veedub3

Looks great! Way to think outside the box! Karina

Panama

Job well done! Love it! Karina

Very Nice! Love the Design! Karina

I use a hand held punch to make the holes when making leather jar sleeves. Mark the holes then punch, the result is nice clean holes like you see in the first picture. Here is the punch I use Karina

The Enquirer is sued all the time, and we rarely ever hear about the settlements, or back office deals that are made with said celebrities. Also they claim to be "a News Reporting Org.", which would be different than simply placing a celebrities face on a leather wallet and selling it as the OP asked. Plenty of celebrities have sued for the unauthorized use of their image and all have won. The reason they won is because a Law states a persons likeness is his/her property under copyright law and could not be used commercially by other parties. This law doesn't just apply to celebrities, it applies to the average Joe as well, although I doubt anyone would want to use the average Joe's image. Karina

Yes they can sue you for using their likeness. Celebrities get paid when their image is used, so why would they let someone else profit from that? But like everyone has already stated, you need to seek professional legal advice. Karina

The last thing you want to do is get legal advice off a leatherworking forum. An IP Attorney would be the one to contact and some will give you a phone consultation for free. The mere fact that you asked the question leads me to believe that deep down you know the answer to this question. The rules aren't loose! Infringing on a persons Copyright/Trademark is illegal. There is no misunderstanding that, It's that simple. You see people printing copyrighted images all the time, but what you personally don't know for a fact is if they have prior consent or not. There is simply know way for you to tell. My guess is that they don't have prior permission, but because they are doing it illegally, does not make it right for me to do it. It is in fact illegal. You can not profit off of someones intellectual property without prior consent. You get caught and you just may have to pay the price. Is that worth the risk? Now as a Screen Printer/Embroiderer myself, I can confirm that printing Copyright/Trademarked images without prior consent can get you into a mass of trouble. I have been in the screen printing business since 2001, and in the early years, I was sued twice and sent countless Cease and Desist letters. The two lawsuits together cost me nearly $48,000 to settle. The judge told me that "ignorance of the law was no excuse" and hit me with a fine that he said hopefully would deter me from doing it again. Trust me I never crossed that line again, that was 12 years ago. IMO it is simply not worth the risk! Karina

The Thread Exchange Karina

A member here that makes watch straps listed these suppliers in a post some time ago. Esslinger, Vintasso, and Otto Frei. There was one more but I am sorry I didn't book mark it. Maybe use the search feature and you can track down the other one. Karina

A picture of the finished edge would be a great addition to this write up. Karina

I was about to use a Regional rate box today for the first time until I found it was the same price as sending a regular box priority mail. The package was being shipped from GA to California. Weight 1.3 lbs. Regional rate A $9.97, Regular Priority Mail box (7 x 7 x 6) $9.97. You are correct though the post office does not stock them, they have to be ordered. I have had these Regional boxes for nearly a year and never used them. Karina

I have burnishers from three different suppliers and I happen to agree with you, the one I got from Leather burnishers is 2nd to none! Karina

Hi Dani, Welcome to the forum. I also love your bags, and I checked out your blog as well. Interesting pics showing how you break down and repair machines, and I too wish you had a video of your very first experience when the machine sparked like dynamite. I got a chuckle of of that although I am sure it wasn't funny at the time. There are some very nice people here that are very forthcoming with info, so if you have any questions just ask, someone is always willing to help. Karina

Love the colors, very nicely done. Karina

Nice work! Karina

That color you achieved is awesome! I really wanted mine to be darker so I am definitely trying it out with the steel wool. I will post a pic of the final color once dry and oiled. Karina

Just made it into the shop. Here is the piece that I placed in the coffee over night. It was 4/5 oz veg tan and I think I placed it in the coffee brew around 5pm yesterday. It is still wet so I will post another one once it dries to see the final color. BDAZ you may be on to something, I really would like a darker brown so this weekend I am actually going to try it with steel wool in it. Hopefully I can get a darker brown. Morb since you said you got a dark brown almost black, I think I am going to try the technique you posted. I didn't boil the coffee, I just brewed the strongest pot of dark roast coffee as possible. I packed the coffee down until I filled the coffee filter to the brim. It was so strong it was giving me a headache. Smelled awful, like burning tar/rubber or something. I am going to take this outside and do it on the stove top on my deck because that smell was in my shop for hours, I had to turn on the roof vents to clear it out. Luckily the leather don't smell bad so I guess that's a good thing. Karina

We are actually talking about steel wool in coffee not in vinegar. Morb, I actually did a batch yesterday. I used a dark roast and made the strongest coffee I could. I placed a piece of leather in the batch before bed yesterday. As soon as I get some coffee in me I am going to go to the shop to see what it looks like and I will post pics of the color. Karina

The poster is not referring to her items once she gets to the craft fair, she is asking about the shelf life of a product made in her shop a few months before the fair. My questions is: What is the difference in making a leather item a few months ahead of time and sitting it on a shelf in your shop unused, vs making one to order and the customer sits it on a shelf for months unused? For example the bike bag - in my area you can't ride a bike year round so my bike and the bike bag i made myself is currently hanging on the bike rack in my garage where it has been since the end of September. That's several months unused.

From what I have been reading, the steel wool in the coffee is to act as a mordant which allows the color to stick to the leather. This perplexes me as I also read that the tannins in vegetable tanned leather is it's own mordant and their is no need for one. (With hides being tanned in so many places with so many different processes, I am skeptical of this last statement, but too unfamiliar with the process to make a definitive decision.) Morb - you said you were going to try a batch without the steel wool in it to see if there is a difference - have you had a chance to do that yet? From the hours of reading I am thinking it will just be a light staining but I would be interested in hearing your results. Karina

LOL...... I would have been on the edge of my seat waiting to see that one. Karina

Very Nice! Karina

Look good! Karina

Here is the Post where he talked about how he did it. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=54435&hl=embossing Karina