Kevin King

Sewn down. The finished product.

I wasn't really sure where to post this or even what to title it. But this is a technique I use sometimes when I need to transfer a pattern from design to an actual piece of leather. I also use this technique to transfer a tooled design to posterboard, then trace over wet leather. I first layout the design. I use my computer to draw almost everything I do. Print in a pretty thick line. Tape face down to posterboard. Burnish over the lines. I use a pencil so I can see what I've covered. Remove design. You should have a decent line on the posterboard. Cut out. Trace to whatever skin you're going to use. In this case, shark. Ready to sew down.

Real nice. Nice pics too.

Well, my business name was pretty easy to come up with. But, I used to own a screen printing business. We called it Funkymuzz Graphics. When we were doing market research for our business, we talked to a lot of printers and went to a lot of different shops. We found out that we liked one called 'Purple Girrafe'. Not really because of the work they did, but mainly because we remembered the name. It was different than all the others. My son was about a year old at the time and he used to have a stuffed monkey. It was his favorite "fuzzy monkey". With a little brainstorming and some wordplay we came up with 'Funkymuzz'. It also worked well with our advertisement, as we could play on the weird name. People were always messing it up, which was perfect for us because they were trying to figure out "what the hell is this Funkymuzz place?" We had some funny radio spots where the anouncer was trying to get it right and had to repeat it. I think the word funkymuzz was said about 27 times in a 60 second spot. We also used the word graphics, instead of screen printing so that we could expand into other graphics related mediums. Take this for what it's worth. KK

Thanks for the compliment! I have posted some WIP pics of how I sew down the layers to make the designs, but not the process I use to transfer and sew the designs. That is the only thing I am keeping to myself. Anything else, however, i'd be glad to share. I have used some embossed leather, but for most of my work I use all real exotics. And, yes, I do buy full skins as well as dig through the scrap bin at the leather shop. I am actually planning to update the tutorial I posted a while back because I have changed some things since I posted it. Thanks again for all the nice words! KK

Haha. Awesome. Thank you. Thanks! Already in the works. Thanks for the comment. Thank you! Ya, love the thing! I'd be lost without it. As a matter-of-fact, if the house was on fire, the 80lb Juki would be the first thing I would grab....then the cat. haha.

Lot's of bags on the job-list lately. Here are a couple additions to the KKL family. My new 143 line. 143= I Love You. The, ‘I Love You’ or ‘I Miss You’, lighthouse is perched facing out into the Atlantic, on the very exposed Minot’s Ledge named after George Minot an 18th Century Boston Merchant, who lost a valuable ship on the rocks prior to the lighthouse. The ledge is part of the Cohasset Rocks, off Massachusetts, USA. When in 1894 a new flashing lantern was installed in the 34 year old lighthouse it had a 1-4-3 sequence and very soon the number sequence was taken to represent ‘I Love You’ or ‘I Miss You’ (I /1 flash, Love /4 flashes, You /3 flashes). Over the years this simple lighthouse code has been a comfort to sailors from the area, their sweethearts and families. The story is now widely known and the code is much loved for itself.

Various colors of finished kidskin on black rough-out cow. 8 x 10 shadowbox.

Finished kidskin, lined with veg-tan, bound in cowhide, custom Ti clip.

Had one of those things hit me that just had to be made. This one won't fit in your pocket. This is going to be a wall hanging. 16x20 shadowbox frame with museum glass, and will be available for purchase. Anyway, It's going to be either very cool, or a huge disaster. I hope you enjoy the WIP. Gotta pause to finish some customer oders.....

Well, they're crummy cell phone pics. But I think it makes the finished pics look a lot better. I use a Juki DNU1541. I'd be lost without it. Thanks, and you're welcome. Sometimes I hurt my head trying to figure out how to do what I have pictured in my head. Wow. That's quite a mouthfull of compliments. Thank you. Sometimes I see people look at other pieces of work and respond by saying "i quit." I like your response much better. Thank you, David. Thank you! I made this one to sell at the show I just attended in Vegas. It is the most expensive wallet i've ever made. It was the first thing that sold. Thank you all for all the great words! KK

Going to vegas for a big show this weekend. This is what I made this month. All said and done, I will have made over 80 things this month. Phew!

Nah, man. But thanks. I could never tool the same design with the results you would have. KK

Thanks for all the compliments! Here's a step-by-step....

Cool! Thanks. Thank you! Not counting the construction of the wallet, the outer stitching and cutting was about 16 hours. Thanks! Thanks! I have a facebook page as well as a website. There's more on the facebook page though. Just search Kevin King Leather. Thanks! It's definitely up there as one of mine too. KK

I've been making items for a show I am exhibiting at in Las Vegas over labor day weekend. This is one of the custom pieces I am taking with me. Cape buffalo, two lizards, one sea snake, one baby python, and one ostrich (leg). 10 card pockets, 3 cash pockets, 1 zipper pocket, hand-carved KKL silver smoothie snaps and silver KKL grommet, and a mokume zipper-pull by Jeremy Marsh.

Thanks! Ya, I was actually thinking it looked like a sleeping bag. Thank you! The veg-tan is about a 4-5 oz. The shark is about the same thickness, and the elephant is a little thinner. The ole' Juki plowed right through all the layers though. Thank you! The knife is one that one of my dealers sent to me to have the sheath made. It is a Tom Ferry knife. Hand engraved bolsters, and lightning strike carbon fiber scales. It is a cool knife. KK

One shark, one elephant, two cows. Front is shark with cowhide overlay. Back is elephant with stealth elephant belt loop. Interior is veg-tan cow. Bound in cow.

Veg-tanned cowhide, hand-tooled/hand-dyed Spartan logo. Black nappa calf lined with embosed cowhide document pocket. Bound in black cowhide with tan stitching. Lizard skin inlayed strap keeps it all shut. Matching 'Attaboy' card folder.

That's pretty cool.

Not a dumb question. Fancy knives. This one is a custom colaboration between Mike Burch and Jody Muller. Awesome custom knife makers.

Here are a couple multi-knife storage cases. I'm calling this one the 4Banger. Brown lambskin, asian themed lining. The mighty 'V8' Black goat, black n silver asian brocaide lining. With baby brother Family portrait.

Here are a few single knife cases. Merino sheep with cowhide overlay. Bound in cowhide. KKL logo lining. Gator embossed cowhide, bound in cowhide. Blue bamboo asian brocade lining. Brown Cowhide, asian themed cotton lining Purple lizard skin, bound in cowhid, green contrast stitching. KKL logo lining.

Nice!

Thank you! The zippered lid was a new attempt for me. I'm pretty happy with how it came out though. I wouldn't say i'm getting deeper and deeper though. This is only the second cue case. I am not making these cases from scratch, just covering cores. Thank you! Thanks! I am also a fan of clean edges, however, I am also a fan of mixing it up. I think on some projects, raw edges give it more of a hand-made feel. The thread is 69. I think I got it from the thread exchange. Thank you!