Wind Chimes: Natural Beach Stone with Handcrafted Antiqued Brass Chimes

Natural Pacific Beach Stone Wind Chime $65
by Coast Chimes

25 plus years ago when I started making wind chimes, I used only glass and copper. Over the years I have added new materials to my inventory, especially local natural things, like driftwood and beach stone.

What I find interesting is that while the glass looks its best when the sun is shining (sun catchers), the beach stone and driftwood looks best when wet from rain. If you have ever walked along a Pacific beach shoreline as the tide goes out, you will know what I mean. The stones when wet show dark and their features, like speckles or lines, become more intense. So I have wind chimes for the sun and wind chimes for those cloudy wet days. Actually, they all look great all the time, just even more beautiful at certain times!

Something else interesting: if you have walked a Pacific beach you might think I can just go and pick up buckets of stones--  a short task. Not true. Depending on my needs, I have to go to the right beach and spend a long time walking about, choosing the stones that call out. I know the best beach for the small rounded stones I use for the clappers of my large copper wind chimes, another beach is the best for the larger rounded stones used in chimes like the one pictured above, and yet another beach for even larger beach stones I use as bases for freestanding works. Over the years, I have learned where to go for what I need.

When I finally get my stones back to my workshop, I spend time selecting those that fit together nicely, before proceeding to drill. Stone is a lot harder than glass, and so drilling the holes is a lengthy process, and also hard on my diamond bits. I can cut many holes through glass with a single diamond bit, but stone wears them out fast, so it's more expensive to work with stone.

I love beach stones, and more and more customers seem to share my enthusiasm. You can see all the different things I use beach stones for at my website: Coast Chimes. You can find the beach stone chime pictured above here: Beach Stone Chime

Advertising a New Website

My New Website: Coast Chimes

With the launch of each new website, I always run a little advertising campaign to help get it going. The launch of my newest version is no exception.

I don't recall it being very challenging to set up a campaign with my first several websites . But this appears to be an area (along with online selling in general) which has not gotten easier, or cheaper, with time.

With the new Coast Chimes Shopify site, I thought I would go in to Adsense, click a few buttons, fill in a couple of lines, and advertise. Ha, ha, ha.... nope. Not really.

It is true that I could get a very basic add with a bunch of keywords up and running quite quickly, but the number of various options / screens was, to say the lease, overwhelming. I didn't have any idea what many of them even meant.  I decided to give Google Adsense a phone call to consult with an expert, for free, as offered in an email sent from Adsense.

The first phone call lasted about a half hour. A very nice and knowledgeable service representative went over a whole lot, and we decided it would be best to pause my current campaign and arrange an appointment with a higher level technician, so that I could maybe get some images into my ads.

I knew a little about what would be needed, so I started looking at my old Google Merchant account prior to consulting with this next expert. Wow. What a tedious, multi-tasking sort of chore that is! I fooled around, but in the end decided to wait for the expert's phone call.

When I talked with the expert, he got me to share my screen with him, and led me through many, many steps. The job took over an hour. Now there will be a few days until the team approves my set up!

Then it will be back to the expert, to finish the process of integrating my images with my ads.

Then back to the initial contact, to help with the keywords and bidding amounts etc. etc.

All this, just to get a little ad campaign going. I had no idea. Truly, I think it is quite amazing any ads appear on Google!

From what I saw before pausing my initial ads, this is likely to be far too expensive for me to use anyway! Those clicks cost so much money!

Glass and Copper Wind Chime, the Start

Large Glass and Copper Wind Chime, Coast Chimes

I made my first glass and copper wind chime, quite similar to the one pictured above, and listed it on eBay about 25 years ago. eBay was new, and no one had ever seen a wind chime like this before. I listed it at .99 cents, and the bidding went crazy. It ended up somewhere north of $250, and I knew I was onto something. Shortly after, the second glass and copper wind chime I made and listed repeated the bidding frenzy, and I really knew I was onto something. In the following years things have not always been so easy. It does turn out that nothing stays the same, and this is especially true concerning the internet! With all the improvements in technology, how funny that selling something like my wind chimes has actually become much, much more challenging. I am so pleased that back when I started out it was actually simple to sell something like my wind chimes on line. Anyone starting now would be in for a much more difficult task.

