Aventurine

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Fresnel type https://www.hammacher.com/product/full-page-illuminated-desktop-magnifier

I don't think you need to worry that your boar looks like an orc. All boars will look like orcs because orcs are conceived as looking like boars, just as werewolves are conceived as looking like wolves and the Monkey King is conceived as looking like a monkey. Not your problem. Keep the tusks, they're awesome. Yes, shorten the beret, because the way it sags looks lax and detracts from the energetic impression you want to make. As @fredk suggests, you may want to go for the RAF look, or for whatever branch of whatever service is dear to you. Re the beard -- the beard itself is not the problem. In fact you need it, along with the hair, in order to frame and emphasize the face. The problem is that it looks soft and slightly wavy, which detracts from the sense of ferocity (unless you want to make it even wavier and go for the appearance of flames) and it droops too much. I'd suggest making the tufts of hair/beard short and bristly, radiating outward more, rather than hanging downward, with more layers if necessary to make up for the shortness. It's already pretty effective., especially if you are doing it as a caricature for a specific person who has similar hair and beard. You've got skills and an eye for drama. If it were me I'd have never gotten the brow and eyes so good. Well done. I'd just suggest these tweaks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berets_of_the_United_States_Army

Looks just fine. I'm awful sorry you are having such trouble with your eyes. Do you have a good big lighted craft magnifier?

Lovely.

It seems to me that what you *won't* do defines you in a way that will both limit your business and help you stand out to your target customers. I think if I were you I'd advertise on your banner and business card Double Barrel Leather Repairs and Custom Tack For the best riders and the happiest horses. * Expert repairs done fast * Headstalls custom fit only * I do not make tie-downs or other potentially harmful gear You will then have the occasional butthurt person (especially barrel racers?) wanting to talk to you about how *they* use tie-downs, etcetera, *properly* . Your only necessary answer is, politely, "there are too many that don't." Those folk might be offended but, then again, you were competing with a dozen other sellers for their business. I would think that customers with the least desire or need to use harsh gear will prefer you over everyone else, and you will enjoy good relationships with them. In fact since that's your demographic and you are interested in tack -- not holsters, gun belts, and scabbards -- you might consider changing your business name. Best wishes to you. (Grain of salt -- I never learned much about the riding world beyond which end of the horse to hang the bridle on. But my mother was a barrel racer.)

I like that a lot. I have a similarly encased old barometer. WWI wristwatches were made much the same way.

The stickiness might be the result of years of skin oils interacting not with the leather per se but with some synthetic substance that it is impregnated with. If you can't remove the stickiness by the very intelligent tips given above, try creating a barrier with multiple layers of a hard clear furniture wax or shoe polish (NOTHING WITH SILICONE IN IT!!). Then artfully arrange some interesting textiles over the couch to cover the stain. If I were visiting you I wouldn't think less of you from having that stain on your couch. I think I'd love it because it is the record of how much someone loved their dog and how much the dog loved to be near that person.

Nicely done! I'm awful sorry about the wildfires affecting you and your wife. The news emphasizes how that smoke plays hell on people with asthma and those living with long Covid, but it's bad for *everyone* so I am glad you can stay indoors. My sister got me a one-room air purifier that I at first thought was just trendy nonsense but it is making a huge difference for me in the office. I am changing the filters very often, which is expensive, but I can sure feel the difference on my lungs. I recommend getting one.

