 |
||||
News Archive 2005 |
||
|
12/20/05
Happy Holidays from all of us at OlliN Sword Design!
It has been a privilege and honor to work with and meet so many sweet, fascinating, and interesting people over the year. Everyone has been so wonderful to meet. It has been such a special experience for all of us that everyone has been so willing to share their passion for the sword and the creative with us. It has been a true please to work with all of you. It been a wonderful year for all of us here at OlliN and we hope that it's been for you as well. Best wishes to everyone in the coming year. If you raise a glass over the holidays, snap a picture and send it to us at matthew@ollinsworddesign.com. We'd love to put the pics up in the news section next year. On behalf of Kathy, Dave, Mark and myself, have a have a warm and safe Holiday Season. If we don't get a chance to talk with you again before the end of the year, have a reflective and happy New Year as well. We look forward to more conversations, designing, and sword-smiting with you in 2006. ~ Matt 12/9/05 Also, thanks to all for the comments on Bare Blade 1 in our Upcoming section. I can tell you that the guard and pommel are off being cast right now and it looks like we should be getting those pieces back shortly. I had a chance to handle this piece and it is just crazy! Very light and natural to hold. It's very cool! Again, you will love it! Ok, I know I've been promising updates to the ZDC (Zombie Defense Collection) for like weeks now. BUT, we're in the home stretch here and should be able to mount our premier piece, Riley's Defense, within the next week or so. I promise, I promise, I promise. I can also tell you that we have ordered t-shirts with the NEW ZDC logo on them and we should have them next week. So look to see the OlliN Merchandise Shop open it's preverbal doors within the next week or so. One thing I hope is that we can get some better models for the t-shirts. Oh! And we're also working on getting some ZDC patches as well. Mostly for the survival packs, but some for sales too. Should be fun. Even more love! Also, for those that have been checking out the OlliN site regularly (THANK YOU, by the way), you'll have noticed the OlliN Sword Design font has been in some flux. Sorry about that. We've been trying some different things. This last go around seemed close and is closer then the last, but it is still not quite right. Stay tuned. It's going to be changing again soon. So close, so close, but just not quite there yet. Love to be determined! Got ideas for OlliN? Got a sword design of your own? Drop us a line at info@ollinsworddesign.com. We'd love to hear from you! ~ Matt
11/30/05 Next we have the revamp of the Zombie Defence Collection logo. How is that for fun? Inspired by the fallout logo of late, the ZDC logo is a great way to mark the equipment you'll need when the zombies start to invaid. T-shirts with the ZDC logo are coming soon. We're also hoping to have some patches for the survival packs as well as some for sale. There will are also some different T-shirt designs in the works as well. Stay tuned. The merchandise page will be going up soon. ~ Matt 11/18/05 As I said yesterday, more pieces will be hitting the webpages here soon. Check back often! Best, ~ Matt 11/17/05 Good news in the ZDC (Zombie Defense Collection). Not only are the machete blades back from heat-treating, one has been final ground. In fact it was tested in a big old chuck of fire wood. It took large chucks out of the log and held it’s edge perfectly. I believe we just have to fit the handle and a couple of finishing touches. The first ZDC piece. I can’t wait!!! Also, there has been some work in the Polearm Collection. We’ll be having several spears updating the collection shortly. In particular we will be featuring the OlliN Spear. Specifically designed for a revamp of our logo in mind. It’s wicked cool and I can’t wait to share this with you. I’ll see what I can do about mounting the logo revamp too. That’s all for now. Thanks again for the support. 11/4/05
More swords, machetes, and spears hitting the Ollin pages soon! Right now we are busy, busy with some custom orders that have come in. Big thanks to Grant from TN for working with us. He's been super cool to get to know and we're really enjoying working on his project! Thanks, man!!! Do you have a custom sword in mind? Historic or otherwise, shoot us an email. We'll be happy to talk with you about it. Best! ~ Matt
10/14/05 Also there has been a fair amount of product description that have been updated in the Signature and Edged series. I think they are worth a look if you have a minute or two. More pieces off to heat treating. And we all know what that means. Keep an eye on the Upcoming page for new OlliN products. Best to all of you! ~ Matt 10/8/05 There's also been some great updates to how we are managing our news page and back issues. It's been streamlined and condensed. And really, as it should have been. I'm all about the efficency! Things in the shop are running smooth. Some new products to come shortly to the Upcoming page. More Zombie products coming your way. Oh yes, much more OlliN goodness coming your way soon! ~ Matt 9/20/05 In other news, we are busy with custom orders and quotes at the moment. I did some revamps our Link page. They are fun and you should check them out. In the shop there is some talk about a couple of new pieces of equipment that could be very cool for us. And if you can handle it, OlliN Tshits are an the way. Now you too can sport authentic OlliN ware. Now that's just fun. Matthew
Grzybowski 9/7/05 Next on the list of things...I thought I would share some photos from our last production meeting.