The inspiration for my first glass and copper wind chime came from a customer. At the time, I was selling some single pieces of beach-style glass, with a little copper work. This woman emailed and asked if I could make her a wind chime out of my glass. I told her that would not work-- the glass would break. A little later it came to me that I could use glass for a top section, with chimes hanging beneath the glass.

Now, so many years later, I have numerous designs (and still thinking of new ones!), and also work with beach stone and driftwood. Indeed, one of the most enjoyable parts of my job is to take a long hike along the beach, looking for materials and dreaming up new ideas.

Eventually eBay went to the dogs, at least for high-end quality handcrafted works like my wind chimes. Etsy came into play just at the right time, and continues fairly strong, despite occasional bumps. My first website, made about 20 years ago and unbelievably rough, has gone through many transformations, and last week was reborn as a Shopify store: Coast Chimes

Handmade at Amazon Blues

I have the Handmade at Amazon Blues

I was so excited to receive an invitation for Handmade at Amazon. Amazon promised millions of potential customers and a strictly handmade site. A dream come true!

I believed Amazon had the expertise, the capital, the client base to do an absolutely brilliant job. My only concern was whether I would have enough time to fill orders and still make things!

Yep, I was one happy thrilled fan of Handmade at Amazon... before it opened.

Several months post launch not so much.

What happened?

First, let me stress that there are apparently many crafters and artists currently experiencing success on Handmade at Amazon. You can read their glee on various forums, and I am happy for them. However there are also many who are becoming disillusioned. Like me.

I don't know why some are so successful while others suffer utter failure, and for a few reasons I am not willing to take any more time to figure it out. Here's why.

I am dumbfounded that one of five primary categories while listing,  'Outdoor and Patio,' does not appear on amy of the main shopping menus. Since this is the category I list in, I believe this is a primary reason my listings are not seen. Invisible. My stats are dismal: far worse than any other site I have ever participated in, including my own little website.

I invested considerable time attempting to improve my visibility, all for naught. Also, creating or editing a listing is painful on Handmade: nightmarish listing templates. I have been on a dozen different sites, and this is by far the most terrible listing and editing experience yet.

Even worse— my pictures show up desaturated; they look awful. I found others were experiencing this too. After emails and phone calls to Handmade at Amazon support, a very nice, knowledgable support person phoned. She acknowledged that my pictures look worse than on other sites where I use the identical images, but she said after talking with Amazon engineers there is nothing Amazon plans to do to improve this issue. For handmade, pictures are what sell. Bad pictures mean low sales, no matter how many people see your work, and even more so when almost no one is seeing the work. Most disheartening.

Finally, the corporate atmosphere (all business, no soul) seems stifling. Something is missing here, from an artist point of view. You are encouraged not to get in touch with customers, you must answer question (even if your shop is on holiday mode) within 24 hours or face penalties, you must ship by the promised time, no excuse,  you must accept all returns (with the exception of custom orders) and pay for the return shipping if you sell internationally (even if the customer just changes their mind). That's all great for the customer, and I always do whatever I can to please my customers, but on Amazon it seems there is always a threat hanging over the seller's head. Of more concern is the way Amazon has 'trained' their customers: a quick look, buy with one click understanding that you can return whatever with no problem, expect your order to arrive instantly. It sounds like some sellers are 'enjoying' numerous returns.

So it turns out that the Handmade at Amazon has not lived up to my high expectations... not even close. Most distressing are the images showing poorly,  the lack of traffic, and the atmosphere.

I do want to say something very positive about Handmade at Amazon:  They have wonderful 24/7 email and telephone seller support. I have never had to wait more than a short time for an email response, and most often I get a telephone call from a knowledgeable pleasant support person. First rate. If only the site was that good!

Another good thing is some of the positive  spin off effects the entire experience has had, benefiting indirectly my Etsy store and my Coast Chimes website. More about that soon.

Although deeply disappointed I am not giving up. A few sales trickle in from those who do somehow manage to stumble across my listings. And I know Amazon is still tinkering. Who knows? Maybe they will fix it. I hope so.

Coast Chimes New Website

Screen Shot From a Page of CoastChimes.com

I'm excited to announce the launch of my new website: Coast Chimes. This site has all of my stock on it, is easy to navigate, and has an excellent shopping cart. I built it using Shopify, and I can not say enough nice things about this platform.

