This Weeks Handmade Products Spotlight

DM Production and Sales

Bringing The Past To The Present Since 1988

In these days of mass produced products, it’s easy to forget that long before the days of mass production, things were made by hand. Some may think these skills have been forgotten but that is far from the truth. Each week we will be featuring a fellow crafter and their work in our blog. Our goal is to acquaint the reader with some of the thousands of skilled and talented crafters who produce handmade products that are special and fantastic values.

This Weeks Handmade Products Spotlight

The art of pottery making is a craft with a very long history. At one time, most pottery created was more of a utilitarian necessity than any thing else. When you are just scrapping out a living on a day to day basis, eating and storage vessels are more important than decorating your stick or mud hut. As skills and techniques developed so did the complexity and diversity of the types and styles of pottery develop. Today, these skills and techniques are seen in today’s pottery makers.

One of our favorite pottery crafters is Judy Nevius. Her shop on Etsy JNPottery (http://jnpottery.etsy.com) is a great example of functionality and style. I asked her to tell us a little bit about herself and her work. “I've been making things from clay for 7 years, and I can't stop! I make pieces that are functional, and I hope also decorative. I am extremely pleased when someone tells me that they use my pottery on a regular basis. Isn't that what it's all about? Except for raku, all of the glazes are food safe. Pieces are oven and dishwasher safe and most can be put into a microwave. I sell pottery on Etsy and at local craft venues. I love making these pieces, but I get even greater joy from people using and enjoying them.”

Some other samples of her many pieces

If you like really great pottery that is not only useful but great looking, we encourage you to check out Judy’s shop on Etsy.

Our Etsy Store Is Our Flag Ship Store For All Our New Products
Visit Any Of Our Stores Today For Fantastic Savings On Country Rustic & Primitive Home Décor

http://www.dmpmc.net
http://dmproductionandsales.etsy.com
http://dmproductionandsales.ecrater.com
http://www.auctionquests.com/stores/dmpmc

ITEMS IN OUR ETSY STORE

Copyright © 1988-2008, New Creations Consulting, LLC / DM Production and Sales

All rights reserved

Sales@dmpmc.net www.dmpmc.net

DM Production and Sales

Bringing The Past To The Present Since 1988

GET YOUR FREE COPY OF OUR INVENTORY TRACKING PROGRAM

For many smaller or part time on line sellers, keeping track of their inventory, production cost and customers can be a problem unless they have elaborate accounting software. If you are an on line seller who makes their own products and who is looking for a simple yet effective program for tracking your Production Costs, Control Your Inventory and Manage Your Customers and track their purchases? If so, check out our Inventory Tracking Program. You can download the free program at the bottom of the Hand Made Directory page on our company web site.

Our Etsy Store Is Our Flag Ship Store For All Our New Products

Visit Any Of Our Stores Today For Fantastic Savings On Country Rustic & Primitive Home Décor

http://www.dmpmc.net
http://dmproductionandsales.etsy.com
http://dmproductionandsales.ecrater.com
http://www.auctionquests.com/stores/dmpmc

ITEMS IN OUR ETSY STORE

Copyright © 1988-2008, New Creations Consulting, LLC / DM Production and Sales

All rights reserved

Sales@dmpmc.net www.dmpmc.net

So You Want A Custom Piece Built!

DM Production and Sales
Bringing The Past To The Present Since 1988

Having Custom Country Rustic & Primitive Home Décor Pieces Made

Can’t find what you are looking for? Seems hard to believe with all the various pieces of Country Rustic & Primitive Home Décor that are floating around these days that people actually have custom pieces made. The fact is that they do. Often the reason is that the customer wants to reproduce something that they had in their home when they were a child or possibly something from a picture found in an old family album. What ever the reason, more and more people are having custom pieces made.

I thought I would take a few minutes and offer some advise should the reader be considering having a custom piece produced. First of all, one of the best ways to save yourself some money is by doing your home work. Learn as much as possible about the piece you are planning on having built. If you have or can obtain a picture of what you want, even better yet. Any good craftsmen is going to do some home work themselves about the piece. This can become expensive. If you have all the information the craftsman needs already, you can save several hours of research costs. Another advantage of having your homework done is that it allows you to shop around for the best price.

