Johanna

It's getting better- don't lose heart. Johanna

You don't have to be a guild member to enjoy the show, but you do have to belong to an IFoLG guild if you are entering pieces in competition. Hope to see you there! Johanna

Russ, I'm sorry. We're working on it right now, and I am pretty sure we can get the kinks worked out and running smoothly again, despite the new features. In the meantime, use the lofi version at the bottom of the page in the drop down menu until things are right again. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but the security updates and other stability issues require that we update, and I'd rather do it it now than before the old board crashed. I promise we won't quit until we get things satisfactory again. Thank you for your patience. We really are trying to bring everyone a better board. Johanna

Use the "Today's Active Topics" right above the members online at the bottom of the page for now. We will get it sorted soon. Johanna

The server is converting 20,000 PMs to the new format, and when the task is completed, I expect the site to be running at normal speed and your inboxes to be restored. I could have taken the board offline while we waited, but you guys get the shakes when I do that. The upgrades are almost done, and I will be fixing the new gallery areas next. We needed to do the software upgrade because we ant to increase the content we can bring you, and we are growing every day. The older software is not as capable of handling the traffic and modifications. Keep letting us know about any bugs if you find them- it helps! Inboxes and speed are being addressed right now- thank you for your patience! Johanna

I'm moving this to "Show Off". I nearly fell out of my chair! WOW!! (Maybe John can translate: thatissofreakingawesomeIdon'thavewords!) Johanna

They're not gone, we just didn't put them back yet. They have to be converted into "conversations". It's putting a load on the server which is why some of you are experiencing slow load times. We picked this weekend because we hoped we wouldn't inconvenience everyone when they got to work Monday morning. We still need a little time, things are moving along well so far. Johanna

Aaron, I hear you! But LW is growing every day, and the upgrades are necessary to insure that the high traffic doesn't crash the board or worse. Don't get too excited about the general appearance yet- no skin has been installed. Anyone missing the "view new posts" can use the "Today's Active Content" link right above the members online today list. Bear with us- when we are done, I think you will all be pleased, and we will be ready for more members, content and options. Johanna

I'm not seeing the old PMs yet either, or the calendar, or the ads...LOL give me a little bit to see what we can sort out yet. Johanna

I wanted to warn you now before the board goes offline temporarily and you all get the shakes. We are going to be down for a few hours while we add some new fancy features to serve you better. In the meantime, while the board is down, or anytime you have a free moment, please contact your favorite vendors and urge them to support LW. Ad details are here: http://leatherworker.../adnews/ad.html Call Jerry of artisansew.com, Kevin of Springfield Leather, Peter of Waterhouse Leather, Cobra Steve and Ivan Sampson, the rosewood burnisher guy, and tell them you appreciate their support of leatherworker. They have made the new improvements possible. But we have so many quality vendors who should be advertising here- directly to their target market, our 6500+ members, people like you! Please contact them and tell them how great LW is, and how much you would like to see their ads supporting our efforts to grow and bring education, entertainment and fellowship to all leatherworkers, their current and future customers. We support the leather community, but LW is growing so quickly that we need funding to pay for the expansions. In exchange for backing LW, our advertisers get exposure to the people who will buy, delivered directly to their website from potential customers from all over the world! YOU can help LW by encouraging your favorite suppliers and vendors to support LW, and you can help them to increase their sales and reputations. Sellings advertising during a recession isn't easy, but so far our advertisers have found their investments have paid off. I need your help to convince more of them. Here is a handy list of people and places to contact: RETAILERS: Tandy Leather Factory www.tandyleatherfactory.com Dana Jones djones@tandyleather.com Worth Jackson wjackson@leatherfactory.com 817-872-3200 Siegel of California www.siegelofca.com Steven Stiegel siegel.leather@gmail.com 800-862-8956 Hidecrafter www.hidecrafter.com Eric Edrich eric@hidecrafter.com 817-878-5797 Zack Whites www.eleatherworks.com Tim Cox 800-633-0396 Standing Bears Trading Post www.sbearstradingpost.com WC (Wayne Christenson) cowboywc@earthlink.net 818 342-9120 Brettuns Village www.brettunsvillage.com Churchill Barton trunks@brettunsvillage.com 207-782-7863 Fire Mountain Gems www.firemountaingems.com 800-423-2319 Chris & Stuart Crazy Crow crazycrow.com 903-786-2287 PUBLICATIONS Leathercrafters and Saddlers Journal www.leathercraftersjornal.com David Reis davidjournal@newworth.net 715-362-5393 Shop Talk! www.proleptic.net Dr. Dan Preston shoptalk@proleptic.net 207-495-3600 Smoke and Fire www.smoke-fire.com editor@smoke-fire.com 800-766-5334 LEATHER Hermann Oak Leather Shep Hermann holc@hermannoakleather.com 800-325-7950 Wicket & Craig Matt Bressler mbressler@wicket-craig.com 814-236-2220 SEWING MACHINES Tippmann Industrial Products www.tippmannindustrial.com Bob Tippmann bob@tippmannindustrial.com 800-533-4831 Cowboy Sewing Machines www.neelsaddlery.com Ryan Neel neelre@comcast.net (866) 507-8926 Raphael Sewing Machines www.raphaelsewing.com mail@raphaelsewing.com 866-415-8223 Super Suppliers C. S. Osborne www.csosborne.com 973-483-3232 cso@csosborne.com Ohio Travel Bag www.ohiotravelbag.com info@ohiotravelbag.com 800-800-1941 Feibing www.fiebing.com custserv@fiebing.com 800-558-1033 Standard Rivet Company www.standardrivet.com 617-268-3100 Chaylor Fenneli www.chaylor.com Keith Johnson chaylor@bigpond.net.au

That is what good leatherwork is all about, Spider! It looks cool, and it's practical and functional