Petes’ backgrounds done +

Fiished the colour coats on Petes’ backgrounds this afternoon.

Sealer coat tonight/tomorrow and then ready to ship in the afternoon.

Pete has something like 29 enclosures, so if he likes these……

They were made to fairly specific directions, which makes life so much easier for me.

Mind reading in this field of work can be dangerous!

Each piece measures approx 470mm x 350mm and he requested certain ledges (and placement to work in with heat lamps etc), and colour. I went with Sandstone, and I’m rapt with the outcome;

I finally finished the skull background that I started some time back. This was more for fun, and I’ll be taking it for display at the Scales and Tails Festival at Ipswich on the 17th October.

It’d be fun to clean.

Anyway, I work so therefore I deserve beer.

Updates…

Working on three separate backgrounds for Pete in Sydney.

Early days.

Also working on Michaels 2300mm background that will house a few Central Netteds’.

No pics as yet, but made to fit around a waterfall and coming along nicely.

Discount coupons

I’ve gone down that well-worn path of marketing genius’ worldwide….

The Discount Coupon

Everyone buying a hide/cave/bowl will now get the coupon.

I want people to buy more.

People want things for less.

Win-win.

Some great stuff happening…

Finished a series of backgrounds for Rob today, and we are both chuffed.

It’s to suit a TV cabinet that Rob has modified to suit a Bredli and 2 x Stimmies.

I’ll post some pics of it in the enclosure once it’s all fitted.

He loaned me a hot knife too, so I was up at the crack of dawn to play with some shapes.

This will be a great looking background.

cheers, John

Zacs background near finished…

The aquarium background I posted the other day is nearly finished, with only sealer coats to go.

It’s a huge piece that is nearly 2m long…..

Now working on a 3-piece background to suit a modified TV cabinet that will house a Bredli and two Stimson Pythons (separately!).

The client also wants some hides and waterbowls.

I’ll have progress pics up tomorrow.

Scales and Tails 1st birthday celebration

Looking forward to this one.

The first proper reptile day in SE Qld in living memory.

A big congratulations to the team at S&T for their efforts in putting this together, and with support from the herp community, this will not only be a great day but the foundation for positive change in the future.

From little things, big things grow.

Ipswich Showgrounds

Saturday, October 17th 2009

12.00 pm until midnight

Attractions Include: Guest Speakers, Live Entertainment, Reptile Related Auction, Reptile Pit Shows, Reptile Photo Exhibts, Jumping Castle for the kids, Stall Holders, Displays and more.

Guest Speakers include: Peter Krauss, Bob Irwin, Craig & Gabrielle Latta from AFTCRA, John Weigel, Jamie Stuart, Scott Eipper, Ranger Tim from Totally Wild.

Reptile Photo Exhibits by Shannon Plummer, Michael Cermak, Stephen Bullock, Scott Eipper, Barry Keipe

Reptile Related Auction: Late afternoon. A hugely popular drawcard in this auction will be a reptile original painting by Mr Luke Barker who is a very talented Queensland artist. This painting has been specifically commissioned for the Reptile Festival.

Lets get behind this!

An update..

It’s been a while, but there’s been a lot of stuff happening. My work (proper job) is busy and I’m having to spend days away from home slaving for the man.

So, Zac, your background is getting there, but will now be put off for three days!
This is a two-piece aquarium background (1750mm x 570mm approx) that will be a nightmare to post…

This pic shows the join;

Another coat, then some colour, sealed, and good to go!

New backgrounds…..

Playing with some new methods of shaping the former (thanks John from Maroochydore)

Threw a wood gouging disc on the angle grinder too…and now have foam balls from one end of the property to the other…. great effects though! All photos are after the first coat. Three more plus colour……

Here’s some pics of what has resulted;

- Backgrounds for either reptile enclosures or aquariums (both approx 600mm L x 370mm H x 100mm D

…but this is what I really like….

It’s a full background that has been cut in half for both ease of postage and fitting into an enclosure/aquarium with difficult access. The join will be far less obvious once done!

Will measure at approx 900mm L x 410mm H x 200mm D

The colours on this will be nuts. Inspired by Wave Rock in the NT.

Should be on Ebay by Monday afternoon at the latest.

Oh, and thanks to Tomas (Czech Rep.) and Stephanie (France) for your purchases  and also for being

my first international clients!

As for custom enquiries……

I love custom work – get to speak to the person, exchange ideas and create something that suits their requirements.

That’s the ideal anyway.

Very few people I speak with/mail understand this though.

Here’s some DO’s;

Let me know the following;

- inside enclosure measurements only!

- Will the item fit in one piece?

- Do you want to cover the entire background (in that old style expensive commercial block that you cut out) or after a custom design?

- will post be a problem?

- Are you happy to pay an upfront 30% deposit to cover my material costs (negotiable to the right people)?

Please don’ts

- If you change your mind part-way through, let me know.

- If your financial situation changes, and you can’t finalise payment, let me know.

- If there’s anything I can do, feel free to let me know.

There, that makes sense.

Work takes shape on a new project..

Ok. Here’s a few pics for a bloke up the Sunny Coast!

The backgrounds are drying, but slowly in the late winter sun….

so only a couple of pics to show detail, and little else.

Rather than the overblown flash images, I settled for noisy saturated ones