NORBERT's in his new Viv

[norbertparent]

Hey All, Here's some pics of Norberts new Viv. It's 4' x 2' x 2' with sliding glass doors, 3 Light system on timers, and my second rock sculpture "Dragon Mountain" I can't take a lot of credit for the inclosure because it was an old entertainment center I revamped but the rock sculpture and feed tray was all my doing. You can check out the video here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjTchJHFhbU
I've made a total of 3 rock sculptures. they take a while to do but i've really enjoyed making them.

Notice the seams at the bottom? The entire "dragon head" is removable for safety and for easy cleaning.

Here's the one I made for a co-worker.

The Feed Tray is removable for easy cleaning

 

[fresnowitte]

Sweeet!!! :mrgreen:

Great Job!

That is really nice...bet Norbert loves his kingdom. :mrgreen:

 

[Freeie]

Those are awsome! I think they are beautiful. Great job.

 

[norbertparent]

Thanks guys. it's a lot of fun making them, just a little time consumming. And YES...Norbert loves his new and improved Viv. Kinda cool seeing him sleeping in the mouth of the dragon.

 

[FaaFaa]

OMG! Those are amazing! You should make them and sell them! I tried 1 time and it was a total disaster!

 

[norbertparent]

Thanks. Actually I'm working on that as we speak. I've posted a couple of prices and didn't get the response I was looking for. Basically I was told that I was asking too much. I explained that these are unique and custom made pieces that you can't get at your local pet store. And the ones at most pet stores aren't large enough for mature Beardies. Most of the pieces i've seen are barely big enough for say a Leopard Gecko. plus they are very time consumming to build. My asking price on the desert one with feed tray was 110.00. you'll spend 20.00 for a feed tray and another 30.00 for a hollowed out log. And with my pieces you are getting:
1. Basking Area
2. Hide-a-way Cave
3. Matching Feed tray
4. A unique piece that no one else has.
But I am going to lower my prices a little bit so as to get my name out there. for the basking/cave $70.00 and $90.00 for the cave/basking, and feed tray.
Please let me know what you think about these prices. Now, prices may vary depending on complexicity. The Dragon mountain for instance would be more due to it's complexicity.
Thank You for your complements on my work. I have a lot of fun building them and coming up with new ideals.

 

[FaaFaa]

You know the stuff in the stores is pretty pricey too. The resin type stuff at the store however, is pretty durable and easy to clean. Could you say that about your peices? How do you clean them? Now, I think that if you are making a unique custom product you should be able to charge a little more. At the same time however, if this is something that you enjoy doing in your spare time then I would say don't be too greedy. What do you spend on materials? Yes, I know that your time is valuable, but only to you not to all the other people out there that only see it as a cool peice to put in their beardies cage. They don't think about all the time and effort that you put into the peice. It isn't personal to them. Please, take no offense to what I am saying, it's only meant so that you can maybe see this from a consumer side instead of the artist side. I think, like you said, you need to get your name out there. People are going to be hesitant to pay that much for something that they really know nothing about. Once you get the product out there and people know that it is high-quality, durable, and easy to clean then maybe you might be able to charge that much. You're product is very nice and you are talented. I wish you luck and hopefully this will turn out the way that you want it to.

 

[Embee]

Wow, the enclosure looks fantastic. You are a true artiste!

Norbert looks extremely proud, as if he's posing next to a significant landmark. :mrgreen:

Thanks for sharing!

Em

 

[Livey]

woah you have some real skill!
you must share how you do it!
i will hopefully be able to make stuff like that when i finish my illustration course

 

[norbertparent]

Thanks to all for your compliments on my work. I do enjoy making these things. As far as how to make them, here's a great place to go for video tutorials...this guy is awsume!!!
http://www.lizard-landscapes.com this is where I got my inspiration. His are not for sale because of the time it takes to build them. The labor hour are crazy. go to his FAQ and read his answer on the question about why he don't sell his work.
And FAFA...thanks for your honesty and straightforwardness. No...the pieces aren't as durable as resin only in the fact that it is possible to chip or break the pieces if dropped. yet they are still very durable and easy to clean. These pieces can be removed and sprayed down and disinfected as with the resin ones. But on the flip side of the coin, I work at one of the major pet stores and when we receive our freight, at least one resin type piece is broken and has to be thrown away. So it's all in how you look at it. I have been toying around with the thought of coating the final piece in clear resin but the cost of resin isn't cheap. So i'm kinda caught in between a rock and a hard place.("no pun intended") The first piece that I made is still going strong and has been removed, cleaned and replaced many times. Actually this technique is not anything new. It's has been used for years in most of the largest aquaruims in the world. The only difference is they use mostly concrete and an industrial sealer. I mean they sculpt styrofoam and coat it with layers of concrete then coat that with a waterproof sealer. But you are right in the fact that people don't know much about these things and maybe that's where I fall short. Just because I'm into stuff like this and have a lot of knowledge in it, doesn't mean that other people know or understand it. So, thank you for opening my mind and eyes on that matter.

 

[FaaFaa]

So the peices can be cleaned then? That's great! And anything will break if you bang it around enough, or if you have clumsy kids. :lol: My daughter dropped my fav resin type peice from Petsmart down the stairs and it ended up in a million peices. I think you should try your hand at getting your product out there, it couldn't hurt anything. You're pieces are amazing.

 

[norbertparent]

Thanks FaFa, Yeah don't you just hate it when that happens. I have no children in the house unless you count a 45lb, 6 month old Doberman pup that thinks everything is a chew toy...LOL

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Looks great!

 

[norbertparent]

Thanks.lots of fun!!!