We tend not to hold our production meetings at OlliN as we find we can be more productive if we can get out of the office. Above we have Kathy who is busy scribing the minutes for our meeting and Dave going over the notes he has on our search for steel casters. The other pic shows Mark and some of the t-shirt and ZDC designs he was working on. It looks like there is going to be a chance I'm going to be able to make it into the shop later today. I know that Mark just finished another piece. I'm hoping to have it up at the site later this week or early next. For all you Zombie Defense fans out there, we have 3 machetes profiled and we're hoping to have some NEW pics up for you within the next couple of weeks. That's all for now. Stay tuned! Matthew
Grzybowski 8/30/05 And I'm happy to say, there is more on the way. We are in the process of getting some pieces cast out of steel. We’re all very excited to bring these to you. We’ve been getting a lot of requests for custom orders lately, which has been helping to keep the shop humming. Thanks to all those who’ve placed orders! You’re kind words are most welcome. Enjoy the new pieces! Matthew
Grzybowski 8/25/05 Matthew
Grzybowski 8/23/05 Also...we got a lovely write up from one of our custom customers. Check out her thoughts about her OlliN experience on our Custom page! Big thanks again Heidi! Matthew
Grzybowski 8/12/2005 In other news, we got the last of the Zombie Survival pack materials. Pictures and product info to be mounted next week. ALSO…we’ve got 2 of the machetes profiled for the Zombie Defense Collection. They are so much fun! I think you will love them and have to buy to of each. At present we are planning on a line of 6 custom machetes. If they do well we may expand the line. That’s all of now. Keep on rocking! Matthew
Grzybowski 7/27/2005 Matthew
Grzybowski 7/22/2005 In other news...more work! Mark has several more pieces coming back from heat-treating soon, which means more new products on the way. Make sure to check back with us to see what new OlliN products await you! Matthew
Grzybowski 7/14/2005
In other news, more proposal work. We are making some great progress and should be sending it out soon here. Mark has started prepping some of the casting wax to help get the shop in ready mode in-between drawing out designs for the proposal and being asked a bizion questions by the rest of us. Below are some shots of the shop right now and it's all things wax at the moment. The pot and warmer are used for melting the wax down and NOT for cooking in this case.
AND most importantly...the zombie steel is IN! Arrived last night. Look for more posts and the birth of our Zomie Line kicking into undead action! Matthew
Grzybowski 7/13/2005 In other news, we’re busy, busy (I feel like I say that a lot here) working on a proposal for an upcoming project. Everyone on the OlliN staff is burning the midnight oil getting figures, sketches, dimensions, and such getting quantified and organized. Hopefully, more on that to come as well. As always, we appreciate hearing from you. Is there something you would like to see? Is there something that you wish we carried? Is there something that you need to have? Shoot us an email. Tell us your thoughts. Thanks again for stopping by! Matthew
Grzybowski 7/4/2005 Matthew
Grzybowski 7/4/2005 We're also busy, busy doing some designing for a custom order.
We can't say very much about it right now, but I can say they have been
great to work with so far and we are all very excited. Lots to do though.
I got some questions for all of you out there. Do YOU have a caster or machinist
that you like using? If so, email me at matthew@ollinsworddesign.com and let me know. Matthew
Grzybowski 6/13/2005 For all of you out there that are wondering what Mark's up to these days, he's busy finishing up several custom shop orders. I've also heard rumors of additional work being done on The Reaver! As for me, work’s been a little slow on the Zombie Defense. I'm working on getting some steel prices. I've also been looking for some prices for our survival kit. I'm hoping that by mid to late July we should have the 1st pieces up in that collection. I thought I would mention that the offer from 6/7's post is still good for the preordering any of them in the post. Remember, email me directly at matthew@ollinsworddesign.com, tell me which one you are interested in, mention the password: swordfish, and receive a 10% off the yet to be determined price. I think we will be running that offer through the end of the month (6/30). Production Manager 6/7/2005
No name or additional production materials available for this beauty yet, but rest assured we're working on it and will post it soon. Out of the three new pieces this one is the futherest along, though I know Mark said that there was still some work that needed to be done on it. Next up...
