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Ha ha very good leatheroo I wonder if anyone will figure out the sport and so far I'm thankful no one has got thongs mixed up with what they are in America. I remember a few years ago when an American reporter was interviewing Heath Ledger about what he did on his summer break and he said I got together with a few mates we put on our thongs and went down to the beach. The look on the reporters face was priceless, Heath ended up telling what thongs were in Australia and the reporter seemed mighty relieved.

Letter beveling is mentioned in one of Ron Edwards books I think it is More Bush Leatherwork.

Me too we have hot weather for the rest of the week.

Hi John, I just had a quick look at the files and are you sure you can import that format into Adobe Illustrator I have CS3 and it won't let me. The only Corel format I could find for importing is CDR for versions 5 to 10. Would it be at all possible to put them into another format like eps as I would dearly love to try them in ZBrush. Thankyou for your help Kind regards, Clair

Yes a big thankyou for putting all these together I was thinking of doing this myself for using as Alphas (Digital Stamps) in ZBrush and it looks like you have saved me a big job. Cheers, Clair

Yes a big thankyou to Johanna and Kate for getting the board up again, although I haven't been posting that much due to various things I didn't know how much I loved looking at it until it was gone. So a big hearty Australian hug to both of you and anyone else who is helping to restore it. Best wishes, Clair

I just got this book out from my local library and I found it to be very helpful as well, I must say I was very surprised to find any leather books in my local library as they usually don't have anything I'm interested in.

Yes Australian farmers (called farmers here not ranchers)have guns and know how to use them most people in rural centres will also have access to a gun. It's just that it's not a common thing for people in the cities to have a gun some have them for sports shooting and you need a licence for that (my sister has one and is a pretty good sports shooter). The thing is here you have to keep your firearms in a gunsafe when not in use and you certaintly can't keep a loaded gun by your bed you would definately lose your licence for that. Although we have home invasions here they aren't common for the everyday citizen to want a gun, also we have laws that you can only use the same amount of force the attacker is, such as if they have a baseball bat you can use one. There have been cases here where the defender has been charged with using extreme force over an attacker ie defender had a shotgun attacker had a knife. I don't have anything against guns and are quite aware that people in other countries may need them if Australias population was to become the size of America then perhaps the local stance would change. In regards to the government that some others have bought up you have to remember that Australia is still governed in part by England and the Governor General (the queens representitive) will kick out the government if they do something wrong. This has happened once in the 1970's I was born in the 70's but I'm not exactly sure what it was over.

I haven't been doing leathercraft that long either but I've found it was best for me to buy a side or double shoulders as I'm going to be making different sized things and the scraps from the bigger things can be used to make smaller things like wristbands, bookmarks, watchstraps etc so I shouldn't have that much waste. But if you just want to make the set sized things it might be best for you to buy the already cut pieces. Though you are stuck with what quality they use which may or may not be a problem for you. These are the places I've looked at buying leather from in Australia I'm in Perth. Birdsall www.birdsall-leather.com.au/ Leffler www.leffler.com.au Crispen www.crispinleather.com.au/ Have a printed catalogue they will send out NSW Leather Co www.nswleather.com.au/ Greenhalgh Tannery www.gretannery.com.au There are a couple of leather shops in WA but their tools were fairly expensive so I wasn't game to ask about their leather prices but probably will if I run out and need something quick. I've actually bought stuff from Crispen and NSW Leather Co (their agent in Perth) and both were about $120 for double shoulders/side (double shoulders from Crispen, side from NSW but were about the same size) as for quality I preferred Crispen for carving the stuff from NSW Leather Co was quite light and I didn't like the way it carved I'm new but I could still tell the difference in the carving quality. For the next lot I buy I will try the other three Leffler does a club thing where if you buy their membership you get a discount, Birdsall seem quite big and look to have a decent selection and Greenhalgh as far as I can find are the only tannery in Australia still doing veg tanning, I think there is another member here also who has used their leather. You aren't likely to find good leather in craft shops at least I haven't in Perth the only stuff I have seen is cheap bags of suede scrap from Spotlight which comes in some shocking colours. There are other Aus members here who have more experience than me so hopefully they will chime in as well and may possibly know of some other places that I have missed. I'm interested to know if anyone has bought leather overseas online too, I've bought tools and books from overseas but not leather as of yet. Hope this helps a little bit Cheers, Clair

I've used this place before www.bearcreekleather.com and found them to be very helpful especially sending stuff to me in Australia. I got my order in just over a week which is fast for a shipment from America. They also answered all my questions promptly and everything was packed extremely well.

There was a few videos on You Tube that dealt with shoe making if you put in leatherwork it should bring them up. I haven't watched them so can't say whether they are any good or not but they may help you to get started.