Since I have not blogged in a very long time, there is some catching up to do. In the near future I want to go back in time just a little, because I should write about Handmade at Amazon first, then changes at Etsy, and finally the new website. All these subjects will be covered in the coming days.

But for today, I must get back to putting the finishing 'behind the scenes' touches on my new website.

I will leave you with a celebration discount code for 25% off purchases on Coast Chimes, good from December 2 - 16, 2015. Just put this is the coupon code box: NEWWEBSITE

Natural Beach Stone Wind Chime

Natural Pacific Beach Stones Wind Chime

It is really nice having these beautiful natural materials available from local beaches: driftwood, beach stones, and sometimes glass. While the materials are free, it does take time to find good things. But I seldom object to a long walk along the beach!

I discovered during the Sunshine Coast Art Crawl, when so many people visited my studio, that it was not clear to them that I make pretty much every component of my creations. No, I do not buy mass produced chimes from distant lands for pennies! I use raw brass and copper for my chimes, and they are very labour intensive to produce-- there are so many steps! But the results are worth it. Also, I never skimp on the materials that I do buy. For example, instead of using something like cheap fishing line for my chimes, I use, for the small ones, 49 strand nylon coated stainless steel with sterling silver crimps: that's quality! For my large copper chimes, all the chimes are hung with handmade copper rings-- those will never break.

The beach stone chime pictured above is available on my website at Coast Chimes (and it's a great deal, at only $75.00).

Picture of My Creations

Kaleidoscope Glass and Copper Handcrafted Wind Chime

Ever since we moved to our new house, I have struggled— really struggled —with taking decent pictures of my works. Now, after more than a year, I discovered that morning light coming through the semi-transparent metal fence, with the ocean far down below, makes for a very interesting background. How could this possibly take me over a year to discover? I don't know-- I am just happy to have found it.

As soon as I realized how much better the pictures could look, I spent a week retaking almost all my art work. Thats over one hundred items! You can see the updated images on my website, at Coast Chimes.com.  I'm very proud of my designs, and now I am a little proud of my pictures.

Sunshine Coast Art Crawl

Banner Signs at my Home for the Sunshine Coast Art Crawl

Tree Ornaments for sale for the Sunshine Coast Art Crawl, Coast Chimes

Sunshine Coast Art Crawl

Between moving into the new house, getting the workshop organized, figuring out how to photograph my creations at this new location, and, not least, enjoying summer walking to the beautiful beach and warm ocean steps from our house, I just never had time to give this blog any attention. Maybe now that it is dark, wet, and cold, I can do more.

I just participated, for the first time, in the Sunshine Coast Art Crawl. This is a three day event, and boy, way it busy! On the Sunshine Coast, there were 141 galleries participating, 320 artists, and 21,000 studio visits. Coast Chimes attracted a great deal of attention. People seemed to enjoy seeing a bit of our new house (it is different!), the garden, and my work. It is a funny thing that I have been making wind chimes and suncatchers for 23 years, but almost all of them have been sent to the USA, through my online sales. I believe more have gone to Europe and Australia than to Canada. Since prior to the art crawl I did zero local promoting, there was a lot of fun in seeing people discover that someone is doing something really unique here on the Sunshine Coast. I was very happy with the sales.

It was even more fun to hear what people had to say, face to face, about my work. Yes, I enjoy praise! I think I deserve a bit of praise, too, having invested so many years exploring, learning, designing. I am very proud of my creations.

Oh! I also gave my website a major facelift. Based in large part on what reviewers at Peek (free, online, video reviews for websites-- an excellent service), I listened to what several people had to say, and fixed what they found troubling. Please visit Coast Chimes, and see for yourself. I think it is way better, so thank you Peek!

Raw, Rough Red Cedar

Ten 2 X 6 Rough Raw Cedar Boards

Pictured above, drying on my sun deck in the morning sunlight, are 10 reclaimed old growth red cedar boards, 2 X 6 by 10 feet long. This will be my fall and winter supply of wood for making kaleidoscope wind chimes, suncatchers, and probably a few four sided deluxe red cedar bird feeders. In other words, each board will be cut many, many times to produce the small dimension wood I use in my projects.

