Second_Chance_Leather

🤣🤣 What a fun idea,

I found some 5 oz- 6 oz buffalo hide scraps on Facebook that someone was selling. Made a wallet for a friend who wanted one and has been asking me for a while to make one for them. I would have preferred something with a bit more character, but I will work with what I have. One question - how do you keep your stitching irons straight when you are going through 3 layers of 6 oz leather?

I do not know if I can go without my computer for any length of time (I work in computers for a living, and giving that up would be very difficult). As for the cell phone, I am one of the few people who do not own a cell phone. I have never seen the point of cell phones, and I refuse to pay Canadian prices for a cell phone plan when I do not want or need one in the first place. I think about changing provinces often (not a native French speaker), and living in Quebec has become more difficult over the past few years if you do not speak French. Ontario looks like a nice province, but I would have to do some more research on everything before I move (and convince my wife that it is ok to leave the 16 Blocks of Montreal, where she grew up and has lived her whole life). I like to daydream about moving to 100 acres of land and building a cabin, and being off-grid, but then reality kicks in and I remember how hard it was growing up living like that as a child and how much work it was to tend the garden and the animals and all of the summer time chores so we could make it through the next winter and I wonder if I want to go back to that or not. If I would have the energy for a life like that again? The one thing I do not want to do is waste away. The other thing I do not want to do is be dumb about it and imagine myself as 18 again and able to work from sunup to sundown. I am trying to imagine the balanced lifestyle I would like to live and then work towards that (the problem is that I do not know what that balanced lifestyle looks like yet).

That is what a lot of people tell me. I am the type of person who needs structure in my life (I am not good at winging it). I like to have a list of problems/projects that need working on and then proceed down the list. This is one of the reasons I like leather work, it is structured in a step-by-step format, cut out leather, punch stitching holes, finish parts that need finishing, sew leather together, and then the finished product. Follow the structure, and you get a very nice-looking finished product; mess around with the steps, and you get something that looks like a 5-year-old made out of construction paper and too much glue. That is why I am starting to think about this now and trying to plan for the future, because like it or no,t it will be here before I am ready for it.

I always keep an eye out for any old purses, belts, or other things like that. Take it home, and keep the hardware in a box (well, an old Butter Cookie tin), and then I make bracelets out of the leather if it is a belt, or a card holder, or a key chain if it is a purse. There is just so much potential in old stuff.

Just wanted to show off a card holder that I made, and of course, ask for any feedback. This is a two-pocket card wallet that began life as someones couch. As this is chrome-tanned leather i am not able to get a classical finish on the edges, but some black dye makes it look nice all the same.

This is exactly what I am trying to do. I just do not know what to do in the future, and to be honest, retirement scares me. I know too many people who retire and then waste away because they have no plan, no direction, and nothing to do. I do not want to do that, and so I am trying to find something that will give me a purpose to get out of bed in the morning.

Thank you for the idea... I had not thought about doing repairs, but that sounds like something I would enjoy. I find personal enjoyment in fixing things (not sure the reason), but I find myself going out of my way to try and find things to fix for no other reason than I enjoy it. My wife thinks I am crazy when I bring home another discarded stand fan or vacuum cleaner to see if I can give it a second chance. I then turn around and sell it on Facebook for a low price. It makes me happy because something isn't going to the landfill, and it makes the buyer happy because they get something they need at a reasonable price. I have fixed some bags and luggage in the past, and I guess I could expand this in the future.

My name is Brent Snow, from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I have been working with leather (just as a hobby) for the past 7 years or so. I work mainly with upcycled Chrome-tanned leather (upholstery leather) that is laminated so that it is stiffer (much like a medium stiff Veg-tanned), which I then use to make small items. At this point in my life (55 now), I am trying to find something that I want to do when I retire. I was thinking of doing leatherwork as a side hustle, but to be honest, the more I look into it, the more disapointed i become. I am not someone who has the desire to interact with people or run a business or deal with the public, but I am someone who enjoys creating, crafting, and even stitching (nothing bttter then needing to hand stitch a strap or belt and 3 hour podcast). I guessI am trying to see what other people are doing and how they are doing it. I am looking for ideas, inspiration, and even some new friends who share the same passion(s) as I do. So, if anyone loves computers (IT administration) and leatherwork, please hit me up I would like to get acquainted.