This gallery contains 7 photos.
Dividing the dome base Custom work is demanding. In this post I will try to give some idea of what goes into finalizing a design to meet the customer’s expectations. Above, I am working on a mock-up of the markers … Continue reading
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:
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.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber#Appearance
http://www.bernardine.com/gemstones/amber.htm
Welcoming the new year means many different things, some exciting, some not. Some people use this time to visit friends, remember the year that’s passed and others use their days off to sleep.
We don’t, because we don’t celebrate New Year.
The busy worker bees at UNS Fine Crafts do none of these things, our work doesn’t stop. That’s right, we’ve been working consistently, we worked through Christmas (altough we didn’t through last Eid), and we shall be working during the New Year’s break. Our think tank has been munching biscuits and drinking English Breakfast, while pressed up against the heater. The cat was a little bit neglected too. The hamster lounged in its cage; very little moves the hamster.
The result of which is a promise of a series of informative posts (we all of us like to be informed you see; that was our motivation), on the different materials used by the artist, Ibrahim Batchelder, to make his unique artistic products.
Starting with Amber.
(Also, stay tuned for many more surprises this year, including our Facebook contest to be announced in the next couple of days; be sure to Like us on Facebook to find out how you can win.)
“The great Persian theologian, Fakhrudin al-Razi, said that discoveries are without enjoyment if they are not shared.” – Shaykh Hamza Yusuf.
I would like to share something beautiful that reminds me of Allah and his mercy and the blessings he has bestowed upon us in Islam and Iman. To share the happiness of feeling the honour of knowing the Prophet (pbuh) 1400 years after his lifetime and the blessing of being accepted into the fold of Islam by Allah, the most generous.
My Sandal Pendant always lights up the moment I see it. I imagine it does, and it does to me, because of the meanings it embues. My heart always expands with both love for the Prophet(pbuh) and the awarness that Allah sent me a small reminder at that very moment, to be thankful.
I also often marvel at our human intellect and the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon us in it. Looking at the pendant, I see the blessings of knowing how to apply heat to bend metals and to tranform a mental possibility into a physical reality. It makes me think of mathematics and the great Muslim mathematicians without which, we wouldn’t have our traditional Islamic art today; to appreciate its beauty and perfect harmony of symmetrical shapes and vivid colours bringing otherwise plain surfaces to life.
It reminds me to thank Allah for my wealth, however large or small, for my being in a blessed land, for having food, water and shelter and for having those to share it with. Most of all, my Sandal Pendant acts as a reminder to thank Allah for the blessing of having eyesight with which to see it all and intellect with which to percieve it.
I don’t have a pictures of my own, long loved pendant now, but here’s the one from the website.
What amazing discoveries have you made today? Do you have any inspirational thoughts to share with us? Feel free to leave a comment, no matter how long or short, and celebrate what makes you feel blessed today.
(If you like our posts, don’t forget to Like our posts 
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In a previous post you saw high resolution shots of our two new rings (we have three in total: the Allah Muahmmed, Seal of the Prophet and the Huwa Hu ring; all being, in my heavily biased opinion, dashingly handsome). In this post, I wanted to shed some light on the inspiration behind the Seal of the Prophet ring (seal of the prophet, you say?! What, when, where and how?).
Now, while you attempt to contain your bubbling excitment, I shall tell you a tale.
As you surely know, our most beloved Prophet Mohammed (many peace and blessings be upon him), was illitrate. So he had a ring made. This ring he used to stamp letters to foreign leaders. The Prophet (saaw), had the ring cast in silver but being so filled with love and reverence for Allah almighty, did not want to place his name over the name of Allah. Contrary to the normal way of reading from top to bottom, he had written upwards, “Muhammed Rasul Allah”.
The UNS Seal of the Prophet ring is based on this original seal. This seal is perfectly preserved and currently on display at the Topkapi Palace in Turkey, along with other barakah-filled relics of the holy Prophet (pbuh) such as his cloak and sword.
Here is a hadith about the seal:
Anas Ibn Malik said: “Rasulullah (pbuh) had a ring made of silver and its (inlaid) gem was also of silver. When the Prophet (pbuh) wanted to write to the leaders of foreign states, he ordered a seal-ring to be made. Rasullullah (saas) therefore had a ring made, the whiteness of which is still before my eyes. The inscription engraved on the ring of Rasulullah (pbuh) was ‘Muhammad Rasulullah,’ of which in the first line was engraved ‘Muhammad,’ in the second line ‘Rasul,’ and in the third line ‘Allah’.”*
What honour it would be for any of us to wear a likeness of what the Prophet (pbuh) wore on his very hand!
*Shama-il al Tirmidhi, Islamic Book Service Publications, New Delhi, 2001, p. 80-81.
This gallery contains 2 photos.
Working with amber is a fragrant experience, but also somewhat stressful owing to the material’s brittleness and cost. The Greeks called amber ηλεκτρον (electron) because of its ability to attract other substances via static electricity. It is a fossilized tree … Continue reading
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