Rags To Riches Success Stories

**Majik Imaje** · 02-18-2010, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hairygunther

Whaling festivals. "Polar bears aren't dying" campaigns. How catastrophically sick. Made in America.

I was looking at the commission junction affiliate link for the greencard lottery the other day and considering how greedy and self-obsessed a nation must be to award working/citizenship rights to people in their country as part of a big prize giveaway.

So, all the idiots here who said "oh how cool, how wonderful". Let me ask you. If Elephant-slaughterboy over there makes 10k a week, what in hell is he doing wasting time on forums? I mean he's not a programmer, he has no business being on the internet. He's a rich person with no responsibility. But he spends all his time on wordpress, forums, twitter, facebook, arsehead and all the other pieces of rubbish.

If you want 10k a week, work for 10 years, for yourself, and learn to earn it.

In passing, threads like this make me hate people who speak English unforgiveably badly more than anything else in the entire world does.

Hello I from Vakiavakia, I find blog twitter make 50 million dollars a day from my seo site and google adsense. Please anybody can tell me how is what seo is doing is what?

Or ganesh from india. It's all the same.

ELEPHANT IVORY IS AGAINST THE LAW ALL OVER THE WORLD.

I love it how people CHANGE my words. Walrus Ivory washes up on all beaches all over Alaska.. It is in abundance as well as Fossil Mastodon Ivory and Mamoth ivory

This is mastodon ivory - worth $15,000 as it is or hundreds of thousands when made into ear-rings !!

I will tell you what ? !! I will pay round trip for you to come up here and see first hand !! then you will shut your mouth because this is huge business here in the arctic - 80 % unemployment here in these small villages.. People make $$ from walking beaches !!

but you know better right ?? ha what a joke !!

**stevenlw** · 02-23-2010, 03:20 PM

Here is an article about Mastadons:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstrac...669D94669FD7CF

**Majik Imaje** · 02-23-2010, 03:36 PM

Very interesting article..

Tons of this stuff is all over the arctic - on all beaches, people have been making a living out of this stuff for hundreds of years up here.

Unless you travel to the Arctic and see first hand in all these villages - then you will never understand !! Natural Resources !!

These villages - especialy Point Hope are based deep in traditions and lifestyle / culture that is more than : 3,000 years old !! IN this one spot !!

**zahidndgc** · 05:54 AM

Hmmmm quiet interested on that making money but that huge amount in a month I think is kinda hard to find in the net but...

if you can give me the exact or proper instruction im willing to try it out

**mikejoel** · 05-06-2010, 04:17 AM

So how do we get started? Can anybody do this -- any requirements?

**chrishirst** · 05-06-2010, 04:43 AM

Quote:

Can anybody do this -- any requirements

You probably need to like snow.

**lukeywn** · 10-18-2010, 01:10 PM

Spare change please sir?

**Majik Imaje** · 12-02-2010, 11:56 PM

Let me tell you how easy this is to achieve.

First you have to have some sort of a material to use.

then you make a slice (wood, soapstone, jade, ivory, ) anything you can get your hands on to practice with.

you slice a piece 3/16" thick or 1/4"

draw the shape of a hearts) on the piece you have sliced.

smooth out the heart and sand it and polish it. drill a 1/16" hole and glue in the ear-ring stud with super glue.

Congratz. you just made a pair of ear-rings if you have two of them that are identical.

Now .. do it again.. using a different shape. such as a ulu knife (eskimo knife). This is one hot selling item all over the state of Alaska.

make different shapes, such as tear drops, stars, anything will work.

now make a few hundred of these ear-rings in many shapes.

that will keep you very busy for about three weeks. Once you have a good inventory, then you need to find a place to sell your work.

We did it at the hospital in Kotzebue, Hospital in Barrow, Anchorage, and all over the villages of Kotzebue, Point Hope & Barrow & in Anchorage.

This is all we did 12 hours a day for 7 years.

We made a ton of money and everyone in all of those villages saw it happen..............every day!!!

The only reason you will fail at this is because...you are too lazy to spend the time !! If you do spend the time. you will make major bucks!!

its that simple !! I challenge anyone - PROVE ME WRONG !!!

**Majik Imaje** · 03-14-2011, 08:04 PM

Here is a link that should provide you with all you need to make a rational decision based on FACTS: !!

READ & LEARN

I am not here to post garbage or spam or false information;

THIS WORKS if.. .. you put in the time and do the easy steps YOU WILL MAKE MONEY !!

Literally hundreds of families all over the state of Alaska do this as their only source of income !!

**Majik Imaje** · 04-02-2011, 12:33 PM

The laws concerning ivory are simple to understand and comprehend
Elephant ivory is against the law - world wide ban!
RAW-WHITE WALRUS IVORY TUSKS are against the law for anyone other than an Inupiaq / Yu'pik native to own possess or carve on.
Fossil Ivory- Mastodon Ivory - Mammoth Ivory is / are fair game for anyone to own - possess - sell - carve on etc. there are NO RESTRICTIONS.
BEACH WASHED WHITE IVORY tusks are fair game to anyone that finds them. Just bring them to fish & game to be tagged and they are all yours all legal like. NO RESTRICTIONS.

There are literally hundreds of people that do this daily in many different villages all throughout the entire State of Alaska. For some families - this is the only way to generate income to provide for their familes due to such high unemployment in the smaller villages. This is a job - YOU must treat it as such- put in the necessary time & it will pay you huge rewards that you never ever thought possible.
It is all done in the same exact simple manner. Make a slice that is 3/16th's of an inch thick. At first learn how to cut 1/4" slices; Then you can sand each side for a brilliant smooth finish with no scratches of any type. This piece of large mastodon ivory was sent to us; by a person from City-Data who trusted us. This piece would have cost about $400 to purchase. That person just wanted to give it to us. but we said we would make some bracelets & ear-rings. We agreed to do it all - for free - and send the results back to that person who has shown faith & trust in us. Another purpose we thought of - was to post all the steps for people who want to really learn how simple it is to make outrageous money from home.

