CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT: Warwick B

Hey everyone, welcome back to another customer spotlight. We created this series to showcase our custom projects and to emphasise one of our favourite quotes; "The only limit is your imagination."

This custom project took us to New South Wales, Australia.

Warwick reached out via email in early October with a rather strange request.
He wanted to know if we could make a bronze, T-Rex or Dachshund shaped clock. I remember Cam and I reading the request and thinking, 'whaaaat?' 😂 but, we are willing to give anything a go.

After talking with Warwick in much further detail, we came to discover that he was somewhat of a hobby blacksmith himself and yes, you guessed it a dachshund dad to Chandler and Joey (Warwick and his partner Susan also have a Friends obsession). Susan's nickname is Rexy and for their first, (paper) Wedding Anniversary, Warwick drew Susan a series of T-rex cartoons. After this, they decided to continue with traditional gifts each year. 

Last year, for their seventh (copper) Wedding Anniversary, Warwick found us on Etsy whilst searching for a handmade, copper gift. Warwick said: "I remembered seeing blacksmith's make Iron Roses and was looking for similar in copper. There were a few options but one stood out from the rest - Empire Copper."

We landed on making a bronze, dachshund shaped clock. Bronze, because that is the traditional gift given for an eighth Wedding Anniversary. Dachshund, because Warwick's day job is a mechanical draftsperson and he already had created a dachshund CAD file. A CAD or Computer Aided Design file, is a digital 2D or 3D design that provides data to computers or machines on how to cut a specific shape. Essentially, it is an instruction file. 

In this instance, once we had received the CAD file and after a little tweaking, we simply add the file to our computer operated CNC router and hit go! After a bit of tidying up, sanding and sealing our dachshund clock was ready for the finishing touches and dispatch. We affixed a silent movement (all of our clocks up to 55cm are silent) and went ahead with a set of black, straight clock hands.
We ended up having to add a small counterweight to the back rear of the clock, to evenly distribute the weight, based on the shape.  

Warwick was ecstatic with the finished product and when asked what he enjoyed the most about working with us, he said:

"I truly admire the craftsmanship of the rose, so when it came to bronze for 8 years, I came looking for your Etsy page. The idea of the dachshund clock came from seeing one of your Bronze clocks with a blank brushed face. Initially, I was undecided on a T-Rex or Sausage Dog shape for a "uniquely us" type anniversary gift...

With Cam's experience on the actual manufacturability and previous designs in the material, we decided the Dachshund was the best option. I enjoyed the easy, friendly yet professional communication between us and Cam's "let's give it a shot" attitude."

You can find Warwick on Instagram here: @rawrsomeforge
And, you can find Joey and Chandler the Dachshunds at: @dachsjoeytribbiani

If you loved this blog, please leave us a comment below!

If Warwick's clock has sparked an idea for you or your imagination is running wild with a custom project in mind, please email us at contact@empirecopper.com or, fill out our Contact Us form. We'd love to hear from you! You can expect a response within 2 business days. 

- Thanks again for being here, Cam + Beth x