Happy Bissextile Day!

threepointsdesign — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:12:36 +0000

In keeping with my New Year’s resolution I’m trying to get up one new blog post every month, and since the Gregorian calendar was kind enough to offer up one extra day this month I figured why not post on the 29th of February, Bissextile day. Here’s the wikipedia article if you need some light reading about leap shifting of the Gregorian calendar. I myself couldn’t get enough, and fully scanned the article for a complete ten seconds before ‘leaping’ back to more important, non-intercalary matters.

Half the studio returned from the Denver showroom yesterday (thanks Southwest!)and we will have more good news to share. But it will have to wait until all the ‘i’s are dotted and the ‘t’s crossed. But I can offer up a small teaser – our work won’t be seen in just one national mail order catalog this year….

Enough for now. There’s owls waiting to be carved.

Thanks for visiting.
Jac

January Update

threepointsdesign — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:02:26 +0000

Since I haven’t added a new post on the site in a few months AND since one of my New Year’s resolutions was to add at least a post a month I figured it was time.

I was tempted to title this ‘Owl-pocalypse’ due to this:

Recognize anything familiar? Those Owls maybe? Those are ours, and the catalog they were featured in was Pendleton Home Catalog. So thanks to Pendleton we spent the period from August 2011 to, well, now, making owls. And more owls.

And our Owls aren’t just popular with Pendleton’s clients. The new items we designed for Lancaster Market are out now, and guess what? More Owls!

Two new Lancaster Market Owls

We worked hard to make sure our owl designs are different from our hand-crafted owls. If you look close, you’ll see that our hand-carved owls have hand-blown crystal eyes, and are much larger than our mass produced, cast owls. Our hand-crafted owls also come in many different paint patterns based on the different species of Owls. We’ve always branded our hand carved pieces, but now we add a special logo sticker to the backs of every piece just to make sure there’s no confusion about where an item of ours originated.

We’ve got a few other Owl related news as well. The images below are of our newest Owl creations- Flying Owls. These are based on a famous Native American pictograph/petroglyph inscribed on a rock in Colorado.

Flying Barn Owl - wall mount

These were fun to make. They have hand-carved faces; carved deep for more personality, with the aforementioned crystal eyes and wings hand cut from tin salvaged from an old barn here on the farm. The two pictured are a Snowy Owl and a Barn Owl, but they could (and probably will) be painted in every species imaginable.

Since I’m on a roll with the web stuff today I’ve also updated our 2012 show schedule here. Keep an eye on it as we may add or drop some fall shows depending what our loyal customers order from Pendleton’s 2012 Home Catalog, which will feature some exclusive items we’ve designed just for them. Check in periodically for details.
Jac

Small Friends on Nantucket Show-Preview

threepointsdesign — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:28:49 +0000

It’s that time again – July on Nantucket. That could mean lots of things; the Glorious Fourth of July, Karaoke at the Rose and Crown, shopping at Nantucket Looms, Pizza from the Muse, partying at the Chicken Box and traffic at the Rotary. But for us it means it’s time for the Small Friends on Nantucket show at Bartlett’s Farm!

2011 Small Friends on Nantucket show card

We’ll be at the show for the 18th straight year (a number which really surprises me) and have a lot of original and new work for sale. The show benefits Small Friends on Nantucket, a great organization that seeks to enhance the quality of life for families and meet the needs of working parents by providing the highest quality early education and care for the children of Nantucket year-round, regardless of financial ability. There is a preview party Thursday night, with the show opening to the public Friday morning. The only change this year from years previous is that the show will be running through Sunday. It will cut into our beach and shopping time, but we’re more than willing to make the sacrifice for Small Friends. Tickets are available in advance and at the door, and we hope to see everyone on the island stop by.

Before I go – here’s a preview of one of our new pieces:

60" Hand carved, hand painted Redfish

Hope to see you there!

Jac

Dismal Swamp Stomp Time Again!

threepointsdesign — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 14:48:32 +0000

That’s right, it’s time once again for the Annual Dismal Swamp Stomp half marathon. We were honored again this year to be asked to provide the awards for the winners – carved Herons on driftwood in two different sizes.

Medium and Small Herons for the Dismal Swamp Stomp

Good luck to all the participants this year, and many thanks to Kale Running and the city of Chesapeake, Va for choosing us to provide the awards.

