JPThomas

I have been working in leather for about 8 years now and a few years ago I was asked to share my knowledge by a few friends and started a small educational program based loosely upon a "Master/Apprentice" scenario. I provided my students a pair of challenges I gave them leather, a steer horn, punches, conchos, and rivets and asked them to show me their best original ideas and make both a Horn Holder and a Mug Strap (can you tell I am a fan of Renaissance Faires?). The pair of them accepted my critiques and improved by working on their own projects. They have succeeded amazingly well and have gone on to make things I hadn't thought about. It was then that I had the idea to share what I knew with a few more friends and eventually I decided last November to create a group on Facebook. It has been a slow and educational process (thank you Bill Winter for all the help) and we have grown into something more than a couple of people who were sharing ideas and critiques at the local Pub; we finally became organized enough to form the Mid-Atlantic Leather Guild. As for me, I can be found stitching hats, designing pouches, or creating a new custom item for a friend when free time allows.