The second thing is that you need to be realistic about the amount of time it takes to produce the piece. Rush jobs will cost you considerably more. The time necessary to produce any given piece is of course going to be determined to a great degree by the piece’s complexity and size. Time frames can run from as little as a couple of days for small simple pieces up to weeks for more elaborate or larger pieces.

Listen to the craftsman you choose. They will have many years of experience and are more than willing to give you recommendations about wood type, finishes, hardware and other aspects of the piece you are planning on having made. Don’t hesitate to offer suggestions but it is really important to consider the craftsman as an artist. Most of us are slightly on the temperamental side and are pretty set in our ways when it comes to our work. We encourage questions and suggestions. Just remember that we are not always going to agree with what you suggest. It’s just that we have been doing this for so many years that we have developed an instinct for building these types of items. We have also had the unfortunate experience of following the customer’s suggestions to the letter more than once, and again our better judgment, and having the customer dissatisfied at the outcome.


Our Etsy Store Is Our Flag Ship Store For All Our New Products
Visit Any Of Our Stores Today For Fantastic Savings On Country Rustic & Primitive Home Décor
http://www.dmpmc.net
http://dmproductionandsales.etsy.com
http://dmproductionandsales.ecrater.com
http://www.auctionquests.com/stores/dmpmc

ITEMS IN OUR ETSY STORE

Copyright © 1988-2008, New Creations Consulting, LLC / DM Production and Sales
All rights reserved
Sales@dmpmc.net www.dmpmc.net

New Blog Feature Starting Feb 11, 2008

DM Production and Sales

Bringing The Past To The Present Since 1988

New Blog Feature Starting Feb 11, 2008

There are thousands of internet stores to window shop in these days. The average person has such a wide selection of merchandise to purchase from that finding something of real quality can often be a problem. So many on line stores seem to carry the run of the mill mass produced material which the shopper can find in almost any Wal-mart these days. I guess this is fine for some people, but if you are looking for something really special. Something that is really unique. Something that doesn’t look like it just came off the ship from China. You can be in for a great deal of searching.

This doesn’t have to be the case however. There is a vast community on the internet that specializes in producing quality products that are not mass produced. The question for the shopper is “Where are they and how do I find them?” To help answer that question, we will be starting a weekly section in our blog which features various crafters who produce and sell handmade products. The name of this section is “Handmade Product Spotlight” We encourage you to visit those who also hand craft unique products with quality and value. You may also check out the “Hand Made Product Directory” to find that special item.

If you produce handmade products for sale and would like to be considered for inclusion in the “Handmade Crafters Spotlight” in our blog, please contact us at spotlight@dmpmc.net with the following information.

Your company (or your) name:

Your complete web address:

Your email address:

The types of products you produce:

A short bio or promo for you store (max 100 words):

We will be happy to review your store and products for possible inclusion. Because of the number of requests we get, we can not guarantee to Spotlight any particular store nor do we guarantee when it may be featured.

Visit Our Stores Today For Fantastic Savings On Country Rustic & Primitive Home Décor

http://www.dmpmc.net
http://dmproductionandsales.etsy.com
http://dmproductionandsales.ecrater.com
http://www.auctionquests.com/stores/dmpmc

ITEMS IN OUR ETSY STORE

Copyright © 1988-2008, DM Production & Sales All rights reserved.

Sales@dmpmc.net www.dmpmc.net

Decorating With Country Primitive

DM Production and Sales
Bringing The Past To The Present Since 1988

Decorating With Country Primitive
Make That Room Your Own Cozy Corner

All one has to do is spend about 30 minutes on the internet to see that there are many fantastic items available on the market you can use to create the perfect primitive themed room. What is really nice is that most of these items are inexpensive.

If you really want to get down to basics, primitive home décor is based on cottage and rustic themes. The idea behind all of these room styles is to give the room a simple, yet inviting and warm "lived-in" feeling. The following example should give the reader a better understanding of how you can achieve the primitive home look.

Simple Furniture - When selecting furniture for primitive home decor, you will want to stay with pieces such as benches, coffee tables, and end tables that are made of unfinished wood. Try to use plain wood furniture that has gouges, scratches, chips, and is worn in places, this is an excellent way to keep the room looking authentic.

Giving Your Walls That Rustic look - Primitive home decor coloring for your walls are usually in warm rustic shades of light to dark brown, golden yellows, bronze, reddish-brown and terracotta.

