Today’s post is dedicated to talk about resin, a material widely used in crafts, with which we have been working for several years mainly in the form of flowers and tears to create mainly flamenco accessories. You know that because of the time of year we are, we are very focused on this subject.
By definition, resin is a doughy substance that is obtained naturally from the organic secretion of some plants, especially conifers such as pine. Due to its chemical properties it has many uses in the manufacture of perfumes, adhesives, varnishes, among others. However, there is also a synthetic resin, created chemically and which has properties similar to natural without being so. Among all the types of synthetic resins that exist, we will take care of the one we use to create beads which is the polymer resin.
The polymer resin, as we say, is a material very similar to the plastic for its rigidity and to the glass for its transparency although our resin pieces are of colors, since they are created with different pigments. This material is the result of a chemical reaction between two compounds: resin (liquid) and catalyst. The resin pieces like flowers, tears or studs that you will find in our catalogue, are made in moulds that are filled with the resin that we have described above, with the pigments of each colour added or other substances to achieve different effects, it is left to dry so that it solidifies (in humid environments this process is longer), it is extracted from the mould so that these must be in perfect condition to avoid defects in the pieces, and finally it is polished to achieve the smooth finish that we know.
The polishing of resin pieces can only be done manually so the manufacture of these items is handmade, slow and not all are exactly the same for the same reason. This has the consequence, for example, of making the product more expensive if we compare it with other similar products that we can find on the market and that are manufactured in mass.
If you want to see all the variety of resin we have, click HERE