This piece is still very much in production and I believe at the time of the shoot had just been fitted. I can tell you that the handle still needs to be stained. But I couldn't wait to show you! I love Mark's swords because they are so different and so unique...it makes you want to freak out. And I did. And then there is this one...
I know I've posted some production shots of this one for you. Again the handle still needs to be stained, but I couldn't wait. Mark finished the pommel. I think it is great on how the handle of this piece looks like a hoof. This was a hard shoot because ever piece he brought out I wanted to own. I know I've been talking about the pieces in production. And finally we've got some shots for you to see. I know these pieces are still in production, but if you are interested in preordering any of them, email me directly at matthew@ollinsworddesign.com, tell me which one you are interested in, mention the password: swordfish, and receive a 10% off the yet to be determined price. How is that for some excitement! Production Manager 5/24/2005 And for all of you playing along at home, tomorrow is the 25th which means OlliN's official GRAND OPENING!!! Currently, we're working on setting up a contest. The winner will get one of our NEW daggers that mark has been working on. Details to follow shortly. More to come soon. More updates! More excitement! More thrills! Production Manager 5/20/2005 Production Manager 5/19/2005 Super good news for all you Zombie fans out there, we made some great progress last night on the Zombie collections. Mark weighed in with some of his concerns about the steal we have in house right now. We're off and pricing some thinner steal for a lighter, quicker machete. Plus we started talking about some fun tire irons we're going to start producing. Hey, if it was good enough for Ben (Night of the Living Dead for all of you playing along at home) it will be good enough for you in a pinch. Of course ours will be all OlliNed out and better suited for taking out the undead. There has also been some good progress made on the NEW edged weapons. I think I posted about this before; we've got about 8 NEW blades coming out very soon and let me tell you their FANTASTIC!!! All very much Mark. Every time I head to the shop, he's got a new piece for this or that. I just can't wait to get them up and into the collections for all of you to look at and say, "I'll take 35 of each because their SO COOL!!!" I understand and will be happy to help you get your sword fix. That's all for today. Enjoy the new site. Tell us what you think. We're always here to listen. Production Manager 5/16/05 I like this knife. I've been debating on wither these are going to be sold as a set or individually. Either way I think they work.
In other news, the order page is up and running. You too can learn all about how to place an order with OlliN. Pricing has been delayed slightly. All the numbers are in, but we need still need to meet and run over the marketing information. Very soon though and we should be able to maintain the May 25th, 2005 Grand Opening date. More to come. Thanks for checking in. Keep those emails coming! Production Manager 5/10/05 In other news, we’re making some good progress on the pricing. The formulas are all in place, the research is just about done, and soon we’ll have that up. It would be keen if we were able to have it posted by the 15th. Also, also…the order information is just about finalized. We just need to sign some paper work with our processor and we’ll be all set. I love being able to post up a new photo or two for you, but I haven’t been able to make it over to the shop yet this week. I’m hoping get some time tonight and post later this week. Production Manager 5/2/05 Another busy, busy weekend full of all things Ollin. Met with Mark to go over some production things. We need to talk a bit about the designs for an inquiry about a custom order. Things have been moving right along with that. It's very cool. I'll post more about it as things move forward. Then we chatted about some logistical things. The process of custom orders, the website, some very cool sword forums that he's be checking out. We also meet with our lawyer to go over the wording of some legal things that we need to post. Nothing more exciting then talking law I tell you! Lucky for us, our lawyer is also a good friend. Part of his fee was that he wanted us to give him a tour of the shop. Wanting nothing more to please, we gave the tour. There were many "ooo's" and "ahhh's" as we looked at the inventory new and old. Now on to what you've really come here to see, more production shots! You got it. First off, a photo of the photos being taken.
Angle, lighting, framing...it's all important. And here is why..