Learning how to cut STRAIGHT is a must to practice & learn; We will post photos here of how we slice exact slices every time with no ruler or lines or measurements! Learn to use your "eyes".. Look at the photo; and notice; he is using his thumbnail to rest the saw blade against for the start of the cut; But at first; make marks 1/4 " of an inch apart apart on a piece of ivory and then begin to cut them straight. Don't waste your time by making just one cut at a time; You will not learn squat using that method; But instead make many cuts and work them all down (at once). THEN you will BEGIN to NOTICE; how to cut perfectly straight perfect slices every time. "There are no shortcuts to practice"! This is time consuming & boring, there are no two ways about it; Using an electric saw or other electric method will not produce the same results, Unless you have quite the setup - learn how to use a coping saw & a dremel. Those are really the only two tools you need to make outrageous money working from home - keeping busy !! The whole idea is to pack ONE BOX full of ear-ring boxes that are full = 100 pair of various styles - shapes & materials. If you have inventory you are going to make money! There are many 'hot-spots" for making sales in the State of Alaska. The #1 spot in this whole state is believe it or not- Juneau when the tour ships arrive. Valdez is another spot also. But without any doubt for year -round sales - The villages are the best place to sell your crafts to locals !! Native women collect IVORY - of all types. Ear-rings & bracelets are their favorite(s) to purchase. Some women have hundreds of bracelets and or ear-rings. Huge collections; This is also one way for them to generate extra - cash when traveling.

Using a coping saw, move it back and forth slowly and pick up momentum; make sure you do not apply pressure to the saw or blade. Just let it rest on the ivory and draq it back and forth - let the blade do the cutting as you hold the handle loosely in your hand. This is going to take "hours" depending on what size the piece of Ivory your working with is. Once you have 1/2 a dozen slices or so; Now you can begin the next 'boring' step. It really depends on the size of the piece you are working with; this piece of fossil ivory only cost us $50 bucks. It has decent colors and is only 5 inches long x about 1 inch tall. So slicing up this entire piece would not take that much time. About 10 pairs of ear-rings that sell for $ 50 bucks each = $500 bucks - ten times more than what you paid for it. That has been our observations when ever we spend money on ivory. Ear-rings are by far the easiest product to create. Absolutely no waste of any ivory. Just cut the slices, Each pair is a different size (usually) depending on the shape of the ivory itself. Cut the slices; round (smooth) the edges; drill a 1/16th hole in the top to super glue the stud into. Polish to a brilliant shine; place product in box AFTER you clean the ivory with rubbing alcohol. Keep repeating this simple procedure until you have a sizeable amount of inventory. Two different sizes of boxes are used to package & present bracelets & ear-rings. That is 95% of what we create on a daily basis. Bracelet boxes are 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 3/4" - We much prefer to use the boxes with clear covers. This keeps people from touching the product which always leaves finger prints from the oil on your skin. Boxes can be purchased from Paper Mart dot com or Alaska Display in Anchorage. NOTICE; in the photo below; five cuts are being worked on together at once. We usually do six or eight and work them all down together. When you see (visually) what happens when you do this - you will be amazed at how perfectly straight every cut is! We only use our thumbnail to place on the ivory and rest the saw blade against your thumbnail and begin the cut. It is very easy to estimate 1/4 of an inch and make them all identical - just by using your eyes !!

This requires .. .. 'practice'!

Starter piece of ivory
Here in the images above is a small piece of fossil ivory. It is the perfect starter piece for someone new to carving; to purchase. The shape of the ivory itself is perfect for ear-rings - just as it is. Just slice it all up. No waste to speak of. Or slice it up for bracelet pieces ! Once you slice up a few small pieces of ivory - your an expert!! It is simple to learn - fun to do and the time passes by so quickly; This is your new job - treat it like a real job and you will reap in lots of Xtra cash. With four sons doing this daily; we went through a lot of ivory.

But .. .. as fast as we produced inventory - it sold right quick.So you took a piece of ivory and sliced it all up.. .. what is the very next step.
StEp 2 : Using a clip board (hard surface) place your sandpaper on the clip board and rub hard and fast and sand each side until it is smooth. To do this more efficiently -

Have different clip boards for different grits of sandpaper used. That will save you a lot of wasted time in switching sand paper each time you need to go to the next finest grit.Invest in at least a few sheets of sand paper of the following grits: 120 - 220 - 380 - 550 - 600 - 800 - 1200 - 2000 These grit #'s are not exact - just starting points. What ever is available in your area. Then invest in a good selection. The ultimate setup is a different clip board for each grit placed in front of you at bench level height hanging up so you do not have to move. A dust collection system is essential for your health & to prevent a bloody mess everywhere because ivory dust is extremely fine, it will float all over the house.
INVEST: in a good dust collection and air filtration system. It makes all the difference in the world.
You want to have a clean shop-working area. Sit down relax and work. You should not have to get up to reach for