More updates soon, I promise.

Jac

It’s almost April Fool’s Day…

threepointsdesign — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 02:55:41 +0000

…but that’s not the exciting news. The exciting news is that’s it’s also First Friday at City Folk Gallery in Lancaster PA!

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

I’ll wait to add images of the new work. I want Karen at City Folk to have the pleasure of unveiling the new pieces we created for the show.

I’ll also be adding another update or two soon…or I should say as soon as our workload lightens up a bit.

If you do happen to be in the Lancaster area of Pennsylvania City Folk really is worth a visit. From garden fountains to salvaged architectural elements to original works of art, the gallery has a great selection of eclectic items that can really make a distinctive house a stylish and original home. And of course you can see our work there all through the month of April, April Fool’s day included

More later…

Jac

All set up for the Historic Home/Designer Craftsman Show!

threepointsdesign — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 20:41:22 +0000

2011 Historic Home Show/Designer Craftsman Show

If you happen to be around the Valley Forge area this weekend please stop by. The show looks better than ever!

Remembering Mac

threepointsdesign — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 04:44:48 +0000

Last Sunday morning about 1:30 my great Uncle Mac passed away. He was one week away from his 95th birthday.

I wasn’t that close to him. To say that we belonged to different generations would be an understatement. He was 55 the year I was born. I saw him at the family Christmas party, and at his (infrequent) birthday parties. The generation gap was part of it, but not all. For one thing Uncle Mac was deaf. Stone deaf. Carrying a conversation with him required a lot of patience and hand gestures. And paper and pen if handy. For another he was uncomfortable around people.

Uncle Mac was widely known in the family to be brilliant. He graduated from George Mason and MIT, and wrote his dissertation on acoustical phenomenon that I can barely pronounce, much less understand. But, like a lot of brilliant people Uncle Mac had his mental demons. He was slightly schizophrenic, and dealing with people could be difficult for him. He was happiest ensconced in his little brick house working on his genealogy entries on an aging PC. When my two little ones were born Uncle Mac made sure to get their info to add to his database. He was forever fascinated with where ‘we’ came from, who in town was related, and to whom. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to live out his time happy in his own home as he had wished, but he did live his life as he wanted.

The reason I wanted to do this blog entry was to honor the Uncle Mac I never knew. My great Uncle served in the Navy in World War Two. He was the Commanding Officer of the US Navy Ship Jacona.

The Jacona was a US Ship built as a bulk carrier that was modified in Hampton Roads as a floating power plant. The ‘guts’ of the ship were removed and generators, power regulating equipment and fuel tanks were installed. After modification she had a generating capacity of 2oK Kilowatts, and she saw action in the Pacific theater of the war, finally ending the conflict by providing power to the devastated Japanese city of Nagasaki. The Jacona was decommissioned in 1971 and transferred to the Phillipine Government.

What struck me when reading about my Great Uncle’s service in the war was how important he was to the working of the Jacona, and by extension how he helped provide power to the citizens of Nagasaki after the end of the conflict. I had no idea, and no one in the family really talked about their service. My Grandfather served in the Army and helper repatriate US POW’s, and my other great Uncle, Uncle Frank served with distinction in the Navy in the Pacific. The WWII generation may truly be the greatest generation, and by my posting this online it’s my hope that my Uncle Mac’s service may be remembered for as long as the internet holds it’s bits and bytes together.

RIP Uncle Mac.

Marion Austin Mac Cross, Jr., 94, died January 23, 2011.A native of Suffolk he was a son of the late Evelyn H. and Marion Austin Cross, Sr. and was predeceased by a sister Mary Evelyn Cross Hayes and a brother Joseph Milton Cross. Mac served in the Navy in World War II. He was retired as President of Nansemond Grocery Co.

Mac received degrees from both MIT and Randolph-Macon College. In 1938 he worked the Richmond District for VEPCO in System Engineering Department and Commercial Engineering. March 1, 1942 he was assigned Plant Shops Superintendent Department in Portsmouth. In December 1942 he transferred to the Norfolk Naval Operating Station and in 1943 to the Berkley Ship Yard Group. In December 1944 Mac was transferred to Pearl Harbor as Naval Yard Electrical Ship Superintendent. Pearl Harbor was his second tour as commanding officer of a Floating Power Plant the JACONA. In 1946 he returned to Suffolk serving as Secretary and Vice-President and later President of Nansemond Grocery Co. Mac was a former Rotarian and a life long member of Main Street United Methodist Church.

