Windom Leather

Thanks for the info. I did find NRS and Smith Bros. and thought there might be a better supplier at wholesale, thats why I asked. If I read that right Bruce you say you can get them wholesale through Smith Bros? Just unreliable on the supply of them? I will go check out willards and kings now ans see what they have to offer. Thanks again Bruce and Steveh Will

Ive seen some work on rope cans and told myself I have just got to do some. I have googled and googled but can not find a supplier for them. Does anyone know where to get these things?

Thank you all for your input. I have the lace tucked down inside for the picture. I used 1/8" suede lace I had on hand for the lanyard. the bottom has a 3/4" hole in it to allow dirt and liquid to drain out of if it gets in there. I took the "doughnut hole" from that and punched 2 1/8" holes in it and put that on the lanyard so when you put it over the horn you can slide that piece up and will secure it to the saddle. My only concern with using 1/8" lace is, is it going to be strong enough over time to hold up? I have thought about insulating it (after I built these). I thought about using 1/4" foam and using like a thin pig skin liner. I like the idea of the neoprene, it will keep the bulkiness down a bit. As far as them flopping around. They actually sit really nice and dont move all that much. With the gatorade in them, its a snug fit, so when you want a drink you just pull it off the horn and have a swallow. Will

This project was also at the request of my wife. Its a bottle holder that you can hang from the horn of your saddle and have you drink right there. I made it large enough to hold a 20 oz gatorade bottle, so your beer, soda, and water bottle will also fit. I used 8/9 and used a wildrose pattern for the tooling. my wife Kathie has her name and our ranch logo on it and our daughter just has her name, the third one I made to use as a sales sample and also has the wild rose pattern. The patterns are all slightly different as I incorporated the rose pattern around the lettering. Hope you like and would like to hear what you think. Now my question to you, How much do you think these are worth or how much would you sell one for?

My wife wanted a holder/case for her cell phone for when she rides. This is what i came up with. I made a wooden block copy of the phone just slightly larger than the phone and wet formed it and hand sewed the stiching. It's 6/7 (what I had on hand at the time). finished with neatsfoot oil and super sheen top coat.

Thanks everyone for your input. A lot of great views. Seriously, a 2 1/2 inch stamp? That even sounds tacky! I agree with the fact of "in good taste". Afterall we are tryin to make a good lookin piece and try and get top dollar for it and I like the fact of makin the makers mark flow within the design. I feel it might actually maybe enhance the piece.

That is an awesome idea. I think ill have to make some up out here and see how they do. It seems we have one of those little coffee stands on every corner. Nice work I like it

Does anyone out here have a Sheridan style pattern for a 1 1/2" belt or know of a place to get one? thanks

Thank you for the clarification. Ill bet that hurt gettin hit by one of those. Btw nice lookin job.

Who did you go through for the gems. I use the ones from Tandy right now but I'm having a problem with the sun fading them to clears. Lookin for a new supplier. By the way those look hot. Nice work. I'd wear em

I don't want to sound like an idiot but I have to ask. What are those, and what are they used for?

Ok so maybe it wasnt such an original idea. I had no idea that it cost so much money to get a patent. I shall strike that idea out of my head. I guess my holders fall under unique. the ones I made for my family are all carved with a floral pattern and names carved into a banner. I thank you all for your input on this subject, it has opened my eyes to a few things. Im goin to keep making them and hope the idea will catch on for them.

Thanks bree. That definately sound like the way to go. I beleive the moral of the story is charge what its worth even if its high, if they buy it great, money in your pocket. If not then dicker with the price and they feel they got a deal and you didnt cut yourself short (as long as you dont go too low). Am I on track here?

thanks ks1911. So they do make them and for a reasonable price too. Guess I have to sell the customer on quality, craftsmanship and customization!

Ok between my wife and I we came up with a "cup holder for the saddle" Ive made my wife and daughter each one and am in the process of making somemore to sell. I have never seen anything like this on the market made out of any material. So my question is, should I protect the design with a patent or something? Or can I even do something like that? I feel its an original idea so I was hoping to try to capitalize on it. Have any of yall in the horse world seen any sort of bottle holder that you put on a saddle? Now that I think about it, how about you motorcycle people? This would work on bikes too!

I see that its been a bit for anyone to reply to this thread but I thought I would put in my thoughts... I too am having a hell of a time with pricing my work. After reading this thread I picked up alot of points to try. Thanks to all, I have learned so much from this forum in the short time I have been here. My wife has been in the horse industry all of her life and I married into it. So the going price for tack and accessories I have not much of an idea what the goin prices are. So i always ask her, and she will say I can get this or that for this much through this place ect. and I try to price close to that. What I have realised is that stuff she can get for x price is all production stuff and I am hand crafting every part of what I make right down to hand stiching everything (cant afford a machine yet). Case in point about charge what you think its worth-- I have been setting up a table next to the pick up when we go to the playdays. Just tryin to get my name known to the horsey people in our area. The lady that runs one of the playday series has approached me to buy some spur straps for awards. I gave her a cut rate deal on them. When we went to the second one in the series she approached me to expand the order and add 5 bronc halters. I went home and aggonized over how much I should charge... Material cost not a problem to figure out, I used to do that in my sleep when I used to work in construction. But how much for my time? Whats a fair price that will cover my costs and still put a bit of profit in my pocket? I came up with $85 for a nylon halter with a hair-on nose band with the saddle clubs initials carved in a piece and sewn on. I went to her with the price and took one that I had made for my wife that had conchos on it. I was scared to death that she wasnt goin to accept the price, especially since she needed 5 of them. She said ok to the price but really liked the conchos instead and I blurted out $15 more each. She grabbed her check book! My method is material cost plus how long do I think its going to take to make it at $30/hr. If it seems astronomical I will do some adjusting (might be the wrong thing to do) then compare to everyine else and see if im in the ball park. Its the only way I know how at the moment to come up with pricing. So Im going to take alot of the ideas from this thread and start utilizing them and then stick to my guns. Handcrafted takes time to put the quality in it and thats what the customer is paying for and thats what you have to teach them! Thats something Ive learned from reading this thread. Ok enough with my long windedness.

Forgive me I am still fairly new to this. Can you get these dummy guns as revolvers like an old colt and clones of such? I'm into cowboy action shooting and have been thinking of expanding into the old west cowboy gun leather. My next question is, are they exact duplicates or do they make them so say the front sight extends all the way back to the rear of the gun so when you block the leather it doesn't trap any protrusions? I agree with dickf, what a bunch of crap about an infringment!

Where is the best place to put your makers, On say spur straps. Is the back of the piece acceptable or should you always try and keep it on the front?

When I started and found my fingers getting real sore I used athletic tape and that helped. I got tired of searching the house looking for it after the wife stole it for something. I dont use anything anymore and my hands are fine. If i dont stich for a while I find they start to get sore but work through it, and if they get real sore I use different fingers or different part of the pinky to pull tight. just my 2 cents

Mine comes from our ranch. I dont have it uploaded in this computer to show yet but the kw brand stands for kathie and will which is my wife and I (she says it stands for kathie windom). It has a horse head on both sides of the brand ((which is from her tatoo on her shoulder that I took a picture of and doctored up in a grafics program) and then says horse ranch underneath it all. Now that I started working leather I have to modify the "horse ranch" to include leather.