EmbossingDieCompany

Immiketoo.....yes, I'm surprised too.......I thought it was just a marketing idea.......yet others have turned it into "spam to gain market share" Dear Potroast.....I've read your other posts with your testimonials for Joyce and you are obviously one of her very satisfied customers. Had you thought this was a great idea, do I really think that you would buy from me rather than you simply contacting Joyce who could clearly make it? And there are 3 or 4 other stamp makers on here that also have happy satisfied customers too. I'm sure that if one of their customers saw this idea, they also would go back to someone they know and trust, rather than come to me. My idea is not copyrighted....any of those other stamp makers could just as easily make them. Wayoutwatty.......thanks for your opinion on the idea. You taught me a valuable lesson: that I should not market these to the few hundred artisians that make $800 seats who consider Tandy as the evil empire. Rather, I should focus on the hundreds of thousands of Tandy customers that buy $70 million of leather from Tandy every year. I also think that some of you can't see the forest for the trees.....you are focusing on using "Tandy scraps" that don't scream quality as a piece of raw vegtan business card. Yet others see that you can use offcuts (that may be cheaper and better quality than the Tandy pieces) and decorate them to make them distinctive and not cheap so they represent the quality of craftmanship that you want to display to potential customers.......that way you won't have to leave them with a neutral impression so that your paper card gets lost in the obscurity of the other dozen paper cards that they put in their pocket. Although the sample uses the standard "Ariel" font from Microsoft (another evil empire), there are literally thousands of different fonts that can be used (you won't be limited to the four fonts that Tandy offers on their stamps) and you can easily add your logo, or a graphic or swirls or other decorative elements. The point being....you can design and decorate your card in any way that you see fit to reflect your business or personality. But Chief is right too.....I'm sure most leatherworkers that spend 40-60 hours a week filling orders don't want to spend dozens of hours making and decorating leather business cards.....which is why I was trying to show that with using a stamp on inexpensive pre-made pieces simply sprayed with a little SaddleLac, you could crank out 50 or 100 in less than an hour. And yes it is a gimmick. But gimmicks work. There are millions of sales people and small business owners that look for and use gimmicks every day just so they can give themselves any possible slight edge over their competition. Would you rather have your paper business card buried with hundreds of others in someone's Rolodex ("Hmmmm.....did I file that leatherworker's card under the word leather? or seat? cool stuff? or his name.....what was his name? I can't remember...") or because it doesn't fit in a standard Rolodex it is likely sitting prominently on the person's desk, or counter or computer.......because as Benlilly1 said......everybody loves the smell and feel of real leather......and the cards are too nice to just throw in the garbage like they do with all the other paper cards they collect. So like I said in my original post......I could have posted this in the "free" Marketplace section........but I didn't because I truly believed that this was more appropriate in the Marketing Section. I was not trying to be sly about it either....I admitted right up front that it involved a little self promotion, but I did that so that any of the Mods could easily move the thread to the Marketplace Section or simply remove the link to my shop so that I wouldn't get an unfair advantage to "gain market share over my competitors who might feel cheated".

Hey Joyce......how about showing some love instead of ripping apart a good idea by one of your competitors? Of course, a leatherworker's best form of advertisement is an example of their work showing their quality of craftmanship and pricing......however, most leatherworkers don't carry around a box full of their finished pieces to the grocery store or a Christmas party for potential buyers to peruse......that's why business cards were invented. And although you may think they are "tacky" (and you are certainly entitled to your opinion) and expensive.....I beg to differ. The whole point of creating the die is so that people can make their own business cards cost effectively (I think $0.35 each or less is pretty reasonable). And when you hand out leather business cards at a networking event, I can personally attest that people are impressed. At the end of the event when people are shuffling all those paper business cards together that they collected......they can't really tell the difference between the 4 insurance agents, 3 bankers, and 16 website companies......but everyone will know exactly which card belongs to that leatherworker. This section is for marketing ideas.....and that is exactly what this is......an idea. And obviously not everyone will think it's a good one and someone will always find a reason to criticize it. But then again, I asked for people's opinions, so thank you for offering yours.

Matt, Oh, yes, I totally agree with you....a business show is definitely not the place to hand them out. But for the select individuals that you do give them to.....they will REALLY be impressed.......atleast that's what people tell me when I hand them out. And at $0.35 each, they don't have to be soooo select.

I truly believe that every leatherworker should hand out leather business cards instead of paper ones. OK, yes it is self promotion. But I wouldn't have developed the product if I didn't believe that it was a great marketing idea......and I posted it here instead of the Marketplace Section again because I thought it was a great marketing idea. I make the dies 4" x 1.5" so that they can be used with Tandy Leather Factory's Practice Pieces that are 100 pieces for $35. If you would like to see more pictures, you can view the listing here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/118942920/leather-business-card-embossing-die Thanks for looking and let me know what you think of this idea.

