Originally posted by Thumbs
<br />Nice work! But that's a strange looking kit! Have you sold any of them? I just ordered a couple, too. How tough was that burl to work?
It's funny- I haven't sold any of these. It's my personal favorite kit, because it's different and kind of funky! But.... I do have a theory for why I haven't sold any. It's just a theory now, so I may be wrong... but it's probably because I haven't sold or even tried to sell any of my pens! Like I said, it's still a theory, so I'll have to do some more research to see if it pans out!
But seriously, I've found that among people who see these pens, and I've made several of the geminis, it seems like they either love or hate them. Definitely more women than men love them. My dad started out just thinking they were plain weird, but they've grown on him, despite his resistance to accepting them! I would say more people like them than not, it's just that I don't usually see a neutral reaction like some more traditional pens might get.
One person has told me they wish they came in more platings, and I totally agree with that! I sent PSI an e-mail about that and they of course said they'd consider it, which I imagine is the standard reply if I suggested that they consider making pen kits out of freeze dried ice! But there have been many times that I have a particular wood that is maybe a little unusual and it would look great with a gemini, but it needs a silver plating!
The blank was actually very easy to work with- it just got a little extra CA glue in the burl part. After I had already started it and it was too late, I saw something posted on the forum about using embossing powder and someone saying that it could fill in voids. I wish I had read that earlier, b/c I had the thought that I would have liked to have tried filling in the burl with a little gold! It may have come out looking strange, but it would have been fun to try it out!