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Test Items October 2016 Page 2 (from August) Page 1 Page 2 |
But here's some more test items you may find interesting.
Simulated Beaded Sections.Many bridles and halters have a section of beads along the cheek straps. I thought I'd try putting together a simulated "beaded" section to be inserted between the leather pieces...
Two versions are shown on leather. The top one has the leather wrap around little loops on either end. The bottom sample has little square ends that were attached by super-glue on top of the leather ends.
The far right picture shows the scale of various samples when compared to a standard penny.
On the lower row, the left image shows some 'bead strands'. With this shape, these can be carefully bent and curved to shapes (such as for an earpiece) and cut to the desired length.
The middle and right pictures show the detail of some various designs and arrangements of what could be possible.
You'll have to let us know if you are interested in any of these ideas in the future!
Concho TestsHere we have some tests to see how things would look. Diamonds, alternative sizes of the "Iberico" conchos and a Star alternate are shown.
We are looking at possibly producing the diamonds (and maybe squares and rounds) in strips that you can cut to the proper length and attach to bridles, breastcollars, line the borders of saddles with, etc.
We also tested some alternative sizes of the Iberico conchos, to see how they would hold up larger. We might offer these in concho sheets or graduated racks ultimately.
The Star is a test to see how it would look for a new star theme at a future date.
One-Ear piece testThis item was crafted with a curved piece with extra long "tabs" on each end, that were bent under to form loops. The loops thread onto lace (3/32" shown here) to create a sliding earpiece for a bridle.
Mini StirrupsThese tests are concepts on what might be possible to create some lovely decorated western stirrups in mini scales such as stablemate, little bit & pebbles sizes.
While some adjustments need to be made in the engineering aspects, you can see how these stirrup "blanks" are easily bent into a stirrup shape. Properly outfitted, you'd use a stick pin for the bar across the top to run the leathers around. Sizes are approximate for Stablemate and Pebbles scales.
Mini Saddle PlatesWe thought we'd take a stab at some ultra-small saddle plates for use on smaller sizes. What we came up with was a set of 4, from large to small, in hopes that the sizes would fit the purpose for various scales and looks in whatever combination desired.
The left picture shows the 4 sizes of plates. One of our customers confirms that the 3 smaller sizes work great for stablemate scale (using the largest of those three for the main rear corner plate and the others on the upper skirt, and seat/jockey pieces).
The middle is just a mockup of a glue-on breastcollar center plate
The right photo shows the corner plates, center plates and bits together.
Mini Bits, Hooks & BucklesThe bit was just a "generic small bit" to see what might be done, and where things needed to go regarding specific sizes. Rachel Mitchell tested the bit on a bridle (along with a 1/16" deco heel-bar buckle) on a Pebbles mold, to check for size. What do you think?
On the bottom row, we tested some tiny hooks. Some of these are already to be found on the new Deco Heel-Bar buckle sheets. They can be used for small scales, or as rein clips and whatever else on larger scales as well.
The middle picture shows one of the tiny hooks mounted on a 1/16" leather strip, with the hook portion gently turned about 90°.
The right-most picture shows a small buckle test. These were supposed to be for something narrower than 1/16", however, due to the vagaries of production, they didn't come out sturdy enough for actual use (and not at all in some places.) We're not sure we're going to get very far on mini buckles of this type... but that's what we test for!
Arabian End Cap IdeaMelissa Halvas came up with a great idea for the arabian "End Caps", that were originally intended to attach chains to, for nosebands. She turned them into additional "hangers" to attach chains, charms and beads to! Take a look!
Many of our customers are having a great time putting together the various Arabian items and charms together to create a fantastically beautiful array of horse jewelry pieces!
And this is the last recap of the August test items. We are hoping to get some of these items into production in the near future, but we need input from customers to know what items you need and want the most. Please let us know!