Glad you like it benlily1!!!!!! I thought it came out great too.....but remember......I only offer a life time guarantee if you use them with a press. :)

Rypcurl.......send me an e-mail with any military graphic you have or want and I would be happy to give you a custom quote.

Sandy Hook Elementary Memorial Bracelet - engraved on leather - listing all 26 people that died that tragic day. I just mailed two hundred of these down to a local church in Newtown, Ct. (wish I could have sent more) because I wanted to do SOMETHING for the families affected by this tragedy and I didn't know what else to do. Don't spend your time debating gun control or mental illness or talking about the monster who committed this heinous act, instead, talk about the kids and heroes that died that day.

It can be done either way.....it depends on what look you want.......and again, on how you plan to finish the leather.

I've made two QR code stamps for customers and they have both told me it works. Getting the detail with the stamp is absolutely no problem, the success is all in the way the leather is finished (it must be black).

You're all very welcome! Papaleather....I do the swatch more for me than you......just to make sure that I didn't spell anything wrong!!!! HAHAHA!!!!!

Thanks for the kind words Spence!

You can also use "What the Font" to help identify fonts.

I'm probably a little late into the game for you......but if you still need a stamp, please swing by my Etsy Shop and send me a message: https://www.etsy.com/listing/55721686/leather-embossing-dies?ref=pr_shop

I don't know if I'm old school or just cheap, but I just use a table top vice that I bought at Harbor Freight for $20 (see picture attached). It takes 10 seconds to emboss a piece of leather and I get a deep, crisp, perfectly placed impression every time. The vice takes up less than 1 sq ft of shelf space.......much less than the 20 ton A-frame......and no compressor is needed!! And trust me, I'm not the Hulk, so you don't need to be super strong to crank this up. I'm attaching a few pictures of bigger embossing dies that I have made......so anything under 2" should be no problem whatsoever.

Since I make the plastic ones......I highly recommend them!!! Less expensive and still durable.

Hi Jonah, I make them. You can visit my shop on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/CustomMadeStuff?ref=pr_shop_more And I'm currently running a promotion for a FREE "Made in America" or "Made in the U.S.A." stamp (2" wide or smaller). Thanks for your consideration! Steve

I've found that using a piece of 1/2" thick acrylic works really well as a backer. I simply take the 1/2" acrylic, lay the leather on top, carefully place the embossing die exactly where I want it, then put that "sandwich" (acrylic-leather-die) into a tabletop vice, tighten, loosen, done. It takes about 10 seconds each and I get a clear, crisp, deep and perfectly placed impression every time. And it works great for doing bracelets that I bought from Tandy.......I cut a 1/2" thick piece of acrylic that is about 8" x 2" for doing these bracelets. I'm attaching a picture of bracelets that I did, but I don't have an actual picture of the acrylic backer. If you want to find a cheap piece of 1/2" thick acrylic, you can go to almost any craft store (Michaels, Hobby Lobby, etc.) and look in the picture frame section.......they usually have picture frames that are actually two pieces of 1/2" thick acrylic that are held together with a magnet (you're supposed to sandwich the picture between the two).....and they usually come in 5"x7" and 8" x 10" sizes.

You're very welcome Benlilly1!!!!! Gunter.....send me message and I'll make you a free "Made in Belgium" die. I started offering the free die to promote the made in America concept.....but I guess we should all be proud of where our products are made.

I just wanted everyone to know that I just posted a new listing in my Etsy store for a FREE embossing Die that says "Made in America" up to 2" wide. Here is the link to my store: https://www.etsy.com/listing/114363967/free-embossing-die?ref=pr_shop I decided that it is so important for people to buy American made products, that I wanted to do something to help promote that process. Leatherworkers often mark their products with their company name or logo, but it would also behoove them to mark the product as being made in the USA. So I hope everyone will take advantage of this FREE offer. Thanks!

You might also want to consider a table top vice......I bought this one from Harbor Freight for $20. My preference is to use a vice/press rather than a mallet......I believe you get a better/crisper/deeper/more accurate impression with a press verses the mallet.

Hi Hobageeba, I make custom stamps........feel free to convo me or visit my shop on Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/listing/55721686/leather-embossing-dies?ref=pr_shop) Thanks! Steve

Glad you like it Rick! Thanks again and come back soon!

Thanks Carl.....looking forward to working with you!

I can make those stamps for you. You can visit my shop here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/100831525/leather-bracelet-embossing-dies Thanks Steve

If you need a custom plastic embossing die, please visit my shop: https://www.etsy.com/listing/100831525/leather-bracelet-embossing-dies Thanks for your consideration! Steve