anything. Everything you need is within arms reach of your work area. Plan your set up in this manner. Wasted movements waste valuable time. If you have room to build a small shop. Then this is what I recommend. Use 3/4" plywood for your bench top. Most places that sell plywood sheets -they also will make cuts for you. Cut the bench top 24" wide x 8 feet long. The other 24" piece that is leftover cut into 3 - 8" pieces x 8 foot long. Now you have the necessary lumber for 3 shelves above your work bench. The edge of your shelves have stuff hanging on them using plastic push pins. Scissors; plastic templates, other small things you want right within your reach. The edge of your work bench should have all your clip boards hanging in front of you. Our personal preference for mounting a vise is NOT TO PLACE IT: on your work bench. How high to make your shop bench ?? That is truely a matter of personal preference; BUT .. .. I know - from experience, of working in the trade; much of the tips I provide here is based on over 40 years in the industry what works & what doesn't. Get a folding chair. Sit down - turn to your right or left (put it this way) if your arms are bent as if resting on arms on the side of the chair. The bottom of your arm that is parallell to the floor - that is the exact measurement of your bench height (about 29 inches) You want to work - sitting down - not standing up! If you make a work bench to stand up - you are going to be bent over all day and your back is going to hurt. Sit down and relax. Using a small coffee or tv table of some old furniture for your vise puts you over your work at the correct height looking down. You can slice ivory all day long with no backaches. I've done it many times, to prefab for the boys. I will take a whole tusk and just slice it all from one end to the other but remove no slices. 54 cuts. all brought down to 3/4 of the way. Then it is a very quick process to remove several in a couple of minutes. plus it is a great indicator of how straight you are able to cut!! remember this .. .. ".. perfect is close enough' !!

Doing it that way requires you to move. You want your vise out of the way - you do not want to have to move to get it in front of you. THEREFORE: The best place to mount your vise is on a small tv type coffee end table type of old furniture with wheels on it (rollers). Keep it stored right in front of you under your work Ivory dust - it is extremely fine. Learn how to control it using a dust collector or ordinary vacum or Shop Vacum cleaner. The Main thing: Is to save your dust. you will need it (later). As large amounts of dust build up around" your vise area. Sweep it off into small storage containers. A piece of Mastodon Ivory in a small three inch vise; Notice how much it appears to resemble old driftwood of sorts.
Sanding; Slicing/Sawing-Drilling. all create DUST This material is over 25 thousand years old!!

It is brittle, dried out and lacks moisture. There are many ways to treat Ivory when you first acquire it, to put moisture back into the 'pores'. What do you think is going to happen to this piece of ivory as we begin to cut it ? It is very obvious - it is going to fall apart into many smaller odd size pieces. Learning how to cut ivory is something you will only gain by experience. Notice we began at the large end. It is still split and in sections. As we cut these pieces we will show you how to use them. This will take us many hours to make these cuts. There is no quick way to do this ACCURATELY cept learn how to use a coping saw. Spend the time; and I assure you - you will learn how; YES !! YOU ARE: going to break blades - now and again; not to worry; We still break them! When you first begin, always have at least one spare package of 5 extra blades. We try to keep 10 or more extra blades on hand; just in case - we want an abundance of all suppllies and materials so it is virtually impossible to run out of; thus shutting down the job is avoided at all costs which are minimal. Your customers will supply all the money you need to grow. 1/2 of all money we make is for more supplies & tools. the other half is divided for food & bills; Anything over $300 per day - we give away - to people we know - that need help! A coping saw w/ extra blades. A dremel tool & Burr cutting bits of many different types & shapes - they are inexpensive or very expensive depending on where you purchase them from.

Bunches of bits You need catalogs (many of them). Most are free; Grizzley tools; AIH (alaska). Build a selection of good catalogs. I can't stress this enough. Black Elk Leather in Alaska is the cheapest place you are ever going to find for ear-ring studs and loops & hooks etc. Rio Grande has a set of catalogs that used to be free; now they want $25 dollars for a 3 volume set. It is well worth the price! When I purchase an item such as this photo of the bits - I purchase four of them; One set for each of the boys; Everyone has the same identical set up - NO BORROWING !! Keep your area(s) neat and well organized. Make a place for your small dust brushes - dust pan for quick clean ups. You do not want to have to go searching for anything. metal rulers 6" 12" or have holes in the end to hang up nearby, neatly. Hang as much as possible and utilize all of that wasted space in front of you. Think & learn. The absolute perfect shop setup - is a horseshoe - A bench in front of you and on either side as you swivel. A giant U upside down. Put some thought into where you want to set up your shop. You need access to an "outside" wall to cut a 4" hole to exhaust the dust vent outside the house (if possible). A radio is a must to have & listen to; and for what it is worth; if you listen to rock music constantly; your gonna get burnt out in a few hours. Classical Music will let you dream; soar and visit other wonderful places - for hours with no burn out associated with other types of music. This is just my personal preference for a lifetime !! Sure I love the Beatles ; Fleetwood Mac; and a hundred other bands. Country - Rock - Jazz - But.. .. Rap is forbidden in my household. Enough said on that subject. You are only going to be as good as the tools you use; and learn with. In the beginning you will learn with a dremel; Later you will graduate into using a Foredom. It will hang from the ceiling with a long flexible shaft. Directly up over your head, The same place your bracelet cord should be. Above you. Stand up cut a piece sit down finished. All movements should reguire minimal movement on your part to access anything & everything you need to keep working. Since 90% of your time is going to be spent - making slices; then lets look at some 'slices' and see what you can learn - just by looking at simple photographs. The first thing I want you to notice: is the original shape of the ivory tusk used. It was small. That entire tusk could have easily been cut up for ear-rings of that same natural shape of the tusk itself. But a shape was drawn on each of the slices that were cut. Using a 12" disk sander (Delta - or Grizzley) cost is $265. This is the tool of choice; because of the front bench that can be set to any precise angle necessary to make the bracelet pieces fit together perfectly. A bracelet must have at least 8 pieces to form a perfect circle, But 10, 12, 14, & 16 piece tiny baby bracelets are all possible to make. Each has a different precise angle to bevel the ends to make the pieces fit when strung together.We will post all the different sizes with the correct angles to use to bevel:
8 piece = 22 degrees (each end)
10 piece = 18
12 piece = 15
14 piece = 12 degrees (each end)

This is just a starting point for you to learn from. Begin with a ten piece bracelet. 3/4 of an inch should be the length of your pieces. That equals a womans large wrist - Average womans wrist should be about 6 1/2 inches there abouts when pieces are lined up together. when you do the same steps over and over and over - soon it will all become second nature. How long to make your bracelet pieces ? Wrap a string around your wrist. Mark it where the end intersects with the first wrap. Staighten out the string and measure it. Ten pieces 1/2" long = A tiny 5 inch wrist. The more you make; the more proficient you will become.

