Talk about a unique custom personalized gift!
Turn Your Head created beautiful wooden "Piros" (as they call them...short for pirolettes) carved from an individual's profile image.
Just like the famous optical illusion of two vases or two profiles.
Who came up with this neat idea?
Tom Beshara aka Dad; Born in Deadwood, SD; Year of the Dragon; Aries
Lorie Beshara aka Mom; Born NY, NY; Year of the Tiger; Capricorn
Cortney Langenegger aka Cort; Born Denver, CO; Year of the Snake; Leo
Ryan Vera aka Ry; Born Denver, CO; Year of the Goat; Gemini
Below is taken directly from their site, www.turnyourhead.com.
Vis-age (N. the face or appearance of a person)
At Turn Your Head, we fill the space between two opposing profiles of your face. By spinning that space into a three dimensional “visage” that follows the outlined silhouettes of your two profiles, we create the "Pirolette".
Place the “Pirolette” to your face and it will match your profile. Locate it near a wall and the shadow of the "Pirolette” will be your silhouette.
Your profile captured forever in an object of art. An optical illusion of shadow and light, each one unique because it’s you!
The Keepsake Pirolette is an option you can add for $20.00. A hand made wooden bolt can be unscrewed to reveal a 2" to 2 1/2" deep hollow space to store your most precious keepsakes.
The Keepsake Pirolette includes a small black velvet draw string pouch and two small ziplock bags:
Also Available is a cherry wood base with glass dome for display as seen below:
How do they do it?
It Starts with a block of wood......
...which comes from the north and eastern part of the United States. Our suppliers cut, plane, and glue-up the blocks to our specifications. These blocks are about six inches square and nine inches long and weigh approximately six pounds.
The process of making a Pirolette begins with you and the images that you submit to our web site. Once an image is received, they are sized and enhanced to reveal only the outline that will later be used to turn your Pirolette on the lathe. Once an outline has been created, a paper cut out of your profile is used to determine the angle of the profile that will be cut into each Pirolette. We then transfer the profile to a metal template, which is cut by hand into a metal guide, and then used to create the Pirolette.
When setting up for the actual turning, each block must be sanded flat on both ends, the centers found and marked, then mounted into the lathe. Then template must also be mounted to the lathe to facilitate the accuracy of each piece. The cutting then begins.
We first do a rough cut, which removes about half the weight of the block. Next in the turning process is the shaping of the top of the Pirolette, which we make into a slightly peaked cap for the Elegant, or shape to the Chic and leave flat for the Earthy style. After the rough cut, the sanding begins. This process is done with eight steps. First we begin with an extremely coarse sand paper, depending on how the rough cut goes. Then we work our way down to 500 grit sandpaper. This process takes three quarters of an hour to complete. The sanding is followed by the oiling process. Your Pirolette, is removed from the lathe and mounted into the drill press where the center is drilled out for a plug to fill the hole where the block was mounted in the lathe. Then the top is rough sanded, finish sanded, buffed and the second coat of penetrating oil is applied. This must be allowed to dry for 24 hours. The next day the Pirolette is sanded again, this time with fine steel wool and oiled with an oil called tung oil and allowed to dry overnight. The Pirolette is now ready to be gift boxed, packaged and shipped.
Their Portrait's
The “Portrait” is hand crafted from American Black Walnut, Cherry or African Padauk 1/8" (est.) veneer and is hand polished to a natural luster.
Each Portrait is housed inside a Dark Cherry Stained, 10 X 13 inch frame. We have made it easy for you to transfer your "Pirolette Portrait" into another frame if that's what you desire.
*The Portrait to the left has been customed framed. Turn Your Head does not provide this service but we wanted to show you what is possible.*
In addition to the 3D version, you can have a wall mountable version (with or without the shadow, as seen below):
I just think this is such a great idea for a unique gift. And the prices are reasonable.
To learn more, or to order your own, click here.