I'm definately interested in how it's done although I probably I won't ever to get to do it, it would be nice to know if the need was to ever arise. My father in law works in the meat industry and I may have access to skins and such but where to do it would be a problem as I don't think the council or the neighbours would like it too much if I did tanning in the backyard. But cheers whipit for sharing your knowledge of the process.

We had our first hot day yesterday 39.5 or I think 103 in your temps we usually don't get that sort of temp until late January so I'm expecting a hot summer this year. At first I was annoyed about the two storey house that was built next too us but now I now think it has turned into a godsend as it blocks out alot of the hot afternoon sun, tiling our whole houses floors has also worked great as I didn't have to put the air con on until 5.30pm when the hubby got home. I wouldn't of put it on as I don't mind the heat but my husband hates it so on it went.

Hi Linda yep I'm enjoying looking at everyones projects and the wealth of knowledge that is shared here, the graphic design work is taking up all my time at the moment. Luckily I'm due some holidays soon and will be taking a trip over to Tasmania and then Melbourne and will be popping into Leffler after a recommendation from Leatheroo. So I'm hoping to stock up on supplies while I'm over there and actually have something to show everyone by the end of the year. Cheers, Clair

I know one company that makes Computer Graphics training was taking legal action against them but I haven't heard how it went and a quick look on their site shows they are still renting their stuff out so they may of weasled out of it somehow.

That's really nice leatheroo the name suits it well, I agree with SmilinJim you should do a season set.

Yep that does sound a bit pricey I've been researching die prices myself and I've been quoted about $200 for the two dies I'm interested in getting and being in Australia we usually pay more than what you guys do in the US, that price also includes postage from one side of the country to the other. The dies I'm after aren't that small either, if your dies have a complex shape or internal holes that may explain the higher price as you do pay more for that sort of thing.

I'm new as well but I've found Bookbinders board works well it's that grey stuff that comes in 1mm to 3mm thickness, mat board is generally what picture framers use that coloured stuff for backgrounds. In Australia I usually pick up bookbinders board from Art or Craft Stores heres a link to show you what it is http://www.hollanders.com/supplies/BrowseC...b0-fbe566c65c6f Hope this helps Cheers, Clair

Wow I really like that the lining finishes it off really well.

Very nice leatheroo I also like the eagle your not a closet West Coast Eagles fan are you in Cats territory Hee Hee. Also thought you might be interested in this clip on you tube I came across it when I was searching for leather carving stuff. I found another clip on you tube for leathercraft where the lady used Jo Sonja paints but she was using it on flat things so I'm not sure if it would be suitable for masks but you could try it as they have some really nice colours.Cheers, Clair

Thanks leatheroo I found Birdsalls website and sent them an email about prices I wasn't sure about a tannery if they would sell to the public but we have enough beef here so there must be one about so I'll give that a go. There may be another avenue though if they don't as my father in law has been a butcher for many years dealing with wholesalers and such so it's possible he may know of one. He's away at the moment but I will definately be asking him when he gets back. Cheers, Clair

Hi everyone I'm Clair from Perth, Western Australia I'm just starting to learn leathercraft and I am glad I found this site as although there are a few leathercrafters around here they are spread out far and wide so it will be nice to talk to so many talented leathercrafters in one place. Anyhow a bit about me I've come from a graphic design, illustration, 3D Computer Graphics background so I hope all this will help a bit in getting a hold on carving in leather. I was looking to start a new hobby something to get me away from the work side of using a computer all day long and leather carving seemed to be a perfect fit. Something I can do inside my studio that doesn't take up too much room I can still design and I can actually hold the piece in my hands. Also because my sister used to do leathercarving many years ago and gave me all her tools which has meant quite a substantial saving for me as the only things I've had to buy is dye, thread a couple of tools and some more books which I probably don't need yet but I couldn't help myself (much to the relief of my husband who saw some of the prices of the tools here and remarked how lucky I was to be given them). So far I'm really enjoying it I've only done some practice pieces at the moment but I hope to have something to show everyone soon, the only problem I've run into at the moment is the dreaded left handed problem with the stitching groover. But I read somewhere here that another left hander was using it backwards so I am doing the same and are slowly getting used to it. Just one last thing if there are any other Australians around can I ask where you buy your leather as I am having trouble finding what I want, my sister gave me some scrap leather but I've just about used it all up and want to start on a proper project soon anyway. Cheers, Clair

I'm new too in fact this is my first post your work is really nice and I would love to see your masks as I am interested in seeing different types of leatherwork. I'm an Aussie as well and I was just wondering where do you buy your leather as I am having trouble locating a good supplier in Perth.