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2008-2012
June 17, 2012: See You at the National! + New Embossings Added to Database
It's hard to believe that the last National insulator show I attened was in 1996 (Long Beach, CA). WOW! Well I'm certainly looking forward to seeing old friends and new at the upcoming Kansas City, MO show, which runs from June 22-24 (more information here). If you're in the area, drop by and say hi! I'll have a sales table and a display set up.
Also, the new embossings added to the Briel 2011 Price Guide have been added to the Hemingray Database. If you haven't purchased one of the new price guides already, I highly recommend it! Don Briel did a truly excellent job with these and it's well worth the purchase price in my opinion.
It should be noted that there are still several Hemingray embossings and colors I've discovered that remain unlisted, in addition to listings that need to be corrected. They can be found in the New Finds section. Hopefully they will be listed in the next price guide!
November 7, 2011: The Return of Laugh Lines
After a 2+ year hiatus, I've decided to resume production of my Laugh Lines insulator comic. To coincide with the return, I've overhauled my Laugh Lines section of the web site. Here's what's new:
Just as a reminder, Laugh Lines 1-100 is still available in a limited edition book for only $9.95 (30% off). I only have a few left!
Now that my Laugh Lines section has entered the realm of databases, this opens up a whole new world of possibilities! I will be working on further improving the Laugh Lines Database such as adding keyword tags, a search feature, ratings/favorites, and grouping by series. Stay tuned!
February 20, 2011: Identify Your Hemingray Section Gets an Overhaul
I'm excited to announce a simplified and improved Identify Your Hemingray section! I rebuilt it from the ground up, and now people wishing to identify their Hemingray insulators need only answer 3 simple questions. Based on the total number of Hemingray styles currently known (around 170), it wouldn't make sense to make the search too much more granular, so I think this is a good middle ground. Try it out!
Here are some other changes that I've made behind the scenes:
That's it for now! I've also been working on updates over at the NIA 2011 National web site, so take a look if you haven't already! [Note: Link removed as the web site no longer exists.]
October 2, 2010: Improved Hemingray Insulator of the Month Section
A few minor changes have been made to the Hemingray Insulator of the Month section: easier navigation of the past months (including a drop-down menu to access all of the past months), and the insulator image is now scalable to take full advantage of people's different screens and window sizes. Thank you CSS! (Regular HTML doesn't allow for such a thing.) Of course the picture can still be clicked on for a full-size view.
I will be continuing to update and improve the database and features over the coming months, so stay tuned!
February 1, 2010: Behind The Scenes
I've made a few changes here and there on the site, including updating the Fakes & Reproductions page, and adding my newest discoveries to the New Finds section. I also just got finished converting the Hemingray of the Month section into a database-driven format for easier monthly additions (and to keep developing my database skills, of course!)
Sales of my limited edition Laugh Lines book has picked up, thanks largely to including one free book with every insulator purchased in my For Sale section. (That's a plug, by the way! Get one while there's still some left, and make our move to Colorado that much lighter! Please?)
Yes, we're moving to Colorado towards the end of the month. So on the collecting front, things have slowed down a bit due to us saving money. Hopefully we'll be getting a house soon!
August 21, 2009: New Fakes & Reproductions Page
This has been a page I've wanted to do for awhile. On places like eBay, Hemingray insulators abound that have been stained/ painted, or "crackled", and some reproduction pieces have surfaced as well. This page was created to educate the public and fellow collectors that there are some fakes out there and buyers should beware. There are currently about 10 different types of alterations or fakes that I have outlined in the new page: check it out here.
June 1, 2009: Hemingray.info Gets A Facelift (v3.0)
It's hard to believe it's been 5 years since the last redesign of Hemingray.info. The site hasn't changed drastically, but I did simplify the site logo/header bars on each page, and eliminated the navigation menu on the left side. This allows for more room horizontally. Here are the most major changes I have made to the site:
1. The Hemingray Database is now the prominent focus of this web site. In my previous designs, I put more weight on my personal pages, such as Laugh Lines, my journals and photos, etc. But now that the Hemingray database has grown to become the largest portion of this web site, I feel it only right to give it the most focus, especially on the home page.
2. The Journals and Photos sections have been combined into one section, Journals & Photos. As most of my journals are accompanied by photos, I felt it would be logical to keep them together. Also, I noticed a lot of people visiting the "Photos" section, perhaps expecting pictures of Hemingray insulators but getting my personal photos instead. Hopefully this will help eliminate any confusion.
