Category: The Price Tag Question

Our pricing and more explained.

  • 💫 Because Some Things Shouldn’t Be Cheap

    Gifts. Memories. Legacy.

    We know the moment you’re in. A wedding is coming. An anniversary. A retirement. A moment you want to mark with something real — something they’ll keep, use, and maybe pass on.

    And then comes the scroll. Through price tags. Through plastic. Through mass-produced “options” that don’t feel like options at all.

    That’s when people find Sarkanys Rising.

    Big Moments Deserve More

    When you’re buying for life’s biggest moments, it’s not about the biggest box. It’s about meaning.

    A hand-turned rolling pin gifted to your daughter as she sets up her first home. A resin-inlaid charcuterie board passed around the table each Thanksgiving. A pen used to sign retirement papers — the same one they’ll use to write postcards in their new chapter.

    These aren’t just gifts. They’re future memories.

    At Sarkanys Rising, our mission is simple: nothing will ever be the same, and our pieces are as distinctive as our customers. That’s because each piece is handmade in the truest sense — guided by our hands and minds through the entire process.

    What Goes Into the Price

    We get asked sometimes, “Why does this cost more?” And the honest answer is: because it costs more.

    • Because one-of-a-kind means exactly that. Even if Rex tried, he couldn’t make that exact piece again. With over 40 years of wood turning experience, he knows that wood moves, resin dances, and no two pours turn out the same.

    • Because quality still takes time. Even our simplest carvings take 24+ hours — not including drying, finishing, and Rex’s meticulous attention to every detail.

    • Because materials matter. Some woods we use were salvaged from trees with names and stories. Some resin colors are custom-mixed, layered over days. Some components? We source from other small makers, because only the best will do.

    It all adds up — not just in price, but in worth.

    The Real Question

    It’s not “Why is this expensive?” It’s “What is this worth to me?”

    And if the answer is connection, legacy, memory — then it’s worth every penny.

    When you choose a piece from our collection, you’re not just buying functional art. You’re investing in a story that will be told for generations. You’re choosing to give something that says, “This moment mattered. You matter.”

    Some Things Shouldn’t Be Cheap

    Not the moments that matter. Not the people we love. Not the things we hand down, hoping someone will think of us when they use them.

    That’s what we make.

    Ready to find the perfect meaningful gift? Browse our collection at sarkanysrising.com where handcrafted joy meets lasting legacy. Have a special piece from us? We’d love to hear the story — share how your Sarkanys Rising heirloom is creating memories in your family.

  • When Someone Says “Too Expensive” — We Smile. Because We Know.

    It happens now and then — someone picks up a piece, runs their fingers over the polished wood, sees the shimmer of resin, and softly mutters, “Too expensive.”

    We smile. Not because we’re dismissing them, but because we know what goes into it.

    See, we price every piece at Sarkanys Rising to be as fair as possible — not inflated, not mass-marketed, just honest. But “honest” includes more than what most people realize when it comes to the value of handmade artisan work.

    That bowl? It started with a chunk of reclaimed wood that once lived as a tree in someone’s Arizona yard. The resin that brings out the beauty in the grain? Dawn (that’s me) uses polyurethane for most pours, unless we’re using stabilized bone or wood scraps — then it’s epoxy. Stabilizing means vacuum chambers, pressure pots, and sometimes an oven I cannot use for food anymore.

    There’s also mica, pigments, pen kits, lamp bases, jewelry findings, shipping charges, taxes, and tools. Oh, the tools. Rex’s shop looks like a mad scientist’s lab with a 3D printer and laser cutter tucked among the chisels and lathes.

    But what we never charge for — and couldn’t, even if we tried — is the time.

    Rex will spend days refining a single piece. Sometimes, weeks go by just conceptualizing a design. And sometimes, after all that, we scrap it entirely because it doesn’t feel right. (Art is like that — it doesn’t always behave.) This artisan mindset understands that true craftsmanship can’t be rushed.

    Me? I wrestle with resin for hours, then wrangle paperwork for days. That’s not hyperbole. It’s just what it takes when you’re committed to creating handcrafted art that stands apart from mass-produced alternatives.

    And in the end, what you receive is something real. Human. Not perfect, because we aren’t machines — but filled with love, laughter, and a little bit of stubbornness. (Especially from Rex, who I’ve been known to gently wrestle the finished piece away from because he’s never quite sure it’s done.)

    The difference between handmade vs mass-produced isn’t just in the process — it’s in the soul of each piece. When you choose one of our reclaimed wood gifts, you’re not just getting functional art; you’re getting a story, a commitment to sustainable gifts, and decades of woodworking stories embedded in every grain.

    So when someone says, “Too expensive,” we don’t get defensive. We just nod and think: you’re not our person — not yet.

    Because the ones who do get it — they see more than just a bowl or a pen. They see the story, the soul, the hours behind it. They’re not just buying something. They’re joining a journey with Sarkanys Rising.

    And to those folks? Welcome home.