AlexLeather

Here is the note, no mention of a sample tag, or any details. " Hello, Do you offer bulk pricing? I'm looking around for luggage tags for promotional use for the brand Harper Avenue (backpacks and cosmetic cases). We would need 1100. Let me know if you are interested. Best, Leigha

I've never sold in bulk before to any retailers. I work alone out of a spare bedroom and have no heavy machinery, cutting dies, etc. They asked if I do bulk pricing as they are interested in 1100 of my $35 luggage tags. This is my Etsy listing price. I'd want to buy a leather sewing machine, dies for the two pieces, a way to press the dies. And probably a way to neaten up the edges very quickly. Does anyone have any advice for me? Thanks.

Scars don't take dye very well at all. Look at your bare veg tan at an angle, so that the light shines brightly to you on the surface. Look closely for scars/stretch marks/stretching/thin areas and cut your patterns away from these spots. Poor quality leather will always be Tandy's "craftsman" line. Better quality from Tandy would be the Oak Leaf stuff but you still will find 50% of the leather is unusable for paying clients orders. If you want something worth your money, I personally use The Hide House out of Napa, CA. If you find Herman Oak leather, it is generally pretty good to use if you like very dense leather (use a very, very sharp knife) with a darker, oiled appearance. Wicket and Craig is also great, I find these are mostly paler in appearance and not quite as dense.

I would guess a washer, wildthings

UPDATE: I've heard back from the supplier and they've instructed me how to do it. Here is the copy/paste reply for anyone who runs into this problem themselves: "1) firstly to fix better the studs on the leather you need backrondels bought in a normal hardware shop, the rondel holes should have the same size of the stud spike. 2) put the studs in the leather hole and block on the back with the rondels, cut the stud spike just leaving the rondels going 1/2 millimeters out of the rondel hole 3) hammer on the spike edge like the hours of the clock, enlarging the head of the spike so it will be larger than the hole and it will not come out anymore 4) if you have difficulties you can make the brass softer almost like tin putting the studs on the fire for few mins an leave them cold down naturally at ambient temperature"

I ordered these conchos online from an italian supplier. They arrived without any other hardware. How do I attach these to a belt ?

I know what you mean, I use Lexol and it comes right out.

12" squares are too small, I need atleast double shoulder's.

I'm looking for two thicknesses, something around the 5/6 oz and then the 8/9 oz. size. I havent used sole but apparently it dyes dark which I like. But it seems like it only comes in 12oz + sizes. I"m used to using veg tan but would like something more geared towards armor, and utitlity straps. Any good ideas?

I've gotten asked to make a recoil shield out of leather. I'm not too familiar with shooting yet, but is there anything I need to know or should be aware of in making one? I'm thinking I might need to add a padding insert for underneath the leather for some comfort, obviously.

I'm a bit put off by the Schedule C and filling every line out. Utilities? Attorney fees? Mileage? All the little odds and ends here? I'm in panic mode having to record literally everything. I work from a spare bedroom in my home and would have to keep track of homeowners insurance. I do all my sales online, and all my customers so far have been out of state, so i'd have to pay the interstate and foreign sales tax, and claim zero on the retail sales tax. I was told I wouldnt have to do the B&O tax. So many different tax forms.

Can you guys explain to me the two choices of accounting methods? accrual and cash? I think Accrual is it counts as soon as you establish an order, like I take an order for a leather jacket, even though the customer has only paid their 50% down payment. Cash method is when I take full cash for it.?

Any advice from you small business owners would be much appreciated. I've been claiming about $3,000 hobby income for the last two years on my federal tax return and was advised to register as a business so I could order materials wholesale and pay less during tax season, and claim losses/expenses/deductions. My state adviser told me that if I am manufacturing and selling things, I should really be registered. So I applied for a business license online a couple nights ago, and while I'm waiting for the paperwork to come in the mail, I've started to panic. I've never taken a single accounting or bookkeeping class, and tax forms are alien to me; I've always taken my pay stubs and mortgage taxes to H&R to let them deal with it. I pay the fee and go home. I throw all my receipts in the trash, along with all packaging, I trash all email invoices I receive for online orders because I have no use for them. I'm not too nervous about remembering to record every bottle of dye I purchase and how many miles I drive to Tandy, to save bridge toll receipts and keep all receipts in a shoebox. An adviser over the phone told me I could apply for a re-seller's permit so I wouldn't have to pay sales tax on materials I buy (I buy 95% of my materials online, but the veg tan I buy in person along with a few tools). I feel like I'm way in over my head on this. In a nutshell, what should my priorities be to make sure I do this right from the get-go? What kinds of habits should I practice? Do I really need to fill out everything on Schedule C? I'm working by myself from my home, I'm not sure if I need to let my home owners insurance company know that I'm running a registered small business from my spare bedroom... I'm so very clueless on running a business. I'm not sure I'm cut out for this!

Just bought a new airbrush, a Paasche dual action siphon feed model. I want to spray some fiebing's pro oil dyes. What can I use to clean the airbrush after using the pro oil dyes? Do I need to dilute with denatured alcohol? Thanks Alex

If you want to start out with veg tan... Pro Oil dye in red has a yellow tone, stay away from the alcohol or water based fiebings dyes, they are all pink undertones. Apply a good layer or two of Pro Oil dye red and I find that tan kote finish brings out the color but makes it look a bit dark, resolene is a good choice to give it that vividness, or saddle lac. Otherwise, paint on some Angelus red paint, that's about as vivid a red as I've been able to get. Doesn't crack when flexed, and won't fade. Their paints are great on veg tan.

I case the leather, tool it, mold it (if it needs molding depending on the job), let dry completely, light layer of prime neatsfoot oil with a clean white t-shirt scrap, dry completely, buff, professional oil dye (my dye of choice), let dye dry completely then buff, apply my resist liquid, let dry, apply antique paste, dry overnight or so and buff that really well, then add a layer of finish, something like tan kote or sprayable saddle lac, or shoe polish, depends on the project. I like the Montana Pitch blend stuff, hydrates the leather pretty well and I like the smell. I add a layer of that once or twice a year as needed. Some things you can oil the back of, like belts, if you don't want to oil the top to prevent darkening. I just oil the front because I like the dark look on all my stuff. Alex

Yes, I am starting with a solid blue and they want a bit darker blue

i think the best you could do is use a hair dryer to melt off the wax and use a paper towel or cloth to wipe away the melted beeswax, but the wax would probably already be infused into the leather by this point. Test on a scrap to see how well antique would adhere to the leather after you melted away most of the beeswax. Alex

So I'm making a leather jacket with some lightweight garment leather and my client wants a unique color, I would have to strip it first before applying the new color. Can I use regular Fiebing's dye, for example the pro oil? Will this last and stand up to rub off? And how would I finish? Thanks for any tips, Alex