If you want to, you can add some interesting paint affect to your walls by using some faux painting by sponging or using rag rolling to create a stony or rippled look on the walls.

Don’t Forget Your Flooring - Floors can be wood, tiles or wall to wall carpeting. If you have wood you can paint it to create a worn look, tiles can be made to look like rocks or stones, and if you have carpet stick to the brown tones.

What About Your Upholstered Pieces? - As for the upholstery that you will use for your sofa and chairs in the room, an inexpensive tack is to create slip covers that are made from faded sheets or light blankets, with patterns of floral or nature designs. An interesting affect can be achieved by tea-staining sheets to give them a more rustic feel.

Remember To Use Wall Art – There is no end to the variation that can be used here. Some interesting wall art ideas that you can use to add to the primitive decor in your room includes paintings of country scenery, botanicals or animals, as well as family pictures that are done in detail.

Think about putting all of your pictures and paintings in tarnished or unfinished wood frames. Wood carvings, a quilt and animal antlers are also good wall art ideas.

Windows Don’t Have To Be A Problem - Usually windows do not require much attention. If privacy is an issue, use a plain beige roll shade to cover the window, and then add plain tweed, or wool curtains to add the authentic primitive touch.

Using Accessories – Some ideas of primitive décor accessories that you may wish to add to your living room could be plants that you can place in an old fashioned wheelbarrow, or in chipped unpainted pottery vases. Old fashioned farm tools, as well as an oil lamp for authenticity can also add some great emphasis to any room.

Just be creative. Your goal when it comes to your primitive decor, is to create a room that is friendly, inviting and fun for the whole family to enjoy.

Visit Our Stores Today For Fantastic Savings On Country Rustic & Primitive Home Décor
http://www.dmpmc.net
http://dmproductionandsales.etsy.com
http://dmproductionandsales.ecrater.com
http://www.ioffer.com/shops/dmpmc
http://www.auctionquests.com/stores/dmpmc

ITEMS IN OUR ETSY STORE

Copyright © 1988-2008, DM Production & Sales All rights reserved.

Sales@dmpmc.net www.dmpmc.net

DM Production and Sales

Bringing The Past To The Present Since 1988

Primitive Decorating... just what it is.

Often primitive decorating is thought of as part flea market finds, part shabby chic, part make-do. Our grandchildren, when they were real young, called it Early Caveman. Sometimes it involve antiques or yard sale finds. Other times you have to buy something new and forcefully age the pieces. As of late, primitive country decor has taken a bit of a new twist. Often called Upscale Country or Country Revisited. Primitive pieces are created new, then distressed to look old. For some reason many think this is a new thing when in reality it is decades old. You can find many great examples in our stores.

Because someone decided to put a fancy name of this process these types of items often are very expensive. The real fact is that many pieces you will find in stores are radically over priced. You see you really don't have to spend a lot of money at these specialty Primitive Decorating stores not as long as you've got time on your hands and a few basic items to work with.

Making Your Own Primitive Decor

There are two basic ways to start. One is to make your own pieces cheaply with primitive decorating you will need to invest the time into scouting out some classic older pieces at flea markets, second hand stores and auctions. The Second is to produce the piece completely from scratch. Build it yourself. Since for the vast majority of people, this simply is out of the question, we will focus on the first method which also happens to be the easiest.

Let me make this one very important statement to start with. What ever you create, you will be the one living with it. That being the case, make it look the way you want it to and like. Don’t worry about whether others may think. This is truly an art form and as such, your imagination, likes and dislikes are the only things that will matter.

Once you have the furniture or wood piece (and by the way, you don’t have to stick with just wood items either) at home you may like to repair wobbly legs, apply a faux finish, change the color, apply a little crackling mixture from your local home decorating store if you like, and so on. You are really only limited by your imagination. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Some of our best techniques came about by simply trying something new and different. Soon you'll have the down-home appeal that is 100% to your tastes and matching your current color schemes already present in your home.

We will be starting a series in the next couple of weeks on the “How To’s” of making your own pieces along with many tips and techniques we have developed over the decades.

A Quick Note On Decorating Country Primitive

There really isn’t any hard and fast rules in this area. It all begins with inspiration and learning, decorating with what you already have and a passion for decorating. Our home is very primitive (partly because it is just plain old). Mostly however because we made it look that way. Not over night either. It takes time and is often an on-going process. Inside, the furnishings and decorations are a mixture of many different time periods pre 1900.

