Metal?

We get a lot of questions about what we can actually do with our laser in regards to materials.  A basic list of things we can cut and engrave are listed on our custom services page. One thing that is asked about often is metal. Can we cut metal? Unfortunately no, not with the type of laser we have. Can we engrave it? Absolutely!

For example, John has been engraving guitar petals for Retro Mechanical Labs for a couple of years now. 

Retro Mechanical Labs Electron Fuzz Custom Guitar Pedal

We picked up these anodized aluminum travel cups at Costco yesterday to show what we can do with our laser on metal. (And to have on hand and fill up with tons of coffee in the upcoming holiday show season!) John tested out our header logo on it and they turned out great. 

Oh we're fancy.

Another small project customized pet ID tags. Our fur babies needed new ID tags so we whipped these up.

Customized pet ID tags.

Our fur babies have fancy ID tags.

Basically, the possibilities are endless for projects in regards to metal engraving. Cups, tags, plaques, labels... the list goes on. If you have more question about metal engraving shoot us a note and we'll back to you.

 - Thea

Laser engraved QR code prototype

Since our inception we've had a plethora of queries about things we can do with our laser. We've made a handful of prototypes since we opened up shop using various materials. 

Today John whipped up a prototype for a QR code label for a customer. With one pass of the laser over the label a clear tester QR code was achieved. Wanna guess where the QR code takes you. :)

-Thea

Crafty Wonderland

We're super excited about being vendors at Crafty Wonderland's Super Colossal Holiday Sale! It will be held at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, December 13th & 14th 11 am to 6pm.

We will have all sorts of laser awesomeness on hand ready for gift giving. With a very special focus on Pacific Northwest Lifer goods!

Mark your calendars Portland and we hope to see you there!

handmade. la conner

One of the biggest surprises we've had after buying our Epilog Laser, was being approached by a handful of our fellow artists to do packaging and business related items for their businesses.  Oddly, that wasn't a consideration with our original business plan. It's definitely been a really fun learning experience and something we really enjoy.

handmade. la conner is one of those companies. Now to start I will admit that I am a wee bit biased for the following reasons. Number 1: Robyn makes THE best lotion balls. Period. I love them they work really well. I'm like an unsolicited walking advertisement for them. She makes other really great items that I can praise too. But the lotion balls are my personal favorite.  Number 2: I had the great pleasure of being next to Robyn at her very first Urban Craft Uprising show with my other company. She was fresh and new on the scene. I was really impressed with her effort and attitude. It was no surprise to me to witness the great growth she's had. Number 3: Her brick and mortar store is in La Conner, Washington. I was born and raised on Northeast Whidbey Island. La Conner is just a hop skip and a jump away from there and it's absolutely beautiful. Robyn's shop compliments the beauty of the town. 

We recently created her new laser engraved business cards on 140 weight cardstock that is made in the USA. 

handmade. la conner

We hope that she will give out many as she's getting a bit of attention from Martha Stewart's American Made contest. We've been voting for her and you can too by following this link. 

Lasers & love - Thea

We Hate Everything

John and I are engaged to be married.  Separately, we've done a lot of living before we met. We've both been married previously, had children and grew as people individually. 

We met in somewhat unusual circumstances that involves a ruben sandwich, a childhood friend and a trip to Whidbey Island.  Through John's persistent chasing our discovery of each other was extremely entertaining. 

Not being naive to what being in a relationship was we discovered we had a lot likes in common. We've watched a lot of the same strange movies, our individual OCD tendencies complimented each other and we genuinely like each other's company. But more importantly, we discovered we "hated" a lot of the same things. Which can be more important to a relationship. Sharing the same views on politics, religion, health issues, daily routines, bad television, music - whatever you can think of. It's important to be on the same page with things that are really important to you. 

John & I know we're different. We know we have a quirky sense humor. We've embraced it and we hate everything together.  Since we have a laser here at our home studio, we created an engagement prop that suits us.  (We'll have them for sale for those couples out there who share our sense of humor later this week.)

Lasers & love - Thea

John Bronleewe & Thea Starr #realengagementphoto