My Process
I start with the wood. I pick through burl slabs until I find one with the right grain and the right edges. Then I cut it down and shape it by hand on the lathe. Once the wood is ready I build the mold around it, seal every gap, because if the resin leaks it's over. Then comes the pour. I mix the resin, add the color, and pour it in layers. Each layer has to cure before the next one goes in or you get bubbles and cloudiness. That part alone can take two to three days. Between each layer I place the figures by hand with tweezers, positioning them exactly where I want them suspended in the resin. One wrong move and the whole piece is off. Once the final layer cures I break the mold and start sanding. I go through about eight grits, starting rough and working my way up to a mirror finish. Then I polish it with compound until it's crystal clear. After that I cut the base from walnut, route out the channel for the LED strip, wire it up, and test the light. If everything glows the way it should, it's done. If it doesn't, I start over. Every lamp takes me five to seven days and there's no shortcut for any of it.
My Craft
I taught myself resin work three years ago after watching one video online and ruining my first mold. What started as a hobby in my garage turned into something I couldn't walk away from. I make every lamp by hand from start to finish. I cut the wood myself, mix the resin myself, embed every piece by hand, sand it, polish it, wire it. Each one takes me anywhere from five to seven days depending on the design. There's no factory. There's no team. It's just me in my garage with a heat gun and a prayer that the resin cures right. Some pours fail. Some crack overnight. I've thrown away pieces that took me days to make. But the ones that come out right, the ones where the light hits the resin and it looks like something out of another world, that's why I keep going. Every lamp that leaves my hands is something I'd put in my own home. If I wouldn't keep it, I won't sell it.