Jump to content

Shaunread

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    34

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Shaunread

  1. Posted · Report reply

    I've been fiddling with my logo for a while now and I really dont want to 'overdo' the icon on my items so ive decided upon this:

    LEcUbcB.jpg

    (Not the best quality image) but do you think this is a reasonable sized/designed icon I could use on my wallets/smaller items? I want to keep it small but like you said I definitely need to have it clear somewhere. I feel that wallets are often over-branded by using huge stamps which seem to take some of the charm away from the piece. I think this stamp/position/size looks alright so Im going to transfer it over to the rest of my products as long as feedback is the same as my thoughts!

  2. Posted · Report reply

    All the items are more towards the male buyers but the name isn't something I would want to associate with, as odd as that sounds magpie isn't what the male 18-28 demographic would want. Same goes with the leather tool company called elfita, they have some nice tools but the logo has an fairy on it and is clearly targeted to women.

    The reason I actually chose the name is because the name "magpie" is heavily associated with and is nickname for a huge football team from my home city - of which the demographic is mostly males 18+ so I would disagree with that personally.

    I stuck with the text alone as a logo as its simple and keeps with my minimalist thoughts on design but I do have a Magpie image I am not thinking of adding to have an 'icon' which people could associate my products to rather than just text. Im in the process of sorting out some people to photograph with my products so hopefully that can be an improvement I can do over the next few weeks/month! Ill get right on adding photos of my processes and tools and hopefully will personalise the website a bit more. Im hoping to add more female-aimed items to my collection so hopefully that wont be a huge issue when I get them online too :)

    Thank you for all your comments.

  4. Posted · Report reply

    Dwight, You are an inspiration!

    I will definitely take your advice and use it to improve my products and website. At this very moment im drawing up a plan of action for myself to improve :)

    I can only hope that when I am older I can understand the business as much as you and the other people on this forum. Hopefully I can return in a short while with something bigger and better than what I have now, thank you all for your guidance.

  5. Posted · Report reply

    I see what you're getting at. The fact is that the majority of the world are either too busy or cant be bothered to do it themselves. For that, I'm thankful though. Its people like that who buy our leather items - for better or for worse. Everybody sees quality differently and although out products arent as unique as some, the individuality of the designer and the subtle differences we make in our products by stitching a different way and burnishing or not burnishing. I personally love minimalist, simple stuff and thats why I started to make it. "Keep it simple stupid" I was always told. I've always wanted to get into carving and the like but it just isnt my style sadly!

    Luckily, we life in a world thats very materialistic. Some people will pay £5 for a wallet, some will pay £500. Without these different people we wouldnt be doing anything more than a hobby! Despite the fact we all make similar stuff in one way or another, we're not that much in competition with our fellow leather workers because everybody has their own twist or style that attracts the people we want to buy our stuff :)

  6. Posted · Report reply

    Can I ask if you can screenshot what you saw regarding legal mumbo-jumbo on my home page? The website should be laid out as it is on the picture ive uploaded below. If not then I can only assume its a website malfunction and will sort that out.

    OLFkwKAl.png

    As for the pricing, my belts are handmade out of premium Italian leather which reflects in the price as well as including delivery so I think I offer a fair price in comparison with the significant amount of British leather goods companies which expect upwards of £80 for something similar. However, that being said I am planning on adjusting my prices somewhat downward as I do agree expecting something that high at such an early stage isnt the most attractive price for a new consumer.

    What do you mean by products looking unfinished? Could you elaborate on anything in particular I could improve?

    I have added featured products to the main page below the initial banner, in my stupidity I hid that collection meaning it didnt appear, woops!

    I'm going to revamp my 'about' section to make it a bit more personal as you suggested, thank you!

  7. Posted · Report reply

    In the past ive been able to make a few sales via etsy and in person with people but im struggling to attract significant traffic to my own website to make sales.

    At the moment im using Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to promote my products/website as well as adwords with specific search keywords and have alright SEO (Dont have a huge amount of experience though in all honesty) but am barely managing 25-30 views a day (most of them UK though which is atleast something - as this is my preferred market).

    Has anybody else had this struggle with gaining traffic? Can you recommend a way in which I can improve it? Despite being a marketing student and having done everything I know to attract people im still just unable to improve and its getting frustrating as you can imagine.

    Any help would be thoroughly appreciated!

  8. Posted · Report reply

    I like the key rob and business card idea! It may serve as a better replacement as marking on a product can be offputting for some people... I already stamp my logo on packaging too so hopefully that will be enough!

    I just hate the idea of making the centre of attention on my products my logo rather than the actual product. Do you mark all of your pieces King's X or do you rely on the business card/keyfob and the customers memory to remember you?

  9. Posted · Edited by Shaunread · Report reply

    At the moment im trying to finish a few simple products I hope to sell in the future but I look at them and think they look better without my logo on it. The leather and the quality of my pieces should do all the talking but im worried that if I dont 'brand' my products then people will struggle to remember who made their item and wont be able to pass on through word of mouth as easily, among other things. I only have this struggle in my mind with my smaller pieces (e.g. Phone cases, card wallets etc...) as with my larger pieces (e.g. Belts and Clutches) I can stamp my pieces in less obvious place than right in the middle which I feel would put people off my products...

    What are your views on marking your products as your own with a logo? What are the pros and cons of having/not having branding on the items? Do any of you brand or not brand your items and why?

