in a book that took time to compile and research.
That’s a lot of time and resource for $35. That small amount
sustains history and that is a small price to pay for the knowledge
that your thoughts are heard and that in a confusing new world, you
have a circle of friends.
I am just as shocked as you that the tickets have not sold out yet!
When I saw your post I thought, “Wow so I’m not the only one
thinking this.”
When I bought my downloads a month ago, I thought I was too late to
be entered into the Raffle. I didn’t see where it said I was
entered, and had to ask someone about it. I seriously thought they
would have all been sold way before that! I went ahead and bought
the downloads although I really shouldn’t have spent the money. But,
I’ve never been able to donate to a website that has helped me up to
now, and I wanted to. This place is so helpful for me, and I know it
will be even more helpful in the future. And, I can’t resist books!
I have a SERIOUS addiction to reading! And, on top of that if there
was even a chance I could be entered into a Raffle like this…As
someone just starting out in jewelry, about to start school in Feb.,
and has 2 kids and can’t afford many of the tools and supplies…
the Gift Certificate would be a Dream! With the number of members of
Orchid, I was surprised a month ago when they were not sold out, I’m
shocked now that they still are not sold out! I mean, how could only
1000 tickets, or 500 E-Books not be gone by now? Everyday, I see the
advertisement and I can’t believe I’m still seeing it!
I want to thank all of you who have helped me in the past, whether
you knew you helped me or not. This place is a school in it’s own
rite, with many great teachers. I’m so happy I found it. If there is
only 1 place I can ever afford to support, it will be Orchid!
Thank you to everyone here…just for being here.
And, a Big thanks to the founders and people who keep this place
running.
Think about the cost of metalsmithing books…of workshop costs…of
screwing up a piece because we didn’t have someone to ask how to do
it best. I appreciate the efforts made by all the ‘pros’ at Orchid
and also all the wonderful jewelers who make wonderful contributions
to my education. I plan to win the drawing this year, despite being
thwarted last year, and I bought a ticket. 1000 tickets breaks down
to fabulous odds compared to lotteries! So getting a book of tips AND
a good chance to make my studio super is terrific motivation for me.
But the real deal is that so many people expect something for
nothing. The 80/20 rule is probably at work heRe: 80% of the work
(donations) are made by 20% of the people (subscribers). Why don’t
we all (including lurkers)decide to be part of the 20% taking credit
for the continuation of Orchid and make a donation?
All I can say is DITTO! I was one of the earliest to enter and got
both of Charles’s downloads. Talk about some great ideas for tools
at low cost. It’s a real win-win, so fork it over, People.
Yes… As a professional Jeweler of thirty plus years, this site is
very useful and enjoyable. I recommend it to everybody I meet and
make it a required resource for jewelers that want to work with me. I
purchased both downloads and… I own the book. Happy New Year to
All.