Mastodon Hearts
This is all learned by practing, using the tools; not by reading. Once you have made a half a dozen slices; there is not much else to learn except practice some more; As I said 90% of what you do is slicing up ivory. Later you will get a horizontal or vertical band saw and it won't take but a fraction of the time to cut up a whole tusk. Slice & draw out the shapes you wish to make on the piece of ivory you have cut; after you have sanded all the rough stuff smooth. Use the 12" disk sander or your dremel to cut off the excess ivory to conform to the shape you drew. Round off the sharp edges and begin to sand through the different grits. Polish to a high shine. drill hole to super glue the stud into and your finished - after you wipe it all down with rubbing alcohol & tissue. Place into box . Begin the process all over again; EXCEPT one difference. - Learn to pre-fab - & make a dozen pair at once.
Lets talk so more about some of the tools & accessories you will use & need. 1/16" drill bits - a turntable spindle to hold your bits and burrs for cutting and shaping. In the begining you will not need much of an assortment of burrs for cutting and shaping. Those burrs are used to inlay ivory inside of ivory and those steps come much later. First you learn by making ear-rings then I will talk you through the steps to inset materials into other materials. When you purchase 1/16" inch drill bits - believe it or not; buy a dozen of them; you will break them often. DO NOT THROW THEM AWAY. Keep them - When you begin to drill bracelet pieces you will not use the whole drill bit. You basically cut the bit in half. Only the smaller drill bit half is used.

Using a dust collection system vented to the outside, provides the best manner in which to dispose of the dust. (that ends up in a bag outside the house.

Bit spindle holder

PURCHASE ONE or more.

The shaft part of the bit is saved as a 'peg' . Later you might want to make a small ivory or baleen Jewerly case. These pins are perfect to use to hold the pieces together when making a box. The reason you cut a drill bit in half is so you will not drill through your finger when we show you how to drill a bracelet piece properly. The bit is long enough to go just a little more than 1/2 way through the piece and it is turned over and drilled from the other end. There are many tricks and tips we will share with you; I promise if you put in the time; create a sizeable inventory and you will make money. I dont care where you live. People the world over love the look & feel of Ivory. It has been treasured by collectors for many thousands of years - all over the world; Ivory is in huge demand. Alaska Fur Exchange in Anchorage is probably the best place to purchase ivory - in person. Go there and purchase something small to work with and make some ear-rings. The more practice you get making simple ear-rings and selling them will no doubt make you want to purchase something larger. And then learn to make bracelet pieces and Three pair of newly made ear-rings from mastodon ivory put the whole thing together; we will show you step by step what to do and how to do it the best most effiective way possible. Wehave lots of experience; we have made lots of mistakes and refined our working process to avoid injuries that will happen. Safety First & Safety Second ! - Purchase a good pair of inexpensive safety - glasses & wear them! I can't stress enough the need for safety in the work place; I've seen my sons get injured many times - especially when using the 12" disc sander. Keep your fingers out of the way; you can sand flesh off in a split second. Make sure you have bandaids just in case. Careful work habits can greatly prevent many injuries that are common with working with tools. Believe it or not ; it is very easy to drill through your finger or hand. We take precautions to make sure that doesn't happen Once you graduate from making ear-rings to making bracelet pieces - the same exact steps are done for each of the 12 pieces needed to make that bracelet. ONce you have your pieces all made then it is time to drill them in the proper fashion; you need to mark exactly where the holes are going to be to insert the bracelet cord. Notice: in these images you do not have to measure anything; just place the 1/8th " piece of cardboard and fold around the piece and draw the two lines. On the top of the piece and on each end. When you drill the pieces you have to hold one end over the back end of the piece as is shown in the following photographs. This takes practice to hold the drill level to go through the piece straight. then flip the piece over and drill from the other side and the two holes WILL MEET. If and only if you drill straight!! This is going to take practice - Use practice pieces not real bracelet pieces until your sure you can drill straight from each end & meet in the middle. Occasionaly you might not be able to get the bracelet cord through the holes because it doesn't line up properly. Ever notice shoelaces ?? The end of the shoelace has a hard coating over it. This is easily accomplished using super glue on your bracelet cord. Place one end of the bracelet cord in your vise. Tighten the vise to hold the cord and with one hand stretch the cord as much as possible; Now drip super glue over the end of the cord near the vise. Hold it stretched for a few seconds.. When you relax the cord. open the vise and cut the cord end of the new coated portion. Now you have a hard stiff straight end to insert through the hole!! Super Glue will stick to your fingers; Keep acetone on hand or nail polish remover to get the stuff off your finger tips & skin.
A 12" disc sander is a powerful tool; It is expensive and extremely heavy as in more than 70 pounds. Shipping for this tool was more than the cost of the tool to us in Point Hope - the price of the tool was $265 Over $300 to ship it to the village - UNTIL WE took the front bench part off and mailed the two pieces in two different boxes. The shipping was less than $100 bux using that method!! We had four of them!

Three pair of ear-rings all boxed up ready to go - from scraps that are beginning to fall from this piece of icory we are working on. After spending over an hour with this piece of ivory - now six cuts are fairly well along to show you what straight looks like when you use multiple cuts instead of just one. This is time well spent 'training your eyes' to notice minute differences in the thickness of each of the slices - not to worry - we use calipars or micrometers to make sure each piece is 'perfect' thickness!

SCRAPS BEGINING TO FALL FROM TUSK AS WE continue sawing:

NOTICE: The criss cross pattern that is embedded into EVERY PIECE of mastodon ivory. It has been present in every piece we have used in over 7 years time. When I show you these 'arcs' again - all finished and boxed up - you won't believe it was made from this piece !!

**Majik Imaje** · 04-02-2011, 12:39 PM

These Arc type shaped pieces that are begining to fall off the ivory as we continue to saw - are perfect just as they are: for ear-rings. Merely round off the sharp edges and sand & polish them to a brilliant luster = 50 - 75 bux per pair. BELIEVE IT OR NOT: - You can take that arc shaped piece and place it into baby oil or mineral oil in a small contianer; let it soak for a few days - a week. take it out; lay it down on a flat surface and straighten out that curve into a straight flat piece. Then twist it by hand !! We have LOTS of tricks tips & secrets we are willing to share with you!

All you gotta do is put in the time -
I promise your gonna make more than a dime!

DRAWING LINES on each piece in the exact same manner will give you the results you need when it is time to assemble all the pieces together to form a bracelet. So get busy and make pieces for a bracelet !! I will post more photographs as we begin each of the necessary steps involved to make gorgeous bracelets.

I can't say enough about this sander; it solved all our (other ) problems; and by accident taught us a very valuable technique; Mark was the one who discovered this very kewl trick, which enabled us to make perfect insets of circles into other different types of Ivory. We are the only carvers that can inset a round piece inside another piece of ivory with absolutely no gaps. How is this done ? Easily - "create a perfect circle". This is how it is accomplished; Unless that circle inset is perfect; there is no way to place it inside another circle. It must be perfect. The sander will do it for you automatically!! This is what Mark discovered quite by accident - Notice the sander table that is tilted in this photograph. That small bench must be set to zero degrees. flat & level. Now place your so called round circle on the small flat table - Using two index fingers push that slowly toward the sanding wheel. When that piece of small (sorta round) ivory hits that sanding wheel which is roatating quickly - what do you think is going to happen ? That piece of Ivory is going to take off - unless your fingers 'block' it from moving - then there is only one thing that is going to happen - That small piece of ivory is going to SPIN wicked fast - thus making a perfect circle each & every time. As you can easily notice - it is very easy to sand the skin right off your knuckle if you slip!! Pay close attention always when working with this tool.
Notice: what is wrong in this photo above? template and brush do not belong in this area. they should have been hung up in the proper place.
Slices - slices - slices PREFAB lots & lots of slices - What ever you can get ready (early) pre-fabricate (slices - pieces - shapes etc.) Get everything ready to make lots of ear-rings and or bracelet pieces.
Polishing pieces is something of a knack to acquire. Much will be said about that later.
We will teach you two different methods.

POLISHING SUPPLIES
Shor International has everything you need in many different areas or departments.
Polishing compound: Fabuluster & Blue Magik
Burr bits in carbide & diamond
polishing wheels and felts
and so much more.
OTHER LINKS:
BOXES

COLORED CORDS & MISC.

BRACELET CORD(s).

1/16" white & black (elastic shock cord).

1.Cut a slice of Ivory
2.Sand each side smooth - using the lowest grit #
3. Draw the shape on the piece of IVORY SLICE
4. Cut out the shape and sand/file excess Ivory off till you reach the finished shape size.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 until you have at least sixteen pieces of the same finished shape to work with.
6. Wait for me to post more photographs & more detailed information to finish the simple process of making ear-rings that match your bracelet pieces.

Be Safe & have fun!!

Simple shapes to create templates: Starting top row far right =

Top row far right = shape of an eskimo ulu knife. These ear-rings sell like hot-cakes. They are made using two different materials - One for the shape of the blade and the other contrasting material for the handle.

Most of these shapes are easily recognized; Make templates: keep them (colored or marked in some manner)and create new ones of other shapes you decide to use. The shape with the T is our master template for what we call "short & stubby" bracelet pieces. Look at that shape - can you recognize it ?? Turn it on its side 90 degrees and you might see it (a quarter ) with the sides cut off.

PERSONALLY: I like to color the other side of the template - blue or red using a magic marker; just to make sure it is never used as a piece by mistake.

Originally Posted by ArcticState

I have a question: what is the consistency of baleen as it's coming off the whale fresh? I've only ever seen it dried. Also, is it as lucrative in the native craft industry?
BALEEN: is dry as it is removed from the whales 'lip' or mouth area. The best way to describe it is a 'natural plastic' like material.

It can grow to heights of 14 feet is the largest I have ever seen; ten foot lengths and 12 foot lengths can be quite common also. It all depends on the size of the whale.

There are approximately 300 slats on each side of the lip area of the mouth. Six hundred of them there abouts in a whales mouth!!

There are some different methods and procedures for preparing it for the many different uses that baleen has. It stinks to the Nth degree when sanding it.. ten times stronger than the smell of Ivory.

The (nice person) that sent us this Mastodon Ivory; also sent us some baleen. three pieces about a foot long. They are not thick enough for bracelet pieces but can be used to make ear-rings and insets for bracelets and many other projects (using your imagination).

Baleen is commonly also used as a stand for a doll or 'scene' type arrangement such as a hunter vs. polar bear type scene that is popular among tourists.

Baleen is much easier to obtain; and it will fetch a decent price if worked on properly such as scrimshaw drawings. Baleen baskets fetch outrageous prices and are in huge demand.

All you need to scrimshaw on balleen is a needle or sharpened nail to use to etch with.

BALEEN: Has literally thousands of uses. Believe it or not; some people have requested "reeds" for musical instruments such as saxaphone or clarinet - we make them & they actually work quite well!!

Guitar picks are very popular also !!

**Majik Imaje** · 04-02-2011, 12:41 PM

Originally Posted by Barkingowl

So Sity what would you estimate the initial monetary investment to be to get started in this endeavor?
Well that is pretty easy to answer;

1. A coping saw is about 5 bucks there abouts and extra packages of blades are about the same price so initial investment in this department is about 15 bucks.

2. A small 3" or 6' vise is chump change - $ 10 bucks there abouts not too much more than that - depends on what you want.

3. A dremel tool is about $65.00 bucks with a lot of assortment bits & pieces.

4. Sand paper is 25cents a sheet so 20 bucks will get you a good collection of all the different grits that need to be used.

5. super glue ? a few bucks for a big bottle (4oz.)

6. Ear-ring studs and hooks. 3 bucks or so for 100 of them at Black Elk leather.

7. FABULUSTER polishing compound is about 5 bux for a one pound tube.

8. Bracelet cord (elastic ) shock cord; is 25 bucks for a wholel spool of 150 yards.

9. Plastic templates of simple shapes about a buck each there abouts.

10. 1 /16" drill bits about .99 cents each - get 20 of them!!

That's about it.. for an initial investment;

NOW YOU NEED IVORY

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That stuff is very expensive as in $260 bucks per pound. Here is 5 grand worth !! The last photo I posted earlier was 3k in ivory we purchased from Alaska Fur Exchange. those two small tusks at bottom of photo were one pound each - 2 of them came to just over $500 bux

Next I will post photos of all our shops we worked in: Kotz - Point Hope & 5 different shops in Barrow !!!

Simply by studying these photos you will learn a lot !! I will take the time to point out certain features of each work place we have built.

NOTICE: none of this IVORY is "white" !!!

Making Bracelet pieces using baleen - This baleen that was sent to us; is good for making bracelets; So I will post the steps for you to see; Baleen is faster to work with than IVORY; We have many hours of sawing to go on the Mastodon tusk so for now; study these images; Everything is self explanatory.

NEXT STEP(s) - REMOVE the excess baleen until you have the perfect shape & size of the original template.

Sand each side and the edges; through all the different grits of sand-paper(s).

**Majik Imaje** · 04-02-2011, 12:45 PM

Let me round up some photo's and take you back into the classroom and show you how easy this all is.

The exact same steps are repeated all day long - week in - month out - year after year. SIMPLE SIMPLE SIMPLE -

A blank piece of baleen is cut out, draw the shape, cut out the shape and smooth off the excess material to match the template drawing.

Now do this same step 10 - 16 times for the required pieces to make the bracelet to the desired size.

Using a 'burr' cutting bit (diamond or carbide) trim off the excess material to the desired size. REPEAT repeat - repeat all day long. It is monotonous work, it is a no brainer that anyone can accomplish with absolutely no skills what so ever - just do the work - this is a real job!! It pays extremely well.

Making pieces - for a bracelet or ear-rings is very simple to accomplish with absolutely no training or skills.

Inseting another piece of material; into another is quite different and does require some skills to accomplish.

Baleen is easily 'scratched' during the process of making the pieces, Later these same pieces will be polished to a brilliant shine that resembles black glass. "It is the 'shine' that sells"

We use 3 basic shapes when making bracelets;

Short stubby (pictured above) - narrow oval - & hearts. Those are basically the only 3 shapes we work with for bracelets. Use your imagination and explore other shapes.

Sanding each piece is a no brainer. drop the piece on a piece of sandpaper and move it back & forth until the surface is very smooth. Don't worry about scratches; those will dissappear when you go through the different grits of sandpaper. When finally polished - the reflection and look of black glass will amaze you. Balleen w/fossil insets has an eye-catching contrast that jumps out,and requires further examination up close.

The process of inserting different material into the balleen or ivory is a time consuming process that requires much practice to accomplish. The steps are simple. Draw the shape of the inset, on the piece; and cut out that shape. Here are some photos that illustrate this procedure.

Begin by inserting the burr cutting bit into the center of the piece and start to cut it out. This is precise work, take your time. DO NOT go beyond the edge of the pencil marks.

Now we have a piece of balleen (bracelet piece). We have cut out an oval to insert another oval into this empty hole.

The same steps are used: draw the (shape) on the piece of ivory and cut it out and smooth it.

Each of these images are self explanatory- just look - carefully and you will see how easy it is to accomplish these steps.

The sheer repetition of these simple steps - daily - weekly - monthly - yearly. GUARANTEESS your success in mastering this simple procedure.

Money will flow like a river if you keep busy and acquire a large inventory.

I will provide you with many different places that your work can be sold.

Creating the art work (photos or jewelery) is just ONE small STEP.

LEARNING HOW TO MARKET your work - is something altogether different !

Making the sale - is an art form - many books are written on marketing or on any subject you can possibly name; Everyone has different ideas, everyone has different thoughts and what may work for somone in one area may not be true in another area. Thus diversity is the word that comes to mind.

Many tons of books are pubished on how to create photographs. BOOKS !

The process is quite simple: Aim & click = photograph!! YET PEOPLE - write entire books on this simple process. There are literally tens of thousands of authors on this simple process!!

Yes !!! there is a lot more to the process. Everyone thinks different; everyone see's things differently. There is no such thing as a sheet of paper that has only one side. We can share our ideas, thoughts & experiences to influence and guide others. Take what you deem valuable and cultivate it to your style.

Marketing your work is the goal. There are many simple ways to get people to hand you $$ without you saying one word.

Let your work do all the talking - shut up about yourself. You are in front of that person (buyer) for one pupose only - ;get the $$.

I have been doing this for a long long time (4 decades) I have learned a couple of simple basics that I am willing to share with you that apply not only to ivory but to photography as well. TIMES ARE TOUGH and going to get a lot tougher, I am merely providing you a very simple way to make major bucks @ home.

Lets do some simple math so you can get a grasp of what is waiting for you.

A bracelet from start to finish is about 4-6 hours work. (Once you have these steps down). prefab everything - you can reduce that time to two hours or less.

One bracelet a day - for a month is 30 bracelets - lets keep this simple.

30 bracelets @ 300 bux each is 9 THOUSAND dollars per month.

Eye got for sons - that do this from 7 am - 7 pm daily for 7 years !!

That is how we can make 10k in a week !! Just do the work!!!

We purchase boxes for bracelets and ear-rings. One hundred of them in a case.

We went through 34 cases of bracelet & ear-ring boxes in 7 years in the Arctic.

We have been in Anchorage just about one year now. We are on case #2 and we have taken 10 months off from work.

Husband & wife 'team' working together can reap in 20 K in a month easily !!!

Take The Time To Think

**Majik Imaje** · 04-02-2011, 12:51 PM

Step #1: Make sure the inset fits. Test it. You do not force it into a TIGHT spot. you have to take this out - once your satisfied that your ready to make this permanent. Remove the inset and flood the inside with superglue. Replace the piece and this is what you should see, a tiny gap around the entire piece.

A small piece of carboard is wrapped around the bracelet piece and lines are drawn as to where to drill the holes for the bracelet cord to be inserted.

Naturally these must be all the same or the bracelet will not LOCK when final assembly takes place.

We do not use rulers or take any measurements during the entire process.

Here is it obvious: The drill bit is too long, it will go right through in one shot - that is the surest way to CAUSE injury!! Only drill half way - then turn the piece over and drill from the other side.

This is perhaps the hardest step in the entire process. learning how to drill straight and follow that line !! This take a lot of practice !

Once that inset is sanded down flush with the top of the bracelet piece, the dust from the inset will mix with the super glue on the gap(s). and blend in perfectly to create a perfect inset with absolutely no visible gaps what so ever.!!!

Of course this isn't going to happen overnight - you have to put in the time;- Create - inventory - !!

And to be quite frank and honest - NO!! You will not sell your first bracelets for no $300 bucks. It depends on material - Fossil walrus ivory brings in the highest prices of all ivory. Next comes white ivory - then mastodon ivory is the cheapst - bone & antler are much lower on the price scale. Detail will fetch a much larger price. The more detail the higher the price - on anything made. Detail sells big time. It is the #1 factor in price

The very first bracelets my sons made sold for $20 bucks each @ Kotzebue Gun & Pawn shop. They were quite pathetic !! Sharp hard edges on the pieces that didn't LOCK the bracelet into the perfect circle.

As time progressed each and every day - the price went up to $40 bucks just to get some cash coming in. We sold lots and lots of those to locals, in time - we rose to $50 bucks - then to 60 for a while then we were stuck $ 80 for over a year until the boys learned to sand and polish between the pieces. the edges that are hidden, Once they did that then the price went up to 120. When people saw perfect bracelets with fossil material insets - the price was $200. That was Kotzebue. Point Hope was slightly lower in prices for the same bracelet. But in Barrow that same Bracelet would fetch $400 easily.

RECENTLY we went to Alaska Fur Exchange to purchase some ivory. We spoke with the owners. They have tons and tons of braclets of all types.

The owner pulled out a bracelet of TRIPLE HEARTS - BLUE FOSSIL IVORY. She said: This was made in Point Hope by a very large woman who sold it to us. My sons laughed and said yes Caroline Cannon I bet. The owner said - how did you know that ? Mark said - we made it and sold it to her !!

The owner said We want all you can make of this style - we will pay you top dollar for these type bracelets.

We got the exact same response from the owner over @ Carls Jewlers in the University mall.

LETS GO SHOPPING; -

This is an excercise in learning how to use your imagination in your surroundings to set up a nice working functional shop for your new job.

These images are merely used as starting points for you to consider how to set up your area neatly so you can function efficently and comfortably for long extended periods of time.

Our very first shop in Kotzebue - June of 2004. This small arctic entry way or qanichaq was only six feet wide and perhaps 12 feet long. barely any room to set up a place to work for four teenagers. We are going to learn and this is where my sons did basic training. Sit down with a dremel and some pieces of ivory. four boys on a couch. Everything they needed is right in front of them.

Very efficient use of a limited amount of space. An over abundance of all supplies such as super glue - drill bits - saw blades - polishing wheels. and burr bits and other small essentials.

For over a year & half my sons sat on this couch all day long and worked. We didn't watch tv. We worked 12 - 14 hours a day and they had a lot of fun. The best part was always when people handed you the $$. They always had the biggest smile(s) on thier faces.

IN seven years time; the best day we ever had; was out of this shop; 3k in one day. We never broke that record in the 3 years we were selling every day in Barrow.

They went from that shop to this one in Point Hope:

This is shop #2 762 Tasiq Street Point Hope Alaska 99766

You can notice; we started out with just one sucker hose to expell the dust away from the 12" disk sander. Three of those - cost well over $1,000 bucks with shipping. You can see in these photos we graduated to 3 of everything; one for each work station.

Everything we ordered we ordered in excess; such as ear-ring hooks & studs. One thousand of each hooks & studs in gold & in silver from Black Elk was 250 bucks there abouts. It didn't matter what we ran out of- we had plenty of stock on hand to make sure the JOB did not get shut down. The job is to finish one bracelet per day !!! w/matching ear-rings.

Then spend the rest of the day - prefabbing for the next days work.

We lived @ Tasiq street for almost two years then we moved to Barrow - we didn't pack all of this stuff up. We gave most of it away or sold it very cheaply to interested carvers.

Then we moved to Barrow and history was made !! These boys became legends in Barrow.

5 shops were built in Barrow. All brand new tools - the exact same stuff.

We never had any inkling or desire to move to Barrow; We were quite content in our home village of Point Hope; It was the barge captain two years in a row that convinced us to check barrow out and it was stepping out on a limb for sure. We did not know anyone in Barrow (personally). So on August 7th of 2007 Mark & I flew to Barrow (homeless). We arrived flat broke. Not one dime - BUT.. .. .. .. We had - 30 pairs of ear-rings - 16 quality bracelets and 3 bone masks.

