It seems to be the season for awards.

Just recently, we've been busy creating the Steel Industry Design Awards of Excellence, A lifetime achievement award for a member of AWMAC (the Architectural Woodwork Manufacturers Association of Canada), and annual awards for the Association of Mobile Entertainers(DJ's to you and me).
The materials used for each of these projects are as diverse as the associations that they serve. The steel awards were (of course) etched on steel, using Cermark engraving compound on the surface of steel I-beams. The woodworking award was etched in solid maple, and the DJ awards were etched in stone, on "pinnacle" style obelisks of onyx. Quite effective, all!

In addition to this, it seems to be the end of minor hockey season, and time for gifts for the kids and coaches. This year we did some acrylic plaques, deep-etched and color-filled (bluelines, redlines, and black text and images) and then sanded on the back to frost the rear surface, to make the plaque look like a hockey rink. Then we got peel-and-stick photos of the  whole team and each individual player, and added the pictures to the front of the plaque. Pretty cool! 

We had a job in the woodworking shop recently, that involved a Corian solid-surface countertop, so I started playing around with the Corian and the Laser, with some interesting results. The simplest of the pieces I did was a circle, sanded and polished up, and that's it - a perfect mousepad for an optical mouse! I use it on my laser controller computer every day. I did some coasters, too, with an aztec calendar etched into the surface, and then paint-filled. Makes a nice little set, with 4 different colors. Finally, I got ambitious and did a sample of wooden inlay into the Corian, by etching a pocket into the surface, and then cutting out an exactly-fitting  solid wood part, and inserting it into the pocket. Excellent! On the same sample piece, I etched another pocket, and filled the space with simple epoxy glue. If you want to have a look, here it is.

In another arena, I started playing around with fabrics, and personalized my fleece jacket with a name, corporate logo and company name. It's a pretty neat way to personalize clothing for teams, companies, or even to commemorate that family reunion. How about His & Hers jackets for the bride and groom? The mind boggles at all the possibilities!

So, check out the new pictures in the galleries - maybe you will get an idea that we can make into reality for you.

Thanks for visiting!