I have a difficult time calling it Upscale Country or Country Revisited. To me it is just US. What we like. If you work at it, that’s what you will be able to say about your home when you are done.

Visit Our Stores Today For Fantastic Savings On Country Rustic & Primitive Home Décor

http://www.dmpmc.net
http://dmproductionandsales.etsy.com
http://www.auctionquests.com/stores/dmpmc
http://dmproductionandsales.ecrater.com

ITEMS IN OUR ETSY STORE

Copyright © 1988-2008, DM Production & Sales All rights reserved.

Sales@dmpmc.net www.dmpmc.net

The Art Of Creating Country Rustic & Primitive Home Décor - How We Create Our Unique Items

DM Production and Sales
Bringing The Past To The Present Since 1988

VALENTINES DAY SALE (1/1/08 thru 1/14/08)
ALL COUNTRY PRIMITIVE JEWELRY IN OUR ETSY SHOP ARE ONLY $10.00 ea

The Art Of Creating Country Rustic & Primitive Home Décor - How We Create Our Unique Items

Many of our customers are surprised about the amount of detail to authenticity our products exhibit. Hopefully this article will provide the reader and our customer with some details about how our unique products are created and hopefully answer some questions they may have as to why our products look so authentic.

As you are aware, DM Production and Sales specializes in creating Home Décor pieces that are reproductions of those originally made and produced centuries past. Creating a piece to look like it originally looked when it was first built isn’t difficult. Making it look like an authentic piece would actually look today is where the skill and craftsmanship comes in. It is much harder to accomplish this than most people think.

Besides the obvious research that must be done about any given piece produced, great care needs to be taken when selecting the wood one uses, the types of stains and finishes used, the glues and hardware used and many other factors. Care must be given to give the piece being produced the correct amount and type of simulated wear and use effect so it truly looks as old and used as it should look.

We start any project with research which tells us not only how the piece we are reproducing was originally made and the elements involved in its production. Then research must be done to determine how this items would actually look after 50, 100, 200 years of daily use. Once this is completed, we start with wood that is as close as possible in age to the original time period we are going to reproduce. We obtain much of our wood and lumber from historical preservation and restoration projects. This allows us the advantage of starting a project off on the right foot so to speak.

Once the actual physical construction of a piece is completed comes the difficult part. It’s not good enough to just slap some stain or other finish on the piece and call it good. We make many of our own stains and finishes. Often using century old formulas. This gives us an additional advantage when we begin to Age and Distress the piece. Knowing what type of finish to use and how much finish to use is also important as well as knowing where and when to carefully remove some of that finish to give the piece the proper aged look are techniques that we have developed over many years of trial and error.

Anyone can put dents and dings in a piece of wood. This doesn’t make it resemble what it should really resemble. This just makes it look banged up. Knowing where to place wear marks is important. They need to be in places that would have normally received more wear than other parts of the piece under normal daily use.

Another element that is often forgotten is the element of the weather. Pieces that would normally be used or located outside will have different and additional types of wear and weathering that wouldn’t normally be found on pieces that were usually kept indoors. For example, pieces that have been exposed to many years of weathering and no matter how well they are protected by finishes, will have tell-tail indicators of exposure such as cracks, splits and checks in the wood itself. Knowing where to put these aging elements take years of experience. These types of pieces will often show areas on them that have been sun-bleached (lighter areas that have been exposed to sunlight more than others. Add to this the normal daily wear from water (rain, ect.) and wind, dry heat, and humidity all must be taken into consideration.

Taking all these factors into consideration when we produce a piece is what makes our products special and unique. Providing our customers with items that they will cherish for many years.

Remember, when you are looking for something that really looks and feels like the past, think of
DM Production and Sales first. Custom work available upon request.

Visit Our Stores Today For Fantastic Savings On Country Rustic & Primitive Home Décor
http://www.dmpmc.net
http://dmproductionandsales.etsy.com
http://www.auctionquests.com/stores/dmpmc
http://dmproductionandsales.ecrater.com

ITEMS IN OUR ETSY STORE

Copyright © 1988-2008, DM Production & Sales All rights reserved.

Sales@dmpmc.net www.dmpmc.net