Pennypower

The idea of consignment makes me really nervous, but I'm open to it :-)

Replenishing stock, something I hadn't thought about :-)

Just a little update on how the meeting went. It went very well. He really liked my stuff. However he's concerned about whether or not he can afford my wholesale cost, due to the markup. Handmade leather goods might not fit the pricing of his store. I think he's going to start with a small order and just see if it sells. He's going to let me know. It's pretty much exactly how I expected it to go. We'll see.

THank you Tina! That really helps!

I've noticed clear laq has a brownish tint, which can be really problematic for me. When I use it over certain paint colors it ruins it. The other day, I turned around and scraped it off the area (which was quite easy to do cuz it was all flaky and I thought that shouldn't be happening with Laquer). Sooooo....what do I need to do? Just dilute it? I haven't been diluting it. Maybe that's dumb IDK. Should I? Also, I get a lot of cracking with it. Maybe diluting it solves that too? Or should I just switch to Resolene? Man, I don't know what I would do without this website. Just sayin'

Is there a difference between Neat Laq and Clear laq?

great!

That's awesome! The problem is, I just want to darken very thin lines. I don't think I can dye inside those lines/grooves without atiqueing. It's just too thin. Wait so I'm confused. (Sorry for being so slow LOL). You're saying the resist does or doesn't PREVENT the antique from grabbing in the grooves? Because if it doesn't that's a great thing. But you said it doesn't and then you said that's why you don't use it. Maybe you meant it doesn't grab well in the grooves once resist has been applied?

So the resist doesn't prevent the Hi Lite/antique from grabbing in the grooves?

This is the kind of effect I'm looking for. It's a dog collar I think but I didn't make it. I like how light it is in the middle, but I've never been able to maintain that much brightness throughout when I antique. The lines are really dark so I'm thinking a black or really dark brown antique paste was used?

THis? http://springfieldleather.com/37729/Groover%2CStitching%2CFreehand/

:-)

Hi all. Recently I've been using a gouger to cut/gouge out lines in my belts, but it's hard to control. Is there an alternative? I've tried a swivel knive but it just makes a cut. It doesn't actually gouge out any leather. The below picture is what I've been using. I would love to use something like a groover, but more freestyle. :-) http://springfieldleather.com/29162/Gouge%2CAdjustable%2CV/

Today is the day! My meeting is in an hour and a half. I'll let ya'll know how it goes :-) I'm so excited!

I'm trying to post a pic for you, but I don't see any link for an attachment :-( ????

So I've been reading all I can find on here regarding this topic, and it seems that it's absolutely necessary to use resolene or supersheen as a resist first before antiqueing. My question is, how do you keep the resolene out of the grooves so the antique paste will show up there? Or is this even an issue? Also, I'm not antiqueing tooled leather necessarily, just cuts in light colored leather that I want to turn out really dark, so I need a quick process. Can I just finish the leather like I normally would, then antique it, then finish it again? Thanks everyone!

I saw this video last night and he does a fade about 11 minutes in. Cyberthrasher, is this what you mean by dry brushing? Also, that stuff he uses called X1/Goofproof, what the heck does that actually do?

THanks everyone so much for the great advice! I'm feeling a little better about things today. As soon as I get a chance I"m going to go back over all of your responses and think more about all that you said. I haven't even had 2 free seconds! I've been slaving away in the garage making belts and avoiding thinking about accounting :-P

NICE! Thanks I'll be looking into this one some more for sure.

Monday will be my first meeting with a store owner to try and land my first store account. I'm hoping to get an order of upwards of 50 belts for starters. Anyway, I'm nervous as all hell about a few things..... #1 - What if I can't make a consistent enough product? I mean, I'm used to selling on Etsy, one of a kind stuff. It's never mattered before that all my stuff looked exactly the same. I'm going to have to find a ways to communicate that to him but somehow it makes me feel like less of a professional. #2 - Can I even handle an order of 50 belts OMG! I know I can do it, especially since he'll have to pay me a large portion upfront. I can get some better tools to be more efficient. But it's scary to hand over such an expensive and valuable order to someone. The reality is he may not like some of it. I am making prototypes for him to look at, but it still makes me nervous. #3 - Now I have to get SERIOUS about bookkeeping and business management and all that stuff I completely suck at. It's just overwhelming. Ugh! I'm scared, but excited. I think I need a glass of wine. Anyway, any advice or encouragement would be greatly appreciated! Thanks friends :-D Penny

Sometimes I just put black antique over it and that desaturates it some. It's kind of a quick fix.

Yeah I'm actually going to take the HF one back. If I'm going to spend that kind of money I may as well get a better brand. I'm still looking to spend no more than $100 for my first one but anything has to be better than HF. My husband HATES HF. He says everything he has ever bought from there fell apart. So I only get stuff there that I'm experimenting with LOL.

Not really. I just want to tattoo the leather I use to make bags, belts, jewelry etc. :-) I'd LOVE to tattoo people. I've always wanted to do it but haven't had a way to practice, and I don't have the guts to practice on people so, you never know, maybe I'll tattoo people one day but that's not the goal.

WOW! Forget everything I said about brown LOL. That's beautiful :-D

Hahahhaha!!! I deserved that ;-) I want to start tattooing on it. But then if it gets too dark it will affect the brilliance of the colors :-) I guess that's just the way it is.