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Egg Carver Creates Custom Designs
For $5, Alan Rabon will carve your initial into an eggshell. After 8 years of "egg art" experience, the Plainville, Georgia, artist does them quickly enough to offer them at such a low price.
"I used to break one out of three, now it's more like one out of 50 chicken eggs," he says. "Carving chicken eggs is like
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Egg Carver Creates Custom Designs 33-3-9 For $5, Alan Rabon will carve your initial into an eggshell. After 8 years of "egg art" experience, the Plainville, Georgia, artist does them quickly enough to offer them at such a low price.
"I used to break one out of three, now it's more like one out of 50 chicken eggs," he says. "Carving chicken eggs is like carving hardened paper. They are fine and delicate, but I enjoy the challenge."
They aren't as delicate as the seashells his mother brought him to carve several years ago when he was a jeweler in South Carolina. When his jeweler's tool didn't work he bought a power carver, an air-driven turbine tool that spins at 450,000 rpm's without vibration. It came with an egg carving video, so Rabon experimented on an ostrich egg, which is the hardest to work with because of its thick shell. When he later tried a goose egg, Rabon "hit the jackpot."
"Most of my work is on goose eggs," he says. "But I carve in all kinds of eggs. If you give me an egg I'll try to carve it."
Located in Georgia, "Egg Capital of the World," the owner of Great EGGSpectations Studio drills a hole in the bottom and uses a large syringe and needle to push air in the hole and force out the contents. He sanitizes the eggs with vinegar or bleach and water.
"I just freehand most of the carvings. When it's a very detailed egg with a defined pattern I mark the egg," Rabon explains.
Three of his eggs have made it to the White House. He is proudest of the one commissioned by the American Egg Board for Laura Bush with a library theme.
Detailed, custom-carved eggs start at $35. Shipping and handling costs are $7. Rabon also sells stands and globes, but adds that inexpensive candleholders also work well for display. He recommends protecting them in a curio cabinet or under some kind of glass.
"Anything can be carved, such as a company logo, but the image needs to translate well," Rabon says. He carves many memorial eggs from photos of family members or pets. You can view his work on his website.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Alan W. Rabon, Great EGGSpectations Studio, 707 Riverbend Road S.W., Plainville, Ga. 30733 (ph 706 232-1208; www.greateggspectations.net).
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