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Hi Rachelled, Melody usually gets on and says hello, but one of her computers is being repaired, so I will welcome you instead. As everyone so generously points out, this is a pretty special community of enthusiasts and collectors.
FOP? Is that fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva? It looks like you have to pay to read the article that you linked to.
I didn’t take the time to look at all the specs, but the 70D is a heavier and probably more robust camera. I couldn’t find it stated anywhere, but I believe the 70D may have a metal body, and the Rebel a plastic body. Neither camera has a full frame sensor. The 5D cameras have a full frame sensor, and that is what we use at Windstone (5D MarkII). The 6D is also full frame, and less expensive than the 5D.
You would probably be very happy with either camera if you are not using it professionally but I would go with the 70D, or the 6D if the heavier weight is not an issue. The Rebel might make more sense if you are going to be lugging it around very much. You might also ask about the lens compatibility as the full frame cameras use longer lenses than the rebel or 70D (which should take the same lenses). So the 6D with lens could be even heavier.
Pewter is, by far, the easiest metal to produce the horns with and some other metals, like aluminum, are hard to plate as well. We have simply had other priorities, but we did finally set up our casting equipment again and cast some small batches of horns. They still have to be finished and plated, so don’t expect much of anything until after Christmas.
Yes, please click the notify button so we know that you want one. Figuring out what to produce next is not an exact science and it depends on many factors. So no promises, but we may very well make more of those.
We have been so busy that I don’t think it has even been discussed. Clay, who puts, I think, it togrther should be back in a week or so, but he may have too much on his plate. We’ll see.
There are cases, such as auctions of retailer inventory when they are closing down their store, when it is a Windstone dealer with permission to use our photos for advertisement purposes. That usage is OK. But not for a collector reselling a piece on eBay where there could be confusion about the origin of the auction and the condition of the piece. Use on the Windstone forum to resell pieces is debatable but, as the viewers are pretty much an informed audience, I am not yet as concerned about it.
Well, that would be Lane our resident web nerd. Or maybe web genius. He seems to able to fix most anything we ask, but he hasn’t yet tangled with you guys much.
So, you mean you went to Switzerland? Or is she in the States?
Hey Cat, Good timing! Even before Ski showed up I had been thinking that we should instigate a sort of reunion of old-timers and try to get a bunch of them back on the forum to say hello. You know, like Frozen Dragon, Dragonmaster, Maria, etc., as well as those who still post. What do you think?
So, what are you doing in Texas? That’s even further away and gonna make it even harder to get another one of those pear and raspberry brandy infused tort things that you cooked up at our place. (or whatever it was. I can only remember for sure that it was really good)
I think the Kickstarter idea is genius, but it still does not address the issue of grab bags taking up Ms. Melody’s time. I know many people like grab bags because they are by Ms. Melody, but we are voracious for them, and she only has so much time. Plus, we are shooting ourselves in the foot by asking her to do grab bags rather than work on new sculpts or other neat things…One possibility I have heard is getting someone else to do grab bags. I wanted to expand on this. What if, instead of them being done by “a Windstone artist,” Windstone set some talented but not very well-known painter to painting a batch?
I think this is a great idea! I would not be deterred at all from buying another GB piece from one of the other talented artists at the factory. 🙂 Melody’s work will always be highly sought after, but I like the idea of her having more free time to do what she wants!
Maybe I didn’t suggest it strongly enough, but this is exactly what we have been working toward. However, it takes not just an artist, it takes an artist who can paint and think at the same time, and fast. Melody can paint these things at full speed, and each one different and of about the same quality. That’s a tough act to follow! But stay tuned.
Chris, Maybe this batch was significantly different, but I am not sure that there was ever a concept behind the idea of selling these editions. It was just a screwy idea that was tossed out and acted on. We have never had any particular grand plan for what might happen next, or what it might turn into. We didn’t originate the idea of selling Windstone pieces on eBay, the collectors did, but we upped the ante with special pieces. Just another example of acting on an impulse to see what would come of it. The PYOs were partly intended to give people an affordable way to participate, but I don’t remember giving any such thought to the grab bags as they became more ornate. Now don’t get me wrong, we are quite sensitive to what you guys feel, and we do utilize the feedback we get as best we can, but there is are, at any point in time, financial and logistic realities to running the business that we cannot ignore. I, for one, still have a hard time understanding why Melody actually sits down and paints 100 or 200 of these pieces and then goes back and does it again a month later when we need so many other facets of her talent in so many areas. One way or the other, I don’t think we will be able to keep these things from evolving and I just hope that the forum members and collectors realize that it is a necessary evolution that we will try and steer back toward earth. But it may not be the same. That’s OK. Whatever comes next should still of great value and be fun. Let’s see if we can make the Kickstarter project fun, affordable and successful.
How did you get, or make that link? It should be a simple click somewhere and we need to add it onto the first page or something. Thanks.
I think Windstone should probably do the last 100 as GB. simply because the price will increase revenue for them, giving them a much needed cash influx. Melody has several projects in the fire, and if we want to see those come to fruition, Windstone will need the capital to invest in producing them. The math is simple 100 x 360= 36,000 versus 100 X 80= 8000. these are last of the horns, so they need to maximize the revenue from them.
The last batch sold out in 23 hours with people still missing them. I expect these will sell out as well. Because of the horn issue, this isn’t a question about what is best for the poorer collector, but what is the best investment for the company. I do support the idea of regular production pieces; I simply think now is not the time for them to be produced.
Please, I need to say this again: The horns had nothing to do with this. We will make more horns and produce more unicorns, when time permits, so don’t let that influence your thinking, or buying.
You have the right idea about capital to invest however, and that has everything to do with the reality of the situation. This sale got one month’s rent and all the bills paid which leaves us only one month behind in the rent, as we have been for two years (kind of a loan from our landlord that we haven’t been able to pay back).
And I think it was more like 16 hours when they went out of stock, which means, even at $360, there was clearly not enough to go around. And that with a “one per” limit. Yes, Melody went nuts with the decoration on these and they were expensive, which got me to wondering earlier tonight, if she had painted a very plain batch of grab bag Emperor Dragons and we had put them in the store for $1000 each, how would this thread read? Think about it. But that’s a thread for another day.
OK, I guess I should weigh in on this one. The horns are not influencing the price, we will get more horns at some point. I don’t think that Hannah is correct as there seemed to be a pretty overwhelming agreement there should be only one batch. I am going to guess that it was at least 60% in favor of one batch (I didn’t actually count them, and don’t have time now to do that, but everybody here thought it was obvious). And that is sure easier for us. The price is mostly from the fact that Melody put an insane amount of time into these and, yes, we do need to pay the rent, which is late again this month, and bills, and wages, etc. I have to agree that it seems high, but these are also really nice pieces.
Yes, we feel bad that some people will be left out on this batch but, even if they could have gone out at a lower price, many collectors would have been left out. The plan for the new dragon grab bags is firming up and the price should a lot lower, at least for most of them. We want to put the production of the new dragons on KickStarter, and then we can break it down into different prices and levels of fanciness so everyone can afford one. We haven’t started the KickStarter project yet, but we are working on it. It is way down the road however, so don’t let this distract you from the job at hand. This whole business of grab bag pieces is, by the way, is weirder than anything I could have imagined developing, and the open discussion on our own forum, Just amazing! Thank You One And All for the overwhelming support.
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