Blue Glass, Copper Handcrafted Art Wind Chime with Beach Pebbles

Cobalt Blue Glass with Copper Art Wind Chime, with Beach Pebbles

Few people have any idea of the process for making even one of my more basic wind chimes, such as the one pictured above.

Every single component, from the glass to the chimes, is totally handcrafted.

I find the rough glass, carve it, process it, drill it. I order bulk long tubes from New Brunswick for the small chimes, cut them, polish them, treat them to an antiqued finish, and polish again. I go to the beach and hunt for suitable beach stones, drill them, mount them. I bend copper wire and solder it for the glass, and to make the chime holder, and to thread the stones. Also to make the copper hanging hook. Then there are photographs to be taken. Listings on the various internet sites. 

When it sells, packing is an art in itself: getting the bought item promptly to the customer in great shape. 

My customers may not generally know just how much goes into their purchase, but I do know that they are very appreciative, judging from the emails and feedback I receive. And I appreciate that, more than anything.

Perforated Sheet Metal Fence, Metal Roofing Raised Garden Beds

This yard was scraped earth several months ago.

A while back, I had pledged to make at least bi-weekly blog postings. It turns out moving into a new house takes some time to adjust, and so many things had a higher priority than writing this blog. We are loving the new house, and my wife is fully responsible for transforming our scorched earth back yard to what you see above. Well, I do take credit for the design of the perforated metal fence, and for the design and building of the raised garden beds, which are made from leftover scraps from our house siding.

Between running my wind chime / suncatcher business, there is always a little something to do to the final touches on the house. This week has been painting the final drywall in our basement. I absolutely detest painting, so I am really happy that is done!

Now I am trying to box a very large wholesale order, shipping out to New Mexico. There are so many heavy beach stone wind chimes! This is going to be a nauseating postage bill, but I am happy to have so many fine works going to New Mexico-- one of my favourite states.

I hope to find time to do more blogging. Much more enjoyable than painting ceilings!

Another view of the back yard, with the semi-transparent perforated sheet metal fence, and the raised garden beds, all designed by Coast Chimes artist Tim Kline

Freestanding Wind Chime

Freestanding Double Wind Chime
Glass, Copper, Beach Stone

I always love it when customers from the past resurface. I had been putting off making any of my very large, heavy, freestanding double wind chimes since moving to our new house. They take a lot of energy and concentration to make, and they are truly a nightmare to pack and ship. However, I did have the idea in the back of my mind. My wife also wanted some for our small yard. But I would still be putting it off if a customer who got one years ago did not email out of the blue asking if I could make one for her. That got me going.

I'm very pleased with the result: probably the finest one that I have ever made. After I get it packed and shipped, and recover from the effort, I guess I will just have to go and make a few more!

Picture (almost) Perfect

Cobalt Blue Glass with Copper Handcrafted Wind ChimeView at
Coast Chimes

The picture taking struggle continues — the never ending story! However, I am happier these recent days than I have been in a long time, regarding taking pictures. We finally have our new fence, and a very fine fence it is! It is my own design, and features perforated metal and cedar. This creates an unusual effect, as the fence is slightly transparent! That makes an excellent backdrop for my pictures.

It should look even better as the garden starts to grow and green. In the mean time, I am busy making thing, taking pictures, re-taking old pictures that now look crummy compared to the new ones, and tweaking my website (Coast Chimes) and other sites (Etsy).

Natural Pacific Beach Stones Wind Chime

Natural Beach Stones Wind Chime
Coast Chimes

This very large natural beach stone wind chime would be ideal anywhere, but especially a house on the ocean. This chime would never fear strong winds, rain, snow-- the stones look even nicer when they are wet. It weighs a lot, so you'd need to use a very strong hook or nail to hang it from. But once hanging, enjoy for years to come, as it is extremely well made.

Detail Image of the Beach Stones

Unique Metal Fence

Perforated Sheet Metal Fence, by Coast Chimes

The gates still have to be made, but I am already very pleased with the perforated sheet metal fence I designed for our small yard. Because it is semi-transparent, the yard feel larger than if I had put a traditional cedar fence. Also, this suites our modern small house, which is clad in galvanized roofing, very well, I feel. I've never seen a fence like this, so I am all the prouder to have dreamt this up.

