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Questions about a certain item?

Ever wonder what Pewter or Polyresin is?

What does "distressed look" mean?

These answers and much more helpful information can be found here.

We have had a lot of questions from customers about some product specifics and we thought this section might be helpful.

If you have a question about any of our products not answered here, please feel free to send us an email at:

What is rough hewn wood?

Rough hewn wood is wood that is not finished by smooth edges, or sanding, or mitering. It is wood in it's rough state, often used for making birdhouses and feeders to keep them in a more natural state and bird-friendly.

What is Sterling Silver?

To qualify as sterling; a given piece must be composed of a least 92.5% pure silver.

What is Brass?

Brass is an alloy of Copper and Zinc. Some types of Brass are called bronzes, despite their high Zinc content. Polished Brass has a high gloss mirror image finish. Antique look Brass has a soft brushed finish.

What is Capiz Shell?

The Capiz is scientifically known as Placuna Placenta. This bi-valve Mollusk, similar to an Oyster, is prevalent in the coastal waters off the Philippine Islands. It has a fan-shaped, almost round sea shell.The wonderful, unique quality of this shell is its translucent, thin nature. The brilliance and intrinsic beauty of Capiz Shell is beyond human creation. Capiz Shell is used to make beautifully treasured handcrafted merchandise. Pronounced with a hard 'C and a long A Capiz Shell is also called: Jingle Shell, Scotty Shell, Window Shell.

What is Wicker/Rattan?

Wicker is any sort of hard woven plant fiber. It can be part of a plant, such as the cores of Rattan stalks, or the whole thickness, as with Willow switches.

What are metal finishes?

There are several techniques used to style metal finishes. Rusted metal look is accomplished with chemicals which leaves the cut metal with a look of years rusting. Burnished metal is accomplished by polishing metal with a coarse or smooth cloth to change it's mirror finish.

What is Wrought Iron?

Wrought Iron is an easily molded form of Iron used for decorative purposes. The term is loosely used to describe steel or aluminum used in the same manner.

What is Ceramic?

Objects made of clay hardened into a relatively permanent material by firing.

What are glass finishes?

There are many ways to make products using different glass finishes. Stained Glass is glass which is colored in a number of ways, such as by enameling, by burning pigment into the surface, by fusing metal oxides into it, and is used for many decorative things. Etched Glass is a special process of carving with abrasives or chemicals or even mechanically engraved to create interesting, often quite complex designs. Crystal is a colorless, highly transparent low-transition temperature glass.

What is Distressed Look?

Distressed wood is a technique to make a wooden object look older and well used.

What does pre-shrunk mean?

Normally referred to an item made with 100% Cotton. The material is heat-washed prior to sizing or patterning to help minimize shrinkage when home washed.

What types of wood products are there?

Wood is a very versatile material. Some venues of wood usage are solid, aged, treated, bent, plyboard, fiberboard, chipcore, veneer, laminated, and many more. Wood can be painted, stained, burned, oiled, carved, machine-finished and much more.

What is Majolica?

Majolica is a porous pottery piece covered with a coat of an opaque glaze. It is then low fired in a kiln, after which, it is covered with colored metal oxide glazes on top of this first glaze coating. When fired for the second time, the opaque glaze and the final metal oxide glazes interact in the kiln to create the deep and brilliant translucent color specific to majolica. It is this glaze and the intense colors of majolica that make this ceramic stand apart from other wares and delight collectors. It is a great example of fine Italian ceramics. The term is said to be derived from Majorca, which was an early place of this form of manufacture.

What is Pewter?

It is the fourth most precious metal in the world behind platinum, gold and silver. Pewter is a hard, metal alloy composed primarily of tin with varying amounts of copper, antimony, and bismuth. Modern pewter now mixes the tin with copper, antimony, and/or bismuth, as opposed to lead, used in earlier times. Hence, newer objects made of pewter have less of a blue tint, than older objects made with the adding of lead. Pewter was first used in the manufacture of vessels by the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and many other early civilizations. Pewter was utilized extensively from medieval times through the 18th century when pottery and porcelain replaced it as the materials of choice for serving food and drink.Pewter was also made and used in great quantities throughout North America from the colonial period to the 1860s. Why is pewter so prized? First is its lasting value.

Pewter will not tarnish, rust or deteriorate in any manner. Many items produced during the Middle Ages can be found in museums today. Second is that it is a very easy medium to work with. With a low melting point, pewter can be cast with a centrifugal rubber mold process. This process allows the metal worker to produce items with exceptional detail. Pewter remains the metal of choice for modern metal sculptors.

What is Hong Tze?

Hong Tze is a form of traditional Chinese artistry meaning 'Red Stone'. To closely emulate a special stone found in China which is known for its deep red color, these items are created using an alabastrite polyresin. Hong Tze pieces are highly polished, further bringing out the intense, deep red color.

What is Gypsum?

Gypsum is a white mineral which is usually used to make Plaster of Paris.

What is Dolomite?

A magnesia-rich, sedimentary rock resembling limestone, dolomite is either gray, pink or white in color.

What is Polyresin?

Polyresin is a stone-based material which can be intricately molded producing great detail, and will allow paint to adhere. These items may be cleaned by dusting, or using a slightly dampened cloth, however, they should not be immersed in water as they are painted with water soluble paints. A light cleaning with a damp cloth is permissible.

It is also sometimes called Alabastrite.

What is Bone China?

White clay with bone ash added. Bone ash content must be at least 25% by U. S. guidelines.

Fired at 1800 degrees. The translucent material is finished with a glaze or underglaze (matte). Lighter, stronger, more expensive than porcelain.

What is Porcelain?

Fine ground white clay, molded and fired in an oven for eight hours at 1200 degrees. Finished with a glazed, or under-glazed finish. Glazing produces a high gloss; underglaze produces a matte finish. Bisque is a matte finish without glaze. After finishing, the item is "cooked" for six hours at 800 degrees.

What is Jade Porcelain?

Jade porcelain is a type of porcelain made with a finer clay. Usually no glaze or only a colorless glaze will be applied at the final firing to show off the very smooth surface and to preserve the translucency. Jade Porcelain is used for night lights because of its high degree of translucency when lit.

What is Stoneware?

White clay with fine ground stone. Working with stoneware demands great expertise, and is in fact becoming a lost art. Stoneware is safe to use in microwave and conventional ovens.

What is a Patchwork Item?

Unique fabric or paper prints are applied to the surface of porcelain, dolomite or polyresin items. After application, 12 layers of lacquer are added and the item is hand polished to a high gloss between each layer.