Eggshell picture frame, 'Us'

Green swirls with captivating elegance advising sagely to remember loved ones. Anong Khumvichai designs this hand-crafted egg hiding a miniscule photo frame and explains why she chose spiraling motifs: "The spiral motif is a basic term of human expression, found from cave art to modern art. It recalls forms from Nature: seashells, the growing tip of the fern, and the appearance of stars in the heavens. We take them for granted, but the geometry of spirals is fascinating and complex. This design is just a bow to this universal, always fun symbol." Includes a satin pouch. Khumvichai also explains the laborious process involved in the hand-crafting of each decorative egg. "The duck shells are previously washed in with chlorinated water, and our supplier steams them in order to harden the shells. We inspect and grade the shells by size before coating them with a sealing base which adds strength and provides us with a nice smooth surface for our decal motifs. Decorations are applied in various ways, all requiring patient skilled handwork. When the egg is decorated the way we want it, the whole egg is given a special top coating that helps to seal in the decorations and give the egg the very soft, smooth feel that everyone likes so much. This coating includes some secret ingredients which create such lustrous finish. "Meanwhile another team is engaged in the casting and finishing of the pewter parts. We prepare the pewter alloy ourselves, consisting mainly of tin with some antimony and copper. The tin is mined and smelted in Southern Thailand. Pewter takes a beautiful polish. Some metal parts are left with their natural color, others are electroplated with 18K gold. "When the metal parts are ready, the eggs are cut in half, and mounted on the bases and hinge rings and then its time to finish the egg's interior. Some are lined with soft Thai silk and for others we install little picture frames. When the piece is finished we take great care in inspecting the quality of out work. From start to finish, it takes about a month to complete all these steps. By then, we have turned an ordinary egg shell into a little work of art."