minimal Oz

that is a beautiful bag! thanks for sharing! very interesting and new dyeing method too.

thanks Bob, I will google some Aussie sellers. I never knew this flower foam, will check it out.

Hi Bob, thanks for the info. I was only guessing from the 2 seconds in the video. If it is so expensive then I will forget about it. Thanks mate

Thanks Trevor. I would love to use wood too, but I just don't have sufficient tools to work on wood. That is why I was interested in alternative materials.

I was fooling around on Youtube when I found a video in which a Spanish lady uses insulation foam to do wet molding. It looks quite easy to use and holds its shape pretty well. Any one has experience of it? If insulation foam is workable, then it must be a lot easier to make comparing to wood. Could this be a good idea? here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTjkKAQs_c0

these color are beautiful! I am really curious how to do it! could you please tell us some more about the dye you use and the dyeing process?

yes, it is bloody tough, it's almost like timber! My Diamond chisel can only get into the leather for about 3mm. I am just thinking about making some bracelet.

Forgot to mention the average size of the offcuts is about 1/3 sqft.

So today I happened to find some leather offcuts selling in an used-to-be shoe factory. These are decently sized offcuts and it's so cheap, so I grabbed two boxes. AUD $1 per kg. Quite firm and thick (5mm), I guess they were making insoles and mid-soles out of it? These offcuts look pretty good, I even grabbed a large piece, I am just thinking what can I do with this whole lot. Any one can tell me if this is a bargain or just some trash? I just have no idea what leather they use for shoe-making. Any idea is welcome! thanks.

hi howie how much did you pay for it? I see that the wining bid was only 20 dollars. thats really "inexpensive"! and it look good, in its own desgin.

Nigel I just want to say your videos are awesome! This is definitely a good news for Americans. Obviously there is a large demand in the US, so sooner or later tiger thread suppliers will come up. In the contrary, in Australia where I live, the market is too small. So I don't expect to see any tiger supplier in the next few years. In fact it may never be. This is why I had to order from UK, even though I'm still a rookie and it may take me 100 years to use up that 500m spool. And by the way, I am selling some white threads by small amounts. anyone from Australia is welcome to try some tiger threads, and please help me to use the whole spool up in less than 100 years.

I think most people do not oil before they dye the leather. what Eccho says really make sense. don't be discouraged, we learn from mistakes and every expert comes from this way. try it again, I am sure do can achieve much better next time, and people will love your work.

thanks guys, I sent them an email two days ago and they said they couldn't find out the problem. But luckily my order arrived today! took almost 6 weeks! I know this does not happen very often... Anyway, I am pretty happy about the items, looks really nice, haven't tried them though.

Hi Silverback are you from Australia? Have you received your items? I placed my order of two rolls from Abbey 5 weeks ago, but still haven't received anything yet. I'm from Sydney, NSW.

Thanks! That Zircon looks nice, too. It's not cheap though. I've just placed my order on Abbey, it looks like they are giving discount. I only ordered two scoop of white thread, as a starter. Might order some more in the future. Birdsall is quite close to me, but I've only visited it once. Do you buy a lot from there?

Hi CEM, did you get tiger thread from a shop in Australia? I couldn't find any! Had to ordered some from UK.

I'd like to make my own binder/portfolio. I've been searching these things for a while, but it seems very hard to find in Australia. I've searched in the forum, and couldn't find any suitable sellers in Australia, or on Ebay that can ship to Australia with a low cost. Could anyone help me out here? I will be very grateful! Thanks.

Hi Everyone, it is really amazing how much knowledge are shared on this forum! I have found that there are a number of master craftsmen here who are more than willing to share their experience and help newbies out. People are so active and helpful, which really surprised me! So even though I am also a newbie here, I've decided to share my very limited knowledge. My friends have given many good comments to my first wallet made, and they asked me about how I made it, so I registered a blog and wrote a tutorial there. , Hope it could be a little bit helpful for other starters. I've shown all the leather, thread, tools, dyes and finishes that I used in the process. Okay, here is the link to it http://minimalistleather.wordpress.com/2014/01/27/how-to-make-a-leather-wallet/ Feel free to give it a glance. Ask any questions you have, I'd be happy to answer. Please also leave your comments if there are some places need improvement. Thanks!

I have tried Birdsall's 1mm vege tanned leather, was not very happy. Their service is good, but the leather itself is pretty soft, has a gray look and doesn't smell like vege tanned. It is not even as good as Tandy's craftsman leather.

Thanks Nigel, this is a great tutorial!

Thanks to everyone for the useful information! I am from Australia and just looking for high quality leathers for a reasonable price. After reading this thread, I found a number of sellers in the US. I am looking for Hermann Oak Tooling leather sides, which are very rare and expensive in Australia. The price of Hermann Oak here is twice of that in US. It is so frustrating. Luckily I have contacted a few US sellers online and trying to get the best quote on shipping.

got it, thanks howie. Could you give me some reviews?

the price is good, anyone has ordered one and could you comment on it? I live in Sydney and would like to get an email of the wood turner. Thanks to anyone who could help.