Survivors include a sister, Emily Cross Jones of St. Augustine, FL and two brothers J. Frank Cross of Suffolk and Wilbur Rawles Cross of Winston-Salem, NC. Several nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be conducted Thursday at 2:00 PM at the graveside in Cedar Hill Cemetery by the Rev. Robert J. Parks. Memorial Donations may be made to Main Street United Methodist Church 202 N. Main St., Suffolk, VA 23434. Condolences may be registered at www.rwbaker.com.

What will you be doing July 17th, 2011?

threepointsdesign — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 04:09:07 +0000

For the first time in 20 years Three Points Design (and the rest of the artists who exhibit) will be open for business at the Small Friends on Nantucket Folk Art and Artisan show!

We just received the info from the Event Under the Tent committee and for the first time ever we will be open and showing our work through Sunday, July 17th at the Event Under the Tent to benefit Small Friends on Nantucket at Bartlett Farms. In addition to the extra day, and in honor of the 20th anniversary, the Event Under the Tent will have extended Preview Party hours opening night, Thursday July 14th, from 6 to 10pm instead of the traditional 8pm.

This is the largest fundraiser for Small Friends on Nantucket and as such the organizers want to make sure that everyone who wants to stop by Bartlett Farms to see the show has the opportunity. In the past the Saturday to Saturday rentals and homeowners have missed the show due to the difficulty of getting to the rental/home and then unpacking, getting groceries etc. and then trying to get to the show before it closed. Believe me, after 20yrs of exhibiting at the show (and renting a house for the week before), for both Saturday to Saturday rentals and Sunday to Sunday rentals turnover day is hectic and stressful. So by staying open one more day we hope that we can draw more people, and thereby more donations, to a very worthy cause.

The official dates and times:

Thursday, July 14th, 6pm to 10pm – Preview Party Ticket required.

Friday, July 15^th 9:30am to 6pm

Saturday, July 16^th 9:30am to 5pm

Sunday, July 17^th 9:30am to 3:30pm

I’ll add some images and more info when time (and workload) permits. If you’d like more info about the show you can email or call us or contact Becky or Stephanie at Nantucket Loom.

Hope to see y’all there!

Jac

Housekeeping Post

threepointsdesign — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 02:59:44 +0000

If image folders could gather pixelated cobwebs then the one on our showroom desktop labeled ‘New Images’ would make a suitable prop for a creepy mad-scientist’s desk in some corner basement lab of an old haunted Victorian. I had wanted to go through the- by now hilariously mislabeled- ‘New’ folder on December 26th, the day after Christmas. But that day will now be known in Southeastern VA as the ‘snowpocalypse’. We only received 10″ of snow here on the farm, but some areas of VB got 18″ or more. So when I looked out on the Morning of the 26th and saw this:

Snow- or as we call it here - total shutdown

I had second thoughts. Even though the studio is right around to the left about 60 feet or so staying in and playing with the new Christmas toys was preferable to tromping through the snow. I figured that work on images in the ‘New’ Folder could keep.

So fast forward to the 17th of January. My procrastination means that now I literally need to get these images up on the website as soon as possible so that I can clear 2010 from the cobwebbed file to make room for the new work we’re doing for the Designer Craftsman show in early Feb.

I’ll start off the belated ‘update’ in early fall, when we launched a show schedule of five shows in five states in only two months, a schedule that would make even an old-timey traveling revival preacher raise his eyebrows. First in October we did the Art on the Square show in Williamsburg, VA where we debuted this item:

Leaping White Stag

I did this design as an update on our popular brown Leaping Stag design. The white version above has more pronounced antlers and a smaller, weather vane style base. We eventually sent this particular one off to be the window display for Country Shop in Winnetka, IL.

After the Williamsburg show it was on to Atlanta where we did the Country Living show at Stone Mountain. At that show we did another new item, a Noah’s Ark Triptych:

Noah's Ark Triptych-click image for full size

The great thing about this design (if I do say so myself) is that the middle section is carved hollow with moving doors so the animals can be stored and displayed inside. It is almost seven feet long by 24″ high and 3 1/2″ deep and has eight pairs of custom carved and painted animal with more custom painted on the backgrounds.