Looks like a clever way to use scrap

In general the two big questions are Will I make what I like to make, and be satisfied with whatever clientele and business model emerges from that, regardless of how small it might be? OR Will I figure out what a substantial group of people will buy, and then maximize the intersection of what I want to do and what those people want me to do? Everything else proceeds from how you answer those questions. I wonder if you might get a person with an established business to feature your existing products, and give you tips on what new products they would like to display. In the online world that might be their Etsy shop or EBay or Amazon presence. In the real world , depending on the style of stuff you make, that might be a shoe shop or boot repair shop, motorcycle shop, feed store, pet supplies store, organic food co-op, Western clothing store, equestrian tack shop, outdoors sports store, gun and archery range, cannabis dispensary, used vinyl and cd store, tie dye and hemp clothing store, religious goods shop, tourist gift shop, artists' collective showroom, fine menswear shop, beauty parlor, or locally owned lumber and hardware store. Out there on your own: Facebook pages are free and you can start out with just your friends, in hopes that their friends with similar interests will see what you post. Ask your friends to promote your work, and locally made handicrafts generally, starting in October in advance of the holiday gift season. Get a booth a a farmer's market and at community festivals -- or double up with someone else to share the costs of the booth. Ask at your community business organization whether they have a website or promotional publication for locally owned and operated small businesses. For online marketing: Remember that online search hits, even within websites, are driven by keywords. So make sure your item descriptions contain exactly the key terms your clientele is likely to use, and make sure those words appear high up in each item description. Provide large images showing good, well made things that truly represent what a buyer would receive from you, and display the items in a nice arrangement with attractive backgrounds chosen for your clientele's tastes. If you are marketing to the yachting crowd, pose your items on a coil of rope on a weathered boardwalk. If you are marketing to granola eaters, show your items on a hand woven blanket next to a piece of unusual pottery. If you are marketing to tourists, show your item against a background of local scenery. If you are marketing to hikers, rest your items on interesting rocks next to a brook or a patch of wildflowers. If you are marketing to bikers, display your work on the seat of a Harley. Learn how to make really nice photos. It's not all that hard. A 50 dollar lamp with adjustable color temperature (making the light warmer or cooler looking) and a cheap stand to hold your phone or camera perfectly still can make a huge difference. If writing isn't your strong suit, get a friend to write the introduction to your shop and the item descriptions. For godssakes use decent grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Sloppy "wordsmanship" suggests sloppy craftsmanship in your product as well. Use the lexicon (word choice, vocabulary) that matches your target buyer's personal style, interests, expertise, or attitudes. Unless you are selling a utilitarian necessity (and sometimes even then) you are always selling your buyer something that represents *them* -- their concept of themselves, their joys, their values, their attitude toward the world, and their hopes for what other people will think about them.

Really good work. I think I'd modify that pattern to center the flower hearts a little better but you made it look good in spite of it!! Great definition.

Properly grim and ponderous looking!

Or do you mean big embossing plates like this? https://www.etsy.com/listing/1439262295/leather-tooling-carving-patterns?gpla=1&gao=1&

Do you mean stencils? Like this? https://www.aldenleathersupply.com/products/floral-belt-design-stencils

Lol

Any leather is easy to wipe clean if you oil and wax the hell out of it. I’d go for whatever is handy, thick enough for protection, and cheap. I would not wear vinyl right up close to a hot bbq grill or around live coals and fats that can flare. It melts as it burns. Having a thick goo sticking to you as it burns would be the opposite of protective. Also I don’t know but I suspect charcoal starter might dissolve it?

Very classy and strong looking both. Is it my imagination or a trick of the light or do I see some wrinkling on the strap? I hope that doesn’t foretell separation of the top layer or cracking. Gosh that’s elegant work. And I like the beef roll handle. Seems proportional to me.

Very nice. Neatly made, and that kind of leather will just look better and more rugged the more it is handled, gets wet, has shampoo spilled on it, etc. — good choice. I suppose I might suggest a thinner or more flexible leather for the tag? Or maybe shive the underside edges of the tags? To me the thick tags seem a bit mismatched and stand out sorta funny on the more flexible bag leather. Or maybe that’s the effect you want. Anyhow good work.

Brilliant! Brilliant! BRILLIANT!!!!

I'm curious how long the tang is, how well the wood is fitted around it, and how hard the wood is. My inclination is like @dikman's to take the thing apart before the problem gets bad in order to save the wood from getting worn by the shifting and wobbling, slight as it is. Yeah, I'd also go for the epoxy, on the assumption that you will never need to remove the blade again.

Well done with the texturing! That's so difficult. Good choice of shiny black for the eyes. The mouth came out a little odd and the eyes don't seem in quite the right place -- I'd bet because you were preoccupied with the challenge of the fur textures -- but for the first version this is great!!!! If you do it again a time or two I bet you will nail it!!

What a great thing to do for the kid!

I believe it's good to support anyone who is harmless yet oppressed, disempowered, or unfairly burdened. So, @toxo , thank you. I figure you didn't make enough money at Pride to compensate for your labor and materials (craftspeople usually don't), let alone profit much, yet you gave your time and conscious attention to help make the event. Time and consciousness are, after all, what our lives are made out of. You gave us -- me -- some of yours. Thank you. Much appreciated.

Sheila Jeanne, I am so sorry. As a Montanan, I know how immense and how destructive a wildfire can be. I also know how Canadian teams have at times come in to save us and vice versa -- so, solidarity! I was happy to hear that South African firefighters will be in Alberta tomorrow. Those guys are tough and relentless! Should be a great help. I hope everyone in the affected communities can take care of one another to get through this trauma. I'll be thinking of all you guys up there with sympathy and affection.