Dready's Mod Spa: Gallery, Info, & Chit Chat

[Mark Howard]

Welcome to Dready's mod Spa!





Dready's Mod Spa is just me, formerly dreadymark, doing custom patinas on brass or copper mechanical mods, Reo doors, and certain rda AFC rings, in particular the Nuppin' bottom fed rda. I keep several mods on hand, both ready to ship as well as new in the box, naked, waiting for a patina. Also available are brass Reo doors (Grand & Mini) and Nuppin' AFC rings. Additionally, I enjoy special requests; a good way is to reference a piece in the gallery I have previously done, or perhaps a reference to something (ie water, space, wood, etc). You are also welcome to send your mod to the Spa for a rejuvenating patina.


One note about me, Mark. I'm a stay at home dad and that is my main job. I spend the rest of my waking hours doing this. What this means to you is that I am often able to respond to questions rather quickly, but I am not a typical business. My hours are sporatic and my time is finite, so at certain times or for certain requests there may be a bit of a queue of work lined up. If you purchase an item shown in the other thread that is ready to go, I usually ship same or next day. For custom work my goal is usually to turn around a piece within a week or two. Sometimes it's less, and a couple times a little longer. I encourage a dialog, via PM, leading up to a custom job, so we'll always be on the same page.


This will serve as the main thread for viewing the gallery of previous patina work I have done, provide information for anything related to patinas, upcoming releases, inquiries, and any and all general chit chat.


To view currently available mods, doors, and AFC rings, check out the Store at: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/modder-accessories-supplier-forum/621888-dreadys-mod-spa-shop-available-patinas.html. This thread will showcase ONLY patinas available for purchase. Once an item has sold it will be deleted from the thread. The thread will also have comments disabled, for the sake of continuity once an object has sold, so direct all comments and inquiries to this, chit chat thread.




PRICING AND PURCHASING


- Pricing for currently available work will be posted along with the photo and description on the Shop thread.


-Pricing for custom work varies, depending on a number of factors: patina type, device type, and other factors can greatly affect the amount of time and cost of materials for a given look. Again, all those factors will determine the price and I will be very open and upfront with you on these factors. One of my favorite aspects of doing this is working closely with people (figuratively) to try to achieve the perfect "look" they want. Feel free to be as involved as you like throughout the process.


-ALL purchases, for now, go through sending me a PM and then payment via PayPal.


PATINA MAINTENANCE

Patinas are somewhat fragile, although the extensive sealing process adds a great deal of strength to them. That said, it is still important to handle your patina with care. To maintain its luster, I recommend using a microfiber or polishing cloth regularly. If you begin to get small scratches you can gently use a little rubbing compound to smooth it out, then follow with a polish (Mother's, Renaissance, etc.). DO NOT use any products containing acetone as it will strip the finish! If you get a chip in it, all is not necessarily lost; snap a pic and send it to me and I'll assess what we can do to get it all fixed up.

Patinas will continue to evolve, slightly, for a while. Subtle changes may occur in the coloring over the first couple months. Do not be alarmed if you notice this. If you want to see a most current pic of an available patina that has been up for a while, feel free to ask and I'll give you a real time look.

 

[sedge]

Without any disappointment, I put my trust in a fun project—a blind joint commission of two artists.


I commissioned Mark Howard of Dready’s Mod Spa and Kayte of Molehill Mountain Drip Tips in a joint venture to create a work of art together.


I had Rob of Reos Mods send Mark two brass Reo Grand doors and Peter (pdib) to send him two brass Nuppin rings.


I asked Mark to create an “Artist Choice”, only telling him (and providing photos) which two Reos I have and intend on placing the doors so he could have knowledge of the background palette.


I asked for no photos and that I would not give any other input.


Once he was finished, I asked him to mail the items directly to Kayte, who would then create drips tips of her choice to compliment the doors/rings.


I did not see the final creation until they arrived at my doorstep sent by Kayte.


I am absolutely blown away by the result as I am sure you are too.


Thank you so much Mark and Kayte for participating in this venture. The results are more beautiful that I could have envisioned.

 

[Mark Howard]

 

[Mark Howard]

Finally!! It is finally done! This mod took me longer than any other patina I've ever done; and IMO it's worth it

Had an issue just as I was finishing it up the first time and had to start over completely. The 2nd go I used a different technique that took about 9 days instead of the typical 24 hrs it takes for a "blue/green" look. This way yielded a stronger patina, which is critical with the blue and green ones.

Here she is, the Bronze Tmod - Tranny with Copper Button

 

[Mark Howard]

Got the last order dropped off at the PO. Just sitting here in the shop right now, looking at everything. That was fun, thank you to all of you who've been around this past year and some. It feels good to not have anything in the queue, yet strange as well. I'm not calling it a retirement, so much as a sabbatical.