After the Atlanta show we motored up I-95 to Massachusetts for the Marlborough show Halloween weekend. It’s an enjoyable show to do, and it gave me a chance to make a couple of pieces that I didn’t get to for the Nantucket show in July. Like this one:

Whale Weathervane -wall mount

After the trip home from the Boston show it was time to get ready for Wilton. The Wilton show has had its ups and downs recently, but it has always been a good show for us. But, one of the problems of doing a show year-after-year is that it gets harder and harder to ‘impress’ the audience. So for the Wilton show this past year I did this, which is…

Brown Koi in swimming pose

…a Koi fish I based on an old mercury glass ornament from 19thc. Germany. By the time I was done carving it the fish topped out at six feet long and almost three feet high. And while I’m thinking about it, thanks to Nick at Nathan’s Forge for rushing to get the beefy wall brackets done before the show. Otherwise this would’ve been a very well carved floor mat -since it weighed in about 75 pounds or so and almost impossible to hang without the brackets. Unfortunately we weren’t able to sell in in Connecticut, but it did find a new home at City Folk Gallery in Lancaster Pa.

And last but my no means least – we did the annual Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia holiday Boutique at the Merion Cricket Club. If you’ve never attended the show you really should make a point to do so next December. 25% of the sales from the Boutique go directly to the Children’s Hospital of Philly, and there is some really great stuff for sale. And I’m not just saying that because we were invited, we also did quite a bit of shopping there ourselves. For instance, we love the cashmere clothing from Island Outfitters, and Tricia bought some great beachwear from Johnnie-O out of California.

Since we were in a big area for hunting and equestrian pursuits we carved this:

Fox Weathervane wall hanging

This is a four foot long hand carved Fox on a custom steel wall mount. We had a lot of interest in it and thanks to it (and quite a few other works of art) we raised a respectable amount of money for the Children’s Hospital.

That’s it for now. I’ve got a bunch more images to crop, clean up and post on the website but it will need to wait for another moment of free time.

Keep an eye on this space for more updates on our show schedule for 2011. The first one this year will be the Designer Craftsman show in Valley Forge PA coming up in Feb. Details to follow.

Happy MLK day!

Jac

Our (first) News of 2011!

threepointsdesign — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 19:33:29 +0000

Our News for 2011?

We’re designing for Lancaster Market!

If you’ve ever seen one of these:

Church Card Holder

…or bought one (Thank you if you did!) then it might surprise you to know that we designed it. It and hundreds of other items over the last ten years.

Some of you may know we’ve been licensing some of our ideas going all the way back to 2000 or so. We never really hid that information, but neither did we advertise it. Our adventure in licensing started back in the late ’90′s. We were exhibiting at a trade show in Philadelphia in ’98 or ’99 and Tricia and I counted about eight or ten booths that carried direct copies (or items derivative of ideas) we had originated. Needless to say it was a bit frustrating and discouraging. After checking with our attorneys we discovered that pursuing legal action against the myriad businesses that were using our ‘property’ illegally was just not economically feasible. So when we were approached to design for a company here in Southside Virginia we jumped at the chance. We figured that if so many companies were copying us then we must be doing something right. We created quite a few popular items in those ten years, along with some that didn’t quite find the market that we hoped for. But all in all those nine years or so gave us a valuable education in what worked and what didn’t. From those years of design experience we were able to tailor our handcrafted work to be less like the work being imported from overseas, which lead directly to the ‘Commissioned’ segment of our business.

We met Lancaster Market at a similar trade show about ten years later and found that we had similar tastes and goals. Starting early in 2010 we started designing the first of the items featured, the ‘Night Owls’. Incidentally I’m fairly confident that they garnered that name from my habit of emailing and updating our website after midnight – although they deny that Other creations flowed naturally from the collaboration, including the Christmas Caribou and some fun ‘Jac’ -o-lanterns. There are more coming, but I’ll let Lancaster Market spring the surprises.

Over the last ten years we have worked hard to keep our handcrafted work separate from our design work. We may sell some our design items but we will always let you know, clearly and obviously. The items we design for mass production are items we couldn’t make here in our studio efficiently or economically enough to compete with off-shore labor, but don’t want to leave on the drawing board.

Make sure you check out their website and let us know what you think.