Privacy Trellis

Between thinking up new designs for Coast Chimes, and making them, I sometimes turn my dreaming to other projects. Having recently moved to our new home, we found ourselves feeling a little exposed to a neighbour and a road. I needed something to fix this, but also modern, to go with the home design. I just finished making and installing my solution. There will be evergreen clematis growing up this red cedar trellis, soon.

Privacy Trellis, Red Cedar

Modern Design Privacy Trellis

Detail Image, Privacy Trellis

Short Holiday, Jacksonville Florida, New York City

Jacksonville Florida

Brooklyn Bridge, New York City

Just back from a quick visit to my sister and brother-in-law in Jacksonville Florida, and then three nights in New York City. The contrast is dramatic, as seen in the two pictures above.

It was terrific fun to visit with family in Florida. New York City impressed me enormously. We saw the play, The Book of Mormon, and that was so much fun. MOMA was a treat. The food, the accommodation, the liveliness-- all wonderful. I'll be heading back to New York City as soon as possible. What a remarkable city!

Making a Beach Stone Wind Chime

Raw Pacific Beach Stones and Heavy Copper Wire

Soldering the Copper Hook

Drilled Beach Stones and Soldered Copper Hook

Finished Natural Beach Stone Wind Chime
Available at Coast Chimes

There is more to putting together a beach stone wind chime than some may think. It all starts with the stones, and that means a trip to a beach with good stones. That is not just any old beach. Although there are a lot of stones on the beach just a few minutes stroll from my house, those are not suitable. I need to drive to Sechelt, half an hour away, to get the really great stones I use.

Once I have great stones, I need to sort them out into a pleasing combination, and then drill them with diamond bits. I write 'bits' in the plural, because these stones are very hard on the diamonds, and it frequently takes several bits to cut the seven stones.

After drilling the holes, the rest is relatively easy. I bend a copper hook and solder it. I form a copper hooklet wire to string through the stones. I string the stones, and form the bottom hooklet. Then I just have to hang the chimes (making those is another whole story!), and take my pictures.

Be sure to visit Coast Chimes for many styles of beach stone, glass, driftwood wind chimes.

Beach Stone Wind Chime at New Home

Large Beach Stone Wind Chime at its New Home, Customer Photograph
More beach stone wind chimes at Coast Chimes

I love when customers send me pictures of my work. Seeing my wind chimes and suncatchers in a new setting is always a little strange, for me. I am so familiar with them, but not in the new setting. I like to see how people have hung them. Above is a particularly lovely location, and very nice hanging job, too. That is a massive hook that is supporting this chime, because the chime is not small! That's a good thing, as the chime is also not light. I always include instructions to use a strong nail or hook for these beach stone chimes, and I am happy these people followed the instructions.

Beach Stone Wind Chimes

Natural Pacific Beach Stone Wind Chime
Available at Coast Chimes

I love using natural materials. Beach stones are high up on my list of favourites. Fortunately, there are a lot of beach stones here on the Sunshine Coast. Oddly, though, it takes time to find suitable ones. I am fussy when it comes to my stones! Not just any old beach stone will do; they need to be the right size, the right shape, the right colour... and so on.

The only really bad thing about working with beach stones is that they are exceptionally hard on my diamond bits (for cutting the holes in them). A diamond bit might easily last for many hundreds of cuts through my glass. But sometimes it takes several bits just for one chime, such as the one pictured above. On a brighter note, shipping is great. For once, I do not have to worry about glass breaking in the mail.

Also something nice-- they are popular. It makes it all the more enjoyable putting these together when they get such a positive reception.

Making Exceptional Copper Wind Chimes

Handmade Copper Chimes, two sets of Copper Wind Chimes
Available at Coast Chimes

I sometimes see website tutorials on making your own copper wind chimes at home. They make it sound like you can read two paragraphs and make great chimes. I have to laugh. I've been making copper wind chimes for twenty years, thousands of sets, and I am still learning!

Above are some of the components that I hand make for my wind chimes. And ' hand make' should be underlined and bold. Sure, you can just saw up some copper pipes and string them onto a chunk of plywood with some fishing line. But that is not going to be beautiful, nor long-lasting.