I'm going to need to divert my time & energy to other areas for the next several months, but I look forward to returning to creating things with my hands. It's possible I may apply these techniques in other areas, who knows. I've found I can keep the site (for a highly reduced rate) on "pause" and not entirely let it go. I think that's what I will do. I just feel the need to frame it as closing so that I don't make any promises or implications to return if it is not meant to be.

I'm sure I'll enjoy working on a mod or two in my spare time. Have a pretty good idea of what I want to try next. But for now I'm going to step back for a bit and gain some perspective. Thanks again all! Here's a bunch of pics from some of my favorites . Be well

 

[Mark Howard]

Still on vacation, nothing to see here Hope you all have been well, I've missed you.

 

[Mark Howard]

So here we are. This is the project I have been working, on and off, for the past several months. I wanted to create something entirely on my own that was different than anything else available. There is a mix of copper and nickel patinas as well as plenty of inked aluminum.

Each of these is entirely hand made; I have no machines or machining skills, so they are all cut, shaped, and finished with basic jeweler's tools. Took quite a bit longer than I would have expected, so this may very likely be a one time deal. The edges are beveled to make a friction fit without the need for magnets. Each squonk hole is a "D", for Dready, and it can be easily seen that they are hand done. These are not perfect, each is a little different. I look at it as a uniqueness that further gives each its own character.

Doors are finished with a durable clear coat to protect the finish. To clean and maintain, we recommend using a Sunshine brand polishing cloth or other microfiber cloths that will not leave scratch marks on the high gloss finish. Water may be used additionally, but use of chemical cleaners is not recommended.

There are 30 that will be available right away. I do have 2 more copper and 2 nickel that I will be redoing and adding to the collection as soon as possible. But that will likely be it. I will have these live and available for purchase tomorrow (Friday) morning at 8am MST. I highly doubt anything will ship until Saturday, but the plus of these all being complete is that I will be able to ship same or next day

I hope you like them. Without further adieu:

 

[Mark Howard]

Finally! finished my last order! This one took a while and a lot of patience. Black and mirrored finishes have to been the most challenging (most revealing) to do. Combining them one one surface was tough. But we got a good look and the CC logo came out great. It's even harder to get a great pic of it, being overcast and from my phone. I'm really going to need one of these mods of my own someday, just phenomenal design and milling.

 

[Mark Howard]

Decided to dress up my Geyscano a little bit

 

[Mark Howard]

custom GDNA shell ink ink

 

[Mark Howard]

Here's a few more of the Peko. The other 2 will be finished later in the week; I ran out of clear and am waiting for restock

 

[Mark Howard]

Sneak peek I'll have a few up for sale very soon

 

[Mark Howard]

Getting ready to start clear coating the next batch, first in the new shop!

 

[Mark Howard]

Thanks again to those ^ who've left the kind words. The last two weeks of recovering from surgery have been tougher than expected. Glad I'm reaching the end of the queue; hate making people wait so long for their work.

It's been a fun ride. I'll hopefully never stop my creative pursuits, but for now I have other matters to focus on.
Until recently I've followed several other threads here. It's always delighted me that my favorite posters from them would often stop by here as well. You all are my favorite people on the web
I'm considering what to do with my final inventory.... Think I'll soon be changing everything remaining (and a couple never released) to super low clear out prices. I have no need for so much gear and would much rather have others enjoy it than it just sitting in a box. I have a few pressing items to attend to before I do that, but I think it will be something like "everything is only $25/ea. I'll announce it here first.

 

[RobbieVape]

Ok so today I received my two Dready pieces I was waiting on, have to say they are truely stunning. Got some pics below which really don't do them justice.

On the Reo door and Nuppin AFC ring it's a perfect match, on this design the pictures don't catch the thin browny yellow green trim around the light inner shade sparkles like flecks of glitter. Truly amazing work!

Thanks again Mark will be back again soon [emoji12]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mark Howard]

Had some (very rare) time to kill waiting for things to dry, so I started this copper, nickel, & aluminum.

 

[Mark Howard]

 

[Mark Howard]

I'm working on my first CC as we speak. What a great mod it is! Still needs clear and polish, but I now really want one for myself! Maybe just a quick peek

 

[Mark Howard]

Be sure to check back here in the next day or so for a true Unicorn! Will only be one of these and it's gorgeous I'm giving my ECF followers first crack at at.

Well, that's what I get for putting a teaser out there before a piece is completely finished. Top cap is going to need another coat of clear before it's ready. But here's a peak...

I will be selling this one after all. Have a kid on the way, this winter, and need all the funds I can muster between now & then.

Doing another batch of clear tonight, so it should be ready in a few days. Pm for inquiries; I'll have it up here for a few days before I put it on the site.

 

[NatGasMan]

If anyone is wondering, Mark does great work with a brass Custom Classic mod. [emoji4]. Almost there. [emoji14]