Here are some photos of the engraving process involved in making blocks for embossing patterns in leather. Boxwood is used here, with the pattern engraved into the end grain, as is common with wood engraving for printing.

The tool here is made from an old file, re-forged, shaped and then hardened and tempered to achieve the proper hardness.The effect used here is a ‘v’ grove, which is fairly easy to engrave in negative but would be very difficult to actually carve the positive, or the result of the embossing in leather as in the following photo.

Another pattern, this time more complex engraving required to achieve the weaving effect of the design. A piece of beeswax is used as a proof of the engraving. This sort of engraving is very interesting because it is the absence of material that is sought after, not the material itself. The deeper we carve here, the higher the relief is on the embossing. It is like the riddle: “What is it, the more you take away from it, the bigger it gets?”  (a hole)And a sample of the embossed leather:

African Blackwood also mpingo in the Swahili of Tanzania and Grenadilla in the woodwind music instrument field. It is found mainly in Tanzania and Mozambique and less readily in southern and eastern Africa. The ‘blackwood’ in the name refers to the reddish to pure black, strong, lustrous heartwood of the tree.

Not as one would imagine, does mpingo grow in thick groves, but in solitary units due to its inability to compete successfully with other plants. It takes about sixty years to produce a commercially viable specimen (straight trunk, large diameter), and today there is an estimated 3 million trees, with only 20% or 600, 000 of them suitable for harvesting. In the market, the wood can be found in different grades, depending on the use, with Grade A often calling for a hefty sum.

The wood is commonly used for musical instruments as it is strong, moisture absorbent and withstands the carving process. It may also be used for knife handles, boxes, jewellery, furniture, bowls and ornamental objects.

In our case, it is used for carving prayer beads, one of the most noble uses that a wood can be put to. In the pictures below, you can see the slightly reddish tint that may appear in different samples. Click on the following links to see the misbahas that we offer in this wood.

African Blackwood Traveller 7mm
Darqawi Blackwood 10mm

Amber. A beautiful semi-precious stone, whose colours range from white, through yellow-orange to blue, red and black.  It is a lightweight material and is used in ornamental pieces, folk medicine and rarely, perfume. Much of the amber mined today originates from rocks of the Cretaceous period or before, some as early as the Upper Carboniferous period, making it at least 65.5 to 320 million years old.

It is formed when sap oozes from a tree, pouring down to entrap insects, debris, feathers and other organic material; overtime and under the influence of heat and pressure, fossilising to become an object of high value.

Each amber stone containing organic material is a moment in time, perfectly captured, priceless to the science of paleogeography. The unfosslised specimans are helpful in constructing ecosystems and organisms of the ancient world, long gone. For this reason, pieces of amber containing complete specimens are rare and command a high price.

Amber is harvested at seas by hand, by diving or dredging. Ninety percent of amber is extracted from the ‘Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia on the Baltic Sea’*, although it can be found all over the world.

Insect in Amber Finial Cap

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber#Appearance
http://www.bernardine.com/gemstones/amber.htm

The aforementioned Facebook contest is here! Why isn’t it on Facebook you ask? This is our first one and it’s a little easier to run it this way, so we hope our loyal,  wonderful fans and fans-to-be can still track us down.

Here’s the contest – we’re very excited to announce it, we can barely keep from telling you how excited we are.

Your UNS Product Contest

Take a picture of your UNS product in use, in its daily life, in motion to get a have the chance to win one of three prizes!

We are looking for high quality pictures reflecting the role of the UNS product in your life or its significance to you. For example, you can take a picture of your misbaha on a colourful arrangment, or your perfume bottle in the sun, or a pendant hanging from your rearview mirror.

How to Enter:
1. Go to www.facebook.com/unsfinecrafts and Like our page.
2. Email your picture to uns@unsfinecrafts.com

Prizes:
1st place: Camel Ivory 10mm Ornate
2nd place: Ya Hu Pendant
3rd place: Divani Mashallah II

Contest Dates:
Start: January 2nd
End: January 25th
Winners Announced: by January 31st in Newsletter and on Facebook.

Conditions of Entry:
Each person may enter one picture only. It may be taken anywhere, in colour, black and white, sepia or using other camera effects, but must not include full shots of animals or people.

Images should not be highly digitalised or altered beyond standard optimisation of enhancing colour, lighting, removing dust or cropping.

Images will be judged based on the above criteria as well as originality, composition and overall impact. The judges will select the winner(s) based on their discretion and all decisions are final.

All contestants must be fans of the Uns Fine Crafts Facebook Page and be over 18 years of age. Any entries not meeting this criteria will be disqualified.  Any or all of the pictures will be uploaded to our Facebook page, and all contestants agree to the use of their pictures for promotinal purposes.

A lot goes into Uns products, more than is apparent from outward appearances. That is why we have decided to provide some glimpses from our own workshops and those of some of the craftsmen we work with. Our products are crafted by individuals and each piece has a story which helps us to fully appreciate the final pieces.

Hand-Piercing the Original for an UNS Pendant