From the old growth reclaimed red cedar roundel to the hand formed copper hooklets, these are the elements that take time, skill and experience. Most people figure out how to do something, and get better and faster at it. I have found with my chimes that I learned how to do them, and got better and slower at it. These days, I take far more care and pay far more attention to each element. They are a source of enormous pride for me, and so it's all worth it. And I know that no one is going to be reading a short tutorial and making anything even close to what I do.

Shipping Overseas

Natural Pacific Beach Stone Wind Chime
Available at Coast Chimes for $75.00

I sell my work almost exclusively on the Internet— these days through Etsy and my own website, Coast Chimes. I've been doing this for about twenty years, and it works pretty well. The funny thing is, you would think that I would have it all figured out by now, that it would be natural and easy, like breathing, no thinking needed. Nope. I run into new situations and problems all the time.

An example from just yesterday. The beach stone wind chime, pictured above, sold. That's great. But then I saw it sold to someone in Switzerland. That's nice-- my wife is Swiss. But I knew right away that this would complicate things, as I had put $25 down for shipping. That is the standard price for some small, light weight package to Europe, airmail. But, sadly, beach stones are not light!

I packaged it up all nicely, cutting away every ounce of extra cardboard from the box. When I weighed it, it came in at well over one kilogram, which meant I would have had to pay nearly $100 in postage.

I unwrapped the whole thing, and tried using a padded envelop. That did it; well under a kilogram. The only problem is all the time I spent wrapping and unwrapping and re-wrapping, and, more importantly, the customer will have a far less pleasant experience when receiving the chime, as I had to unhook the chimes, and also, honestly, an envelop just is not the same as opening a box. But hopefully they will forget about the ugly envelop and unhooked chimes when they hook it back together and see just how neat and beautiful it is.

Wind Chimes, Finding Inspiration from the Past

Wind Chime, Freestanding, Double, Beach Stone base
Available at Coast Chimes

I seldom to never run out of ideas. There is always something I am looking forward to making, or something that I have to make (like as I start to run out of copper chime sections!). However, one neat thing that I found is to look back over my old blog postings, or, more recently, to do a Google search of images, Coast Chimes. It has been about twenty years that I have been making wind chimes and suncatchers, and posting pictures on the internet, so any search leads to a trip down memory lane.

The other night I was lazily browsing through images on Google, and stumbled across some of the design posted above. I had almost forgotten about these! They were popular, and fun / challenging to make. So the next morning I could hardly wait to get down to my workshop and put one together. I happily had a suitable beach stone for the base, and the other materials were all at hand, too. So it was relatively quick and simple to assemble. Magic!

Now I just have to remember, the next time I go down to the beach, to keep my eyes open for more suitable beach stone base stones.

Natural Light for Picture Taking

Glass and Copper Kaleidoscope Wind Chime
available at Coast Chimes

Taking good pictures of my work is definitely one of the biggest, if not the biggest, challenge. But it is so important, I know I need to keep trying.

After determining that my indoor photo studio lights were not doing justice to my works with glass (okay for beach stones, driftwood), I moved back outside to take advantage of natural sunlight. Side-by-side, it was immediately clear that natural light was far superior. So I retook all the pictures. I was somewhat happier with the resulting images-- not thrilled, but less unhappy. I thought early morning, blue sky, indirect sunlight, was the best.

But there was one last kaleidoscope wind chime that I forgot to take pictures of. So although yesterday was quite overcast, I decided to get it done. Well, it turned out that the overcast sky was better than blue sky!

Now I think thin white high clouds are the very best. Today is more thick, grey clouds, so I don't believe that would be any good. But you can be sure that the next bright cloudy day, I will be back out there, trying to capture the perfect image.

Top Section, Detail Image, Kaleidoscope Wind Chime

Snowy Wind Chimes and Suncatchers

Customer's Snowy Wind Chime Picture

I love when my customers send me pictures. However, it is always a slightly strange feeling to see my work in a foreign setting! This one especially struck me, as we have been enjoying spring-like weather here on the Sunshine Coast for several weeks, and one tends to forget that many other places are still mid-winter.

