SLCC Annual Craft Fair is privileged this year to have Dave Butler, owner of and artisan at Daydreamer Crafts. Dave makes beautiful wind chimes and fractal wood-burned pictures.
Dave started making wind chimes in 2009 without having a clue where to begin. He Googled "wind chimes," found a pattern, and the business was born! Pictured at left is one of his very first wind chimes.
He has changed things up a lot since then as he researched over the years, learning what goes into making chimes with actual musical notes. He listened to many different types of chimes before deciding he liked the Westminster Chimes the best.
Now his Daydreamer Westminster Wind Chimes sound the familiar tones of the famous Big Ben Clock Tower in London, England (also known as the Westminster Chimes or Westminster Quarters).
They've evolved into the ones similar to the one you see at the right (this is an actual picture of one of Dave's wind chimes). While the actual Big Ben chimes sound in the key of E, Daydreamer Westminster Chimes sound in the key of D. The name "Westminster Quarters" comes from the fact that the Big Ben Clock Tower chimes once every quarter of the hour.
Dave makes his wind chimes from PVC vinyl trim and 1-1/4" galvanized EMT conduit. He uses a strong 200 pound test line of woven Dacron with a nylon inner core, and all wind chimes have solar lights. The overall length of each unit is measured from the top of the hanger-ring to the bottom of the sail.
Dave also makes stunningly beautiful fractal wood-burned pictures, such as the one you see at bottom (made by Dave). Also known as Lichtenberg figures, this is the art of burning lightning or tree-like figures into wood using high voltage electricity.
Come visit us at the SLCC Annual Craft Fair on Saturday, December 1, 2018 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to see some of Dave's beautiful work! In the meantime, if you'd like to contact Dave, he invites you to do so at daydreamercrafts@yahoo.com. He also has a website at http://daydreamercrafts.com/. Check him out today!