Casting Studio
The First Treasures studio is located at the end of a private drive in Boreham, Chelmsford. There is ample space for parking and the studio door is accessed from an enclosed courtyard adjacent to the customer parking spaces.
You will be put at ease from the moment you step into my studio; you will be guided through the layout, design and colour options of products, whilst being shown all of the example frames and castings on display.
The casting process is thoroughly explained, and very relaxed, everything will be done at your child's pace, my experience and expertise means that the whole process is completely stress free. The casting process is completely skin -safe, your baby/child will have their hands or feet wrapped in a tepid mousse mixture which then becomes firm (but flexible) after a minute or two to allow them to slide out the hand/foot – which will come out clean.
Your baby doesn’t have to be asleep to have the casting done, the casting material and technique I use allows them to be able to wriggle a little during the process. I also have a box of distraction toys at hand should it be necessary! Some parents feed their babies during the casting which can help relax them.
There is no minimum age for babies to have a casting, I have cast babies as young as a few days old, right up to toddlers and older children. There is no upper age limit either, grandparents are very keen to have their hands casts with their precious grandchild.
3d casts take approximately 1 minute for each hand/foot. For outprints, it literally takes seconds for each one. I usually allocate 45 minutes for appointments, to allow time for choosing colours / frame types and for cleaning the studio in between castings.
The moulds for the castings are taken at the time of the appointment, but the magic really happens after you go home...
Once out of the mould I painstakingly remove any imperfections by hand to ensure that each cast captures every last detail of the hands and feet, therefore jewellery, fingernails, joints and palm lines are all clearly visible in each finished product. Casts are then sanded, shaped and prepared for painting. Paint finishes are then applied in many micro fine layers ensuring no detail is lost.
Studio castings at First Treasures are a world apart from 'at home casting kits', every part of the casting process is professionally executed and crafted, drawing on years of experience and design skills. Virtually any design request can be brought to life, the only limit is your imagination!
Once customers leave the studio, the castings take between 4-5 weeks to be created, throughout which customers are given regular updates on the progress of their castings in the production process. Completed orders are then collected from the First Treasures studio.