People often do not think of wind chimes and suncatchers in the winter. But look! They can really add a bright spot to your garden-- colour just when most needed. What a beautiful contrast! And Coast Chimes wind chimes and suncatchers are truly ideal, as being constructed from all glass, copper, first growth reclaimed red cedar, they are very durable. So add some wind chimes to your winter garden, and enjoy a splash of colour!

Photographing My Work

Blue Glass with Copper Wind Chime
available at Coast Chimes - inspired by nature

I am thinking of investing in an extra-large bottle of Advil. Photographing my work has never been easy for me. Back in our old house, after years I sort of figured it out. I took pictures in our solarium, which I could only do in the late afternoon for the best light. This made for a challenging time in the fall and winter, as we get a lot of rain and even more cloudy days during this period. Sometimes it would seem the sun would never shine again, as my fresh creations piled up, waiting for a little light for me to photograph them. At least when the sun did shine, I could (sometimes) get some pretty decent shots.

Then we sold the house and moved to a rental where it proved next to impossible to get any decent pictures. The light was always wrong. Also, the backdrop was not ideal. Fortunately, that only lasted for seven months.

Getting into our new place, for a while I happily, and naively, thought all my problems were solved, since I created a photo studio and invested in some quasi-professional lights. As is so often the case with my photographs, those early pictures that delighted me became turned out to be less than optimal, as my eyes began to see many issues. The backdrop sheets were drab. The light was not bright enough to really show off the glass. Those I put new backgrounds in, like the ocean, looked phoney. Sigh.

So I started taking pictures outside, where at least there would be bright sunlight to show the true beauty of my glass. Alas, my wife decided to get an early start on digging up the small yard, in anticipation of the amazing garden beds she would make in the spring. My picture taking space shrank, and shrank. Now I have one little corner-- happily, it turns out to be the best corner!

I found many of my images were not in focus. Time to read the camera instruction booklet, and check on photoblogs. (Ha, probably should have done that first thing-- but I'm not like that.) I learned some tricks, and wish I had read this stuff years ago! Live and learn.

Now I just have to learn a bunch more, wait for decent light, hope the constant breeze we get from being so close to the ocean dies down a little-- and then, maybe, just maybe, I will get a few decent pictures. That will certainly be when my wife builds the fence-- further diminishing the quality of my limited background opportunities! Oh well. I do the best I can.

Photographing my Work

Glass and Copper Kaleidoscope Wind Chime

Coast Chimes

Since moving from our old house, picture taking has been a major headache. It was always a challenge, but lately it has been a real problem. I moved inside to a photo studio, but the lighting was not nearly as nice as sunlight, especially for my glass pieces. Then outside again, which was okay, but I had to learn about the light on the new property. Then my wife started digging in the garden, which is very small, and I had to move again, and learn about the light, again.

I have a little corner with no dirt piles, an okay background, and on certain days, at certain times, decent light. However, we live on a hill with the ocean just below, and this, it turns out, creates interesting air currents (wind), and so it is a fun time trying to get a shot without the windsails flying around, the chimes twisting, the whole subject turning!

I have a ways to go, in my photo struggle. Right now, I am going out to struggle some more.

Wind Chime, Natural Beach Stone with Copper

Natural Pacific Beach Stone Wind Chime: Naturally Beautiful!

Beach Stones with Copper

Available at Coast Chimes

At our new home, we are only a minute from the beach. There is a walk which takes me down to the beach, along the beach, and then up back through a trail in the woods. I go several times a week.

It's an interesting walk, because one feels remote from civilization. There are several points where you do not see houses, or hear traffic. I like that a lot.

It is not the best beach combing on the Coast. There are not stones, such as those in the wind chime pictured above. Although there are plenty of stones, few are of the sort (smooth and rounded) that I like to use in my work. But that's okay. Other beaches with better stones are not far away. So this walk is for pleasure-- a break from my work. That's kind of a good thing, actually.

New House, New Workshop, New Website

New house, Coast Chimes

I haven't posted here since November 9, 2011-- how time does go by!

My excuse is simple: I've been too busy!

We sold our home and lived in a rental for seven months, while building a new one.

Above is a picture of our new house. The upstairs is living area; the downstairs is my workshop, and office / photo studio. It was a job and a half building it, but it is wonderful, now that it is (almost) done. Especially nice is having the entire ground floor as workshop, office, photo studio.

