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MonicaJacobson

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Everything posted by MonicaJacobson

  1. Very nice! I like your tooling job. Subtle.
  2. I was reading the other day, and the author said that writing is different from many arts - in writing you avoid all forms of plagiarism as the highest of evils, but in other arts, you are encouraged to copy from a master. I do think there are two different kinds of things going on here. Being a master craftsman means making something to perfection, but it doesn't have to be new. It can be identical, like Hermes, and done completely without the reference of someone's imagination. By that, I mean not that those people are unimaginative, but that they must conform to someone else's design decisions in every respect. But each craftsman, once they get to that level of expertise and perfection, is applying their singular abilities to a problem, which I'd call art, much like a well trained violinist playing a difficult piece of classical music. And then there are the Sheridan and other carvers who have to draw and execute their own designs. For them, it becomes more like engraving, and each person's style reflects their own taste, once they get good enough. So, I see what you're saying - we're all trying to achieve proper construction, and that's just the basic mastery of a skill. But how we do it is an expression of our creativity, and that, I think, can be called "art".
  3. Wow, Eve, that's a very complicated design for a "newbie" - very impressive.
  4. Thanks, Tim - I love that spalted myrtlewood electric guitar. Very nice! (My husband thinks it's nice, too) My husband was into photography as well, which is why I inherited a decent camera. It's great when your spouse spends money on the right things, right? What's really great is when you get something going long enough that you can break even, or even make a profit on your hobby. I'm sorry to see you're not building at the moment. Shop space can be hard to find. At least leatherworking isn't as long term as making an instrument, so that's nice. You get a return faster, and can keep your expenses down, if you can start selling. Good luck on the ipad case. You'll probably find it easier than making a multi-tool case.
  5. Don't forget to burnish the keeper! But really, that's just secondary. I love how it turned out!
  6. Ray, I'm jealous of your train signal collection. That sounds amazing. We picked up a whiskey compass last year, but that's about the coolest thing we have.
  7. Ditto Bill - I love the celtic influence. Especially the little knots on the ends of the straps that turn into a little floral accent, and the fact that they're different on each side. Gorgeous.
  8. Thanks for the link, the amount of information there is awesome. Also, the bag is awesome. I am drooling.
  9. What kind of leather did you use? It looks nice and clean - the only thing I'd change would be to put english point ends on the little rectangular pieces of leather that go through the buckles.
  10. It looks great, Aamber! What about some pictures of the inside?
  11. Um, Kathi, that's really weird - almost like a direct quote from one of my posts a few months back. Hi Chris! Good luck with your new business. It looks like you're doing pretty well already. I think David's ideas are good ones, especially for the small things you're making right now. Although, if you choose the wrong jewelry vendor, you could downgrade your stuff by association. I have found that taking the plunge to spend more money on materials is really worth it. I don't charge what I should, and I still get back what I spent, and then make the same amount over. Larger products get more search hits because there are fewer people making them. Find something you really want, but have a hard time justifying because of the expense, and make it. If you wanted it, it's more than likely other people want it too. Maybe that's the opposite way most people go about finding their target market, and perhaps it's not very good advice, but I think that's the most genuine way to make a good product. Only make what you think is awesome, and your customers will catch your enthusiasm.
  12. Mark Knopfler, Tim O'Brien, Andy Irvine, Michelle Shocked, David Grisman, Fairport Convention, Crooked Still, Patrick Street.... blues... I must admit I'm not a music listener, though. My husband's the one who finds all the good music and turns it on. If it's on, I enjoy it. If it's not, I listen to audiobooks. Classics like Dickens mixed with modern fantasy like Brandon Sanderson, or British detective mysteries. (not to derail the thread... )
  13. It looks amazing. Pretty much perfect. Great job!
  14. Very nice, Mike! I'm about to try a sheath in this style (minus the inlay), so it helps to see what other people are doing. I would recommend that you stitch around the inlay on the black leather as well, just to keep everything nice and tight as it ages.
  15. Wow, that is incredibly frustrating. It's only a week behind schedule, maybe it got lost in a truck or something. You could call the last post office it was scanned (and the next one it would go to) and see if you could get them to look around. I've had a lot of trouble with USPS at one time or another - they even lost my husband's wedding ring, and we had to call them several times and badger them into looking into it properly.
  16. Ha! Really cool. The leather lacing bits look really nice, and I like the rather ingenious coif, too.
  17. Ha! Blackthorn is on this forum. Your questions are all the hardest ones to answer, I'm afraid. The pricking irons vs overstitching wheel and awl are personal preference. Whichever one you think you'll end up preferring. As for thread, my favorite is Tiger thread, but you have to get it from Abbey England right now, which would cost about $45.00 + shipping for the size you want. You might try Maine Thread Company for other threads, but I don't have a conversion chart for the threads. In Tiger thread terms, you'll want .6mm or smaller. Better yet, you could ask Blackthorn what his thread size is. Edges are also each-to-his-own. You kind of work out what works for you. Sanding (with high grit sand paper) helps, and I'm currently using a mix of saddle soap and gum tragacanth. Next much-discussed item -- groover. For thin leathers, a lot of people just use a compass to mark their line, rather than threaten the integrity of the leather by removing some. Good luck!
  18. Tom, I think you've changed the learning curve in LW forever. I really appreciate it!
  19. That's a beautiful wallet, I love it.
  20. The ladies in your family are lucky - those are very nice. I always have trouble with gusset measuring. I think various people have come up with methods that are supposed to be sure and certain, but if I stretch the leather by accident when I'm punching holes, I make it uneven again, regardless of the original measurement. First, I count all the holes in the front and back. I have started leaving the gusset long, I pre-punch the holes, and use a square to make sure it stays perfectly even from front to back, and the hole count matches the front and back side. It seems rather unreasonable and over-complicated; other people probably have a much more sensible way of going about it.
  21. I roved over the forums - did you post a picture somewhere?
  22. Gary, you should definitely post pictures. It's no fun if you wait until you're too good! I usually have half-blackened hands from dye. Super classy. No manicure, that's for sure. But hey, as you said, it shows that we're not afraid to get our hands dirty doing something cool.
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