Featured Etched Dragon Brooch - Bakelite? Tortoise?

Snobby to want nice pieces to stay nice? Yeaaah nooo. If thats how they're judging, I'm going to wonder about the thriving American market for inexpensive jewelry or all the people who kept their China only for "special occasions"?

 

If it has the metal rims and they don't want to be bothered washing it all by hand, can't say I blame them for not using the fancy china. My BiL insisted on getting hand-wash only formal china when he and my sister got married. One guess what hasn't been used in about 20 years.

 

my nice Meissen.....is in a box ...for the last 20 or so years !!

 

No blame, just pointing out Americans like to preserve the "nice" stuff as much as anyone else.

Personally, I use all the "nice" things regularly so I can enjoy them, but I do not own a set of china. I could pick up a set every week at the thrift if I wanted, but none have spoken to me and I've got a nice eclectic collection of fun graphic dishware already.

The hand wash is no big deal...I own no dishwasher and never have.

 

Mirana I agree & this American uses her good stuff. Why wait to use something you enjoy. I also wear my good jewelry, use my good perfume, use my good crystal vases, then again I also allowed everyone into my formal living room, and I am never opposed to washing dishes (it is very relaxing) and it took me nearly 20 years to pick out china because like you nothing spoke to me that said I will love it enough in another 40 to select it. I have no regrets using & wearing the things I love, because I enjoy them. My daughter in law has learned that when we use the things we enjoy daily it makes your day that much brighter. My exception is if I am traveling to certain places that are known not to be safe.

 

Yes! Everyday enjoyment means little happiness hits when you see them. I wear my nice jewelry around the house or out to lunch, or pretty much anytime I'm not working. I work a very weird, fast, hands-on job and I don't want to injure myself (deglove a finger, rip an earlobe, choke myself...if a piece of jewelry gets caught.). I wear nice fabrics and dress up pretty much any non-work time I leave the house. I'm a big believer in not saving the nice stuff!

That said, a concert is a rough spot for any expensive jewelry. Time and place and all that!

 

Yes that is so true. When I clean, bake or cook I won’t. And please no injuries!!!! Yes, a concert I would leave the pretty brooch home. But now I need to know what is a weird, fast, hands-on-job?

 

I work in props on film sets. Very fast paced, unloading gear from our truck, working with tools, fabricating, and I never know what sort of disgusting environment or materials I'll have to stick my hands in! Swamps, fake-or-food guts, and gallons of fake (sugar) blood have been the norm on my last couple of shows. Gross stuff doesn't bother me so I've been the designated "deal with things that make other people hurl" person on them as well. Taxidermy full of accidental maggots? No prob boss, I got it.

Soooo not the place for anything I'm precious about!

 

Oh what fun Mirana! But yes, no place for the good pieces haha

It should get here saturday, I'll update with photos!

 

Mirana WOW, what a great job. Gross never bothers me ever. But, bugs, snakes, frogs, a hard no. No negotiating with me on these things. I have been known to leave my house if I see any of them.

 

Luckily, we have an on-set "snake" wrangler (they actually cover any dangerous wildlife) who deal with that. I'm good with anything that's not venomous, and the animals that are I'm good when they're safe in a closed bucket or far away in their natural habitat minding their own business!

 

I’ve a friend who’s an art director in California, she’s taken me round a fair few prop houses. Huge fun.

 

Prop houses... love! A lot of the dealers in her have sold to prop houses a time or two. Getting hold of real stuff "from the era" saves them a pile of work.

Not sure I could handle the maggots, although they probably wouldn't bother me. Might stick them in a bucket though and use 'em to get a particularly stubborn callous off of one foot! They only eat dead stuff.

 

Strangely, I've yet to ever set one foot into a prop house as they don't really exist where I typically work at (we get rentals shipped to us, from them). I think that's probably going to change on my next job as we're prepping in a city with many. I work making or sourcing props during prep, and then being on-set to distribute them, consult, re-set them, train or suit-up actors, etc. We do try to buy or rent legitimate antiques when we can. Only fabricate when we can't, or it's cheaper, or the item has to work in a certain way for film that we can't reconstruct for.

Maggots do not bother me even a little bit. We had to source some for a scene and I let my boss know you could buy them online. Boss was horrified that was possible AND I knew about it! I told them OR we could DIY our own but we would definitely get complaints! We've also had taxidermy on a few shows I've been on and the out-of-town/non-rural folk do not understand how delicate that is in our environment. No refrigerators, no plastic bag/tarp storage, no hot trucks/warehouses/uncontrolled climate...it leads to rot. I cannot tell you how many rotted things I've had to deal with. Enough that I have a source for taxidermy disposal.

 

Ewww. Rotting stink is no fun in the slightest. Best to leave the maggots to it in a bucket and let them clean it off. Then deal with it.

 

The animal was....enormous. Not bucket-sized. I called my taxidermy gal and asked if she'd take the maggoty animal and she was extremely excited. I left it out and she picked it up in a few hours.

I did discover that bagged rot smell does not effect me at all, but it made my compatriot dry heave. (And I've got a better than average sniffer lol.)

AnyWAY yeah. My job is uhh not good for any of the lovely gems we post here! I swear it's not always that foul...but it can be so Always Be Prepared!

 

Sounds like a great job, mirana. Something new and different every day.

Of course she was.

 

Oh deer?

 

There was a full deer that started to rot (AND I STILL HAD TO USE ON CAMERA ), that she also took on a different occasion, but no this particular one had sharper teeth....

 

That must have been a real bear. (badump)