Finally, a good shot of the premier of our Signature Series The Reaver. The handle is just a mock up right now, but finally you can see how it is laying out. The winged skull guard it carved in wax right now. Mark is currently working on the carving for the for the end cap, then both will be sent off to be cast and forged. Next up, here are some production shots of four new blades.
The one in the upper left is more sword like. Mark hasn't ruled one way or the other on which end is up on this blade. The upper right is a like a short sword or a long dagger. The relief cuts along the top of the blade are too much. The lower left is a naginata blade. Mark has cut out the staff for this and the mock up is really very impressive. Lastly in the lower right is what I was calling the toothpick. This short sword is just huge and so much fun! Also if you haven’t checked out the Zombie Defense Collection, I’ve added some shots of some machete cut outs. Also, updated the About page as well. Check out Mark grinding away on another sword blade. That all for now. More to come. Keep checking in! Production Manager 4/27/05 Note the anti-fatigue mat on the floor. I just brought that over for him. Technically Dave bought it for him, but I remembered to take it out of the back of my truck. Now Mark can work in comfort as he’s grinding away on the new blades. If you look close underneath the grind there are 3 bladed that have been cut out of the 1020 steel waiting to be ground. Next here is a shot of the production wall.
Here are some of the blades all in different stages of production, all for different collections. The 1st 8 are all new. Next to them you’ll find the Dagger of the M, the Peasant Dagger, and the Phoenix Sun Blade all out of inventory. The last is a blade Mark is working on for a good friend. Let’s take a close look at a couple of these….
Here is what I’ve been joking about calling the toothpick. It’s huge! I thought I would hold it for you so you could get a better idea of its size. And you thought a bowie knife was big. This one just may win. Next up more Reaver pictures, as promised.
Now is that a blade or what? Again I thought if I held the blade for you, you might get a better idea on how big this sword is going to be. If you look back to the production wall shot, you’ll notice The Reaver blade extends out of the shot. Mark put the wax guard on the blade so you would get a better sense on how it will look together. I think this is a much better shot of the guard. Lastly, here is the vent to the air cleaner.
Production Manager 4/22/05 No names for these two yet. Any thoughts?
Next, here is what so many have you have been contacting us about, the first glimpse of what I think is going to be the premier of our signature line, The Reaver. This is a wax craving of the guard. And now that I'm looking at it, it is an early picture as now there is more texturing on the top of the skull. From here the wax will be sent off to have a casting of it made. Then it is off to the foundry to have it cast in metal. Mark hasn’t quite made up his mind yet on what kind of metal he wants to use. He’s thinking something lighter. And from what I’ve seen of the blade, he’s completely right. I've seen the work on the blade and it is awesome. Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of it. But I will tell you it is huge! When we put the two pieces together, it is was amazing. I’ll try and snap some more pictures for next week. The Reaver will truly be the prize of any collection!
That's all I have for you this week. More profiling, more products, more pricing (we're so so close to having that wrapped up). We're moving right along. If you haven't yet, take our quick, little survey (Ollin Sword Design Survey). Thanks to all of you who have been emailing with your questions and comments about our site. It's very kind and thoughtful of you. We're very excited to be here! Production Manager 4/18/05 So many good things going on right now. More to post later this week. Till then. Production Manager 4/13/05 We’re also starting our work on the designs for The Zombie Defense Collection. The collection will have a total of five to six machetes. We're looking at some of the traditional aspects of machetes and tweaking them from there to give them a zombie fighter's edge. We're also working on some more spear/polearm type weapons that are perfect for stopping the living dead. Should be an exciting collection. I'll keep you posted as we work on the line and post design samples when we can. Mark’s got an impressive twelve blades ready to be profiled (meaning to cut the rough shape of the blade from the raw steel) all for the different collections. I can’t wait for you to see them! Thanks for checking in with us! More posts soon. Production Manager 4/7/05 We'll keep posting about our progress as we get closer and closer to our grand opening (unofficially I think it is going to be in May 15th). Don't worry, there will be plenty of posts and announcements leading up to it. And you keep checking in and emailing us. Thanks for stopping by and taking a look! |
News Archive 2005 |
||
|
Copyright
© 2005-2007 by OlliN Sword Design LLC All pages, information, designs, artwork, and photographs on this website are the property of Ollin Sword Design LLC. Nothing on this site can be reproduced without express permission of OlliN Sword Design LLC. Visit our About page for contact information. |
|