3. Hemingray Insulator of the Month is back! The old incarnation was located in the now-defunct Photos section, and was updated more like once every couple of years (whoops.) The new Insulator of the Month feature is now rightfully located in the Hemingray Database section, and will feature a specific embossing each month. Given that the database has hundreds of embossings, this guarantees fresh content for decades, literally (should the site last that long!)
There have been a lot of other minor updates as well, and lots more are planned for the coming months. Stay tuned!
May 7, 2009: Boy am I MAD! (IN U.S.A.)
This past week was very exciting for me in the world of insulator collecting. I ran across a brand new (and rather blatant) CD 115 Hemingray embossing error: (F-Skirt) HEMINGRAY-10 (R-Skirt) MAD IN U.S.A. {Note spelling} SDP. It comes in a pretty Hemingray blue, and is probably from the early 1920's. Based on this being the first one found, I would imagine that not too many of these made it past quality control before the error was fixed.
It will be interesting to see if any insulators show up with a crammed "E" between "MADEIN", or if they just blotted out "MAD" and re-embossed "MADE" over it, since there is very little space between words.
This just goes to show that there are still embossings to be found out there, so keep your eyes peeled! And remember, if you have a Hemingray embossing error that's on my Wanted List, I will pay up to twice the book value!
November 29, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! From now until December 31, 2008, I'm offering $2.00 off the retail price of my Laugh Lines comic book (that's about 15% off). Click here for more info and to order!
Also, I've updated the Browse the Database page. By popular request, this page is now broken up into smaller pages. So, instead of being forced to see all 171 Hemingray styles right away (quite the nightmare for those out there in cyberspace still on dial-up), now the default is 40 insulators per page. However, you also have the option to change that to 20, 60, 80, or ALL if you so desire. I've been wanting to do that for awhile! It's more work than you might think...
Another new page in the works is my Hemingray Embossing Styles page. Over the decades Hemingray insulators were embossed in a variety of different styles, and this page attempts to detail each one. Please keep in mind that this is a work in progress, so a lot of the earlier dates probably aren't completely accurate just yet. Hopefully the other Hemingray gurus out there can help me!
October 26, 2008
At long last... the Advanced Search feature is live on the Hemingray Database! I created this feature mostly for fellow Hemingray or embossing specialists who want to search for very specific attributes. For example, let's say I want to see insulators embossed with "HEMINGRAY" that have an umbrella, sharp drip points and a blot-out. Here you go! Or how about any CD 113's with both a backwards letter AND a misspelling? Yep, it exists!
I hope this powerful search feature will be as useful to others as it is to me!
August 11, 2008
A lot has been happening lately behind the scenes! The Hemingray Database is growing more and more each week. Here are some of the new features available:
And that's just the beginning. I've gotten some great suggestions from fellow ICON members on how to improve the database, and I'll be working on that in the coming weeks, so keep checking back!
April 10, 2008
The new Hemingray Database is finally online!!! It's been years in the making, but it's finally here. You probably won't be able to tell a difference between the old and the new database, which is probably a good thing. :) So what's the big deal? I'll tell ya... now I'm using PHP and MySQL (a true database technology). "Whoopee", you say. "So what?"
This benefits ME so now I only have to change data (such as an embossing) in ONE place instead of several. This will save me time and guarantee the data is consistent across the web site.
This also benefits YOU, because not only will you have a more reliable resource for Hemingray insulators, but soon you'll be able to perform your own custom database searches as well! Let's say you want to find all Hemingray embossings with Sharp Drip Points... such a thing is now possible. Expect some exciting features to come! In the meantime, check out the new database in action!
January 16, 2008
Can you believe I'll be coming up on the 100th issue of Laugh Lines? I never would have thought back when I started drawing the comic in 1996 that I'd still be continuing it over 12 years later... but here I am! So now that I'm approaching 100 issues, I'm trying to get people to vote on their favorite comic! If you haven't already... go ahead and vote!
Also, I was recently contacted by Editor Dave Margulius of CollectorsWeekly.com, a web site featuring all kinds of collections. They now have a section specifically for insulators, and I was honored to be one of the "Hall of Fame" listings, along with Shaun Kotlarsky's Hemingray.net and Bill Meier's Insulators.info!
And lastly, I'm still working on developing the Golden State Insulator Club web site, and I'm also working behind the scenes here on the Hemingray Database to make it even better! More on that in the coming months.