You may have read that Ive been devoting efforts to build up the Beach Jewelry portion of our income. Life is a fickle thing. For 15-20 years, I rarely sold anything I made in the United States. Everything went to Japan, Switzerland, even Australia. Anything I could make was understood to be sold upon completion. Not that it was ordered. Just that it was “spoken for.” When that chapter of my life ended, it was because of bitterness between buyers, with me trapped in the middle. Comical and tragic. Sounds like a movie, doesn’t it? People desired my work so much, I that it was considered treason for me to sell to others. If one learned I’d sold to another, there were serious hurt feelings to soothe. You might scoff. But try to figure it out. And this was before the internet. Juggling international contacts and delays. Shuffling rolls of FAX thermal paper where you couldn’t recognize a picture of yourself. Or else wait two weeks for color photos to arrive half way around the world ... “if” the recipient wasn’t traveling abroad. Often they were. It might take two months for pictures to catch up with their target Collector. If they did, and you got an International phone call in the middle of the night two months after you had sent off an offer on a group of knives ... you had better still have all of that group of knives laying back awaiting a decision. You couldn’t hedge bets sending out two or more packets to different buyers, because two or more buyers would each want “all” of the knives in the grouping. Tell the 2 am phone that Knives #2 and #6 were now gone, and listen to the glassy cold silence of the receiver in your hand. Would freeze your soul.



Fast forward. During the next twenty years, the Airgun Saga plays out on stage. And my health begins to appear on stage with increasing frequency. And today, I’m producing a wide mixture of my excellent work. The man has gone thru many changes. The work has remained first rate. But people don’t like it when you get sick, hurt, or older. It bums them out. And many just move on. Many become 110 years old or more, and they don’t collect as much as they once did. (Eye roll or tongue in cheek emoji here). And so I’ve done my very best to keep my work interesting. I explain why I need to do this or that... to pay the light bill and the tax man. Hope you enjoy seeing my work. It’s as good as its ever been. If you need to fight a Swiss Billionaire for one of my pieces, then I’ve failed you. If you’d like to snag that model 97 out from under a wealthy Collector in Japan, I’m sorry. It’s not required at the moment. If you’d like to buy an heirloom quality Barnes anything, please use the PM section of the page - upper right.



I’m continuing to develop a network of shops which sell my unique Beach Jewelry here on the Emerald Coast of Florida. Down on the Beach where the resorts are. It’s taking effort to build. It’s definitely NOT a “Break Away” from my Airguns or Knives. But it’s necessary because, as I’ve mentioned a few times; we need activity here on the forum to generate an income. To generate a desire to purchase. Nobody wants anything that is “available”. Check any market. People want to be assured that something is impossible to attain, before they want it. If requesting activity, a bit of conversation, and a few small sales here (thru the forum) is as difficult as it’s been; then nobody can be surprised that I need a bit more. The bills come every month. They don’t care that I can engrave. The bills only care about being paid ...



I know you “CAN handle the truth.” I really value your friendship. I’ve really thought I just spent ten years showing you that, here on the forum. I’d love to continue that back and forth, and show you my work. This is what I’ve been doing lately, and why.

Please join in.

Best
Gary



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/22/2019 06:43PM by barnespneumatic.

Beach Girl looks pretty cool. Will those become pendants?

Yes Sir. Or they could be on a Cuff Bracelet. That Die is shown on 1” discs. Could be in an area about .900” min. I’ve made some cuffs that are in the shape of a classic wrist watch.

I’ve made a huge no. of dies over the years.