    Any helpful opinion on this would be great :)

  11. Posted · Report reply

    Thanks, ive looked it through and it seems to be a reasonable machine for me to use. However, once again ive become stuck at which size needle the Singer 66K Uses. I checked the manual and anything else I could get my hands on but nothing...

    Could anybody help me out?

  12. Posted · Edited by Shaunread · Report reply

    I've decided to get into sewing with a machine for certain aspects of my leather craft, so I looked into buying a used Singer 66K. Ive looked around the internet and struggled to find the manuals for the machine aswell as information on Thread/needle sizes.

    Im hoping to sew upto 3mm leather with the machine and im curious as to your opinions on the machine, will it be suitable for the job?

    (Images of the machine im looking at below)

    http://da1urhpfd469z.cloudfront.net/uploads/advertphotos/14/0815/16942362-320-640x480.jpg

    http://da1urhpfd469z.cloudfront.net/uploads/advertphotos/14/0815/16942377-621-640x480.jpg

    One thing ive noticed is that there is not a thread size piece on this machine (I cant see it atleast...) Does it look good, or am I on totally the wrong track for a first machine? Oh, and is £130 a reasonable price for such a machine?

    Any help would be appreciated so much! :)

  15. Posted · Edited by Shaunread · Report reply

    I've been looking into making ladies tote bags (Like this: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/175056863/brown-leather-tote-bag-distressed-brown and this: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/194927661/brown-leather-tote-bag-distressed-brown?ref=related-4 ) and for the life of me I can't find any information online on what kind of thicknesses these bags usually are. Would anybody be able to enlighten me? I assumed 1.5-2mm but before making a leather order I thought it'd be best to ask the experts (you)!

    Much Appreciated!

  16. Posted · Edited by Shaunread · Report reply

    I've looked into them and plan to use them for my next order, the samples they sent me were outstanding. I do agree though, the pricing is weird and although all of their other products have differing prices for various thicknesses, the dyed shoulder doesnt which seems odd that you pay the same for a 1.5mm hide and a 3-3.5mm hide .

    One issue I've had with them is contact though, on several occasions their email inbox has been full and I havent been able to complete my enquiries with them, but besides that they seem like a great company to work with!

  17. Posted · Report reply

    Hi,

    I've been looking at buying some Seiwa Pricking Irons online for a little while, but I've struggled to find anything to tell me exactly what spi size they are. As they're japanese, they are using only '4mm' in my case (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Seiwa-Diamond-Leather-Stitching-Chisel-Leathercraft-Pricking-Iron-Tool-6x4mm-/111275961902?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19e8906e2e) and I don't understand if this is correct for 7spi because online I can't find any information on whether the measurement is between points or the main 'pylons' of the tool.

    Could somebody help me? :D

  20. Posted · Report reply

    After taking your advice that the font was confusing I changed the initial design to (hopefully) make it easier to read.

    A )

    WL8fZ0l.png

    However, taking Corter's advice I decided to change font for another approach. Better or worse?

    B )

    8UC9vNe.png

    C )

    CUk0BiN.png

    Seemingly, simple is better for a brand so maybe the new font is somewhat better and bolder to the potential consumer? Branding is a lot more stressful than I thought!

  21. Posted · Edited by Shaunread · Report reply

    Hi,

    I decided to make a 'brand' for my leathergoods rather than selling them as just blank goods with the thought that with a stamped brand, there might be the possiility of more business with friends of the products owner seeing and asking about the product/brand,

    However, I'm not sure so sure about the logo(s) I've designed, they all follow the same rough pattern but I cant decide which to use. I'm aiming my leather goods at relatively 'smart' or 'professional' people e.g. business men/women and I aim to go into fashion accessories for women over the next month or so to expand my product range. Does my design suit this target market? Could you give me any advice on it from your point of view? Anything would be realllllllllly appreciated! :)

    A )

    s7YQpBH.png

    B )

    LrytLzJ.png

    C )

    FQ4N0Em.png

    Thanks!

  24. Posted · Report reply

    Hi there,

    I need a little advice. I was going to make an order to Le prevo for some new veg tan and something caught my eye, on the hides page (http://www.leprevo.co.uk/hides.htm) under "Dyed Veg-Tan" are Belt Shoulders. Probably a very simple and stupid question for me to ask, but does anybody know what they are? It's cheaper than normal undyed 3-3.5mm veg tan shoulders but I cant seem to get why its cheaper even though its dyed and the same thicknesses. Any ideas from your point of view?

    One further question how different is matt veg-tan compared to 'normal' veg-tan leather? Is it literally just the aesthetics or is there something else to it? Thought it'd be better to ask experienced people than to buy it and possibly waste my money!

    Thanks! :)

  25. Posted · Report reply

    I've decided I want to get a stamp with my logo on it to start stamping onto my products. I have limited space as I am a student in student accommodation at the moment and need to transport everything back in summer, I thought of getting an arbor press for stamping my leather. The one im looking at is 1/2 ton and seems ideal if I put a slightly different base on it to stamp on, its relatively light at 9kg. However, im not sure if it'd be suitable to stamp leather well enough.

    At the moment I'm mostly using 1.4mm calf leather but Im hoping to move up to 2mm then 3mm at some point for bags/belts etc... will a 1/2 ton arbour press have enough force to stamp these types of leather well enough to show the logo? my logo isnt particularly complicated with just text.

    As you guys are very knowledgeable I thought it was best to ask before committing to something I dont know much about! Any help would be great :D

×
×
  • Create New...