It was also a job trying to maintain my wind chime / suncatcher stock and sales, while all this was transpiring.

Things are finally settling down. I look forward to a calmer year.

I had time lately to completely redo my website: Coast Chimes. It is much easier to navigate, much faster, and it has a better shopping cart.

Below, a screenshot of the homepage of my new website. I hope you will have time to visit it, and enjoy the new layout.

Picture of the new homepage of Coast Chimes

Copper Wire

250 feet of seven strand bare copper wire.

I use a lot of copper: copper pipe for chimes, heavy copper wire for hooks and loops and hanging stones, and slightly lighter copper wire for wrapping glass. I go through a spool as pictured above about every six months.

These spools hold 250 feet of seven strand, and I unwrap the strands giving me a total of 1750 feet.

I calculate over my wire wrapping career, I've wrapped well over 9 miles of wire!

You can see what I do with all this wire by visiting my website: Coast Chimes.

Wind Chime: Pacific Beach Stones. Naturally Beautiful!

Pacific Beach Stone Wind Chime

Recently I bought 100 high-speed diamond bits. As you can see from the picture, I have been busy with them! I love beach stone, and I am happy that my beach stone works are becoming increasingly popular.

Stone is a great choice. There is the beauty, and also the durability. When they get wet from the rain, they look even nicer!

You can find a selection of beach stone wind chimes on my website: Coast Chimes, Gallery Page.

They are also available on the arts and crafts website: Etsy

Pacific Driftwood Large Wind Chime

Very large, and Very beautiful Pacific Driftwood Wind Chime

See it on my website: Coast Chimes

It's not so often that I find really gorgeous driftwood, and the piece shown above is truly special. As soon as I saw it, I new I could make an amazing wind chime with it. It worked out even better than I anticipated!

You can see larger pictures on my website driftwood page: Driftwood, Coast Chimes

Or find it on Etsy: Coast Chimes, Etsy

Suncatcher, Windowsill Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope Suncatcher

Perfect for a sunny windowsill.

I've been very busy making as many things as I can for the fast approaching holiday rush. One of my new designs is pictured above: I like it! When the sun comes out and shines through the glass, it really comes alive.

There are a number of these now on my website: Coast Chimes

They are also on Etsy.

Home Sweet Home

Click on the images to see them larger

3094 Grauman Rd., Roberts Creek, BC, for sale by owner

We've enjoyed 16 wonderful years in this beautiful home on fabulous acreage. But now, empty nesters, it is time to move on. It's a difficult thing, as this has been not only my home where so many sweet family memories were created, but also my work site— my artist studio is around the back. But I am a firm believer that change is a good thing, so here we go.

I am selling this house myself. At the same time, I am doing the marketing for my friend and neighbour, who also has a beautiful home on acreage just down the street.

I know these are each some of the nicest properties on the Sunshine Coast. Very peaceful and sunny.

See lots of pictures and read all about these two properties on the website: Sunshine Coast Homes for Sale.

Framed Kaleidoscope Suncatcher

Framed glass with mosaic kaleidoscope section

I have been known to make a mistake or two with my business. Not being by nature the most organized person around, it is surprising I do not make even more. I try, I really try.

My latest mistake resulted in the creation of the above framed suncatcher. I had made a couple of that style back in late 2010, and a customer fell in love with one of them and asked if she could pay over several months. That was fine with me. Time went by, and she emailed that she was ready to make the final payment. That was great, except I discovered that somehow I had sold it to someone else-- I no longer had it! What a sad day for her, after saving and waiting. I felt terrible.

I offered a refund, or told her that I could try to make a similar one. She opted for the similar one, and I put together three, while I was at it. She was very happy with the replacement for her original one. And now I have two more in my Etsy shop, and on my website.

Happy ending to a sad story.

Beach Stones

Click on the image to see it larger.

Natural Pacific beach stone wind chime: Naturally beautiful!

For more information, or to purchase, please visit:

Etsy

Coast Chimes

I love beach stones. I have incorporated them into my work for years. But recently I came up with a new design using these smooth, rounded, natural stones. I love suddenly dreaming up a brand new design, or a new technique. It keeps my job fresh; it keeps me eager to go out and work.