We arrived 7 pm - tired and hungry and flat broke. Mark walked across the street from the Airport to King Eider hotel. I waited at the air port. 20 minutes later he came out with a big smile - he sold 4 sets of ear-rings for $30 bux each. We headed straight to Pepi's !! Singing & dancing the whole way.

Our first shop in Barrow - we were guests in this home for two months. It ended up costing us a fortune ! LITERALLY. A 70 year old elder took us into his house on our second night in Barrow - he was happy to have company or guests and would only charge us 500 per month. We said sure-

Shop #1 in Barrow We took all our tools when we left - but... .. we left all the wood benches and shelving in place. The owner was dissapointed when we left and appreciated the work done to his storage room with benches and shelves.

Okakok Street in Barrow

Shop #2 in Barrow - $1000 bucks a month rent - for this one small room. Sounds outrageous eh ? nope - chump change. If I look at this situation of $1000 a month. This is ridiculous BUT - ALL THAT AMOUNTS TO. is just ONE BRACELET per week for rent. It was a very tiny price to pay considering we made 27 bracelets that sold every week!!!

We were here for four months and we were quite content at our living arrangements and then a 7 bedroom house became available to us and it was perfect for two shops. We were growing very fast -all brand new tools.

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Shop #3 @ 336 oogruk street

Shop # 4 in Barrow We sure moved around a lot.

448 Egasaq Street

We used the entire kitchen area to build our shop. Sanding had to be done outside. Then we built a small sanding area in the qanichaq. (cunny chuck)

THIS IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE of how: NOT TO SET UP A SHOP.

IT is a total mess !!

Now presently we are in Anchorage and we are very limited as to how to set up a working functional shop here in this tiny 2 bedroom apartment. Jesse displays his new work area in one of the bedrooms. Everything is within instant reach. Put on the head phones and 'dream' while you work. Go someplace else, the work your gonna be doing is so simple you have plenty of time to travel in your thoughts.

Slicing up a small nub from the end of a piece of fossil ivory. No lines are drawn, no measurements are taken. Eye sight only. slice em up nice and neat. This requires a few hours work to finish. coping saw, dremel, vise - watch what happens here in the next day or two.

This may seem boring, and it is in a sense, but it is part of the JOB!! How bad is your urge & desire to succeed ?? Then purchase a small piece of IVORY for 50 bucks. Slice it up, take your time. There is no rush. But if you put in the necessary time and FINISH all the steps.. .. YOU WILL have a saleable product. Where to go to sell them ??

ANCHORAGE: Bingo parlors on Tudor, Northern Lights, & Fireweed. Native hospital, Go where the money is: i.e. Doctors - Lawyers - You do not have to be 'native' to produce 'native' art 'style(s)'!!

The gift shops all over Anchorage will purchase your beginning bracelets but don't expect to get more than 40 - 60 bucks. That's ok. Just bring in ten of them @ once and make 400. Its gonna take time to learn how to produce high quality bracelets, BUT IT IS easily accomplished with practice of these same simple steps.

When you make a bracelet, your doing the exact same thing 14 times.

Just how many pieces do you think it is going to take to beome an expert ?? Nt very many !!!

ONE STEP AT A TIME: Learn them well.

Once you learn how to make ear-rings - Put in the time. You can easily fill a case of 100 boxes in a weeks time or less !!

That is an easy Thousand bux, in about 3 days time. Now Hustle and fill 2 cases per week. do that for just one month.

You are going to make a lot of money. Especially when AFN is going on in Anchorage or Fairbanks. It is easy to get a table and sell your crafts for big bucks. When working, take the time to think, you got plenty of time for this when doing simple tasks over and over !! This is all going to become so second nature much faster than you realize.

Once you begin to collect $$. Then the fire will be lit and you will climb very fast in making outrageous money!!

Next I have a close up of a bracelet being worked on. Well actually 3 different bracelets are being worked on now.

This heart inset bracelet will have 12 pieces. As this piece is sanded lightly through the different grits - 400 - 800 - 1600 All scratches will dissappear !! Fossil Ivory w/baleen heart inset. Placed on top of a Nickel, 5 cents

Once this piece is sanded using the much finer grits i.e. 800 - 1500 the shine will become scratch free. It will look like 'glass' when polished for the final step. Now repeat this same process a dozen times to finish the bracelet pieces and don't forget two more for the matching ear-rings.

**Majik Imaje** · 06-06-2011, 02:02 AM

Here are some of the bracelets we have recently made during the last month.

A reverseable bracelet of Ivory & Baleen, this sold for $600!

This is the same bracelet - flipped or reversed

NOTICE: no gaps around the insets !! Quality has made us the #1 bracelet makers in all of the State of Alaska - we have sold over 3,500 bracelets and we provide a life time 100% unconditional no questions asked guarantee - if there are any problems we fix or replace for FREE!!

**Majik Imaje** · 07-08-2011, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zahidndgc

Hmmmm quiet interested on that making money but that huge amount in a month I think is kinda hard to find in the net but...

if you can give me the exact or proper instruction im willing to try it out

Go Here! READ & LEARN - I promise you - this can't fail 34 pages w/100's of photographs & videos to teach you every single aspect of how easy it is to do this.

Alaska Fur Exchange in Anchorage has tens of thousands of tons of ivory that is thousands of years old.

We have been doing this for over 8 years now!! We make $$ every day, twice a day or more!

**weblover50** · 07-26-2011, 12:05 PM

That's a great business venture. good luck!

**chrishirst** · 09-20-2011, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AustinScott

That's Great Man !
Does this need special training ?

So did you skip over the SEVERAL posts with pictures of what you need to know?