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CustomMade is an online matchmaker connecting Buyers who want one-of-a-kind Creations with professional and passionate Makers.

Vermont, Hurricane Irene, and Buying Local

Posted by CustomMade in Concepts & Buyer Guides, For Customers, For Makers on September 16, 2011

Written by Patrick Kennedy of Superior Woodcraft, Inc.

Attention All Consumers

Dear Consumer,

Buying Local isn’t just business. It is personal. Your local businesses are owned by your family, friends and neighbors. Thesue are very same people that create your community. So, buying local just isn’t about business – it’s about you. Personally, l view the act [...]

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Choosing Metals for Your Custom Jewelry

Posted by Pedro in Concepts & Buyer Guides, For Customers on September 9, 2011

When you place your idea for a custom jewelry design in the hands of a CustomMade artisan, “available designs” and “traditional uses” won’t restrict your metal choices.  You can have a gold wedding ring or a silver bracelet that will be a one-of-a-kind piece, not a carbon copy out of a catalogue.  Unlike carbon, however, [...]

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“Buy Local” is more than just a mantra

Posted by CustomMade in Concepts & Buyer Guides, For Customers, For Makers on September 2, 2011

“Buy local!” We hear it so often and it seems like such a nice warm fuzzy idea that who could possibly disagree with it? But how often do we stop and think about exactly why buying local is a good idea?

Here are some very real and compelling reasons given by the non-profit Independent We [...]

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Birthstone Meanings and Custom Jewelry Design

Posted by Pedro in Concepts & Buyer Guides, For Customers on August 26, 2011

Including birthstones in a custom jewelry design is a thoughtful way to combine tradition and a personalized message in a gift for any occasion.  The American Gem Society website has a very informative guide to the history and lore of birthstones for every month, including alternative selections.  Although these are the most widely accepted modern [...]

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Think custom cabinetmakers make cabinets?

Posted by CustomMade in Concepts & Buyer Guides, For Customers on August 12, 2011

What is a custom cabinetmaker, anyway?

It may seem like an obvious question, but the answer has got a few more layers than you might expect…

Nowadays, we think of a cabinet maker as the guy or the gal who just installed your new custom kitchen cabinets, or the general contractor who just gave you [...]

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What is Lost Wax Casting?

Posted by Pedro in Concepts & Buyer Guides, For Customers on August 5, 2011

Since ancient times, artisans from around the world have made metal jewelry pieces, sculptures, and other objects with the lost wax casting technique.  Though the designs, styles, and, of course, finished products have varied enormously, all the pieces created in this manner have one fundamental thing in common: each one literally “breaks the mold” and [...]

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It’s all about value: explaining the cost of custom items

Posted by CustomMade in Concepts & Buyer Guides, For Customers, For Makers, The Pro Shop on July 25, 2011

The first question on most people’s minds when talking about custom items is “what will it cost?”

If you’re the one making the item, you know that thinking about the price tag BEFORE thinking about the value of the product misses the entire point of the purchase. But, what does that elusive word ”value” even mean?  How do [...]

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What is Live Edge Design?

Posted by Pedro in Concepts & Buyer Guides, For Customers on July 22, 2011

It’s easier to identify furniture made from live edge wood than to understand what live edge means.  When you look at custom live edge furniture, you probably can imagine if not see the profile of the tree that yielded the wood for the piece.  If you examine the edges of the wood slabs, the rough, [...]

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What do you do when materials are scarce?

Posted by CustomMade in Concepts & Buyer Guides, For Customers, For Makers, The Pro Shop, The Wide World of Custom Making on July 15, 2011

Have you ever experienced a time when one of your key materials became nearly impossible to source? A recent New York Times article, “When Fashion Meets Fishing, the Feathers Fly,” chronicles how the explosion of a new trend for women to use fly-tying feathers as hair accessories

has left fisherman without an essential material.

“Demand [...]

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Getting started on your custom home office

Posted by CustomMade in Concepts & Buyer Guides, For Customers, The People Behind CustomMade on July 8, 2011

Your home office space is like your lair. It’s your zone, your place in which to focus and get things done, yet it still provides the comfiness of  home.  Whether you work from home primarily or you use your home office space for bills, emails and paperwork, it’s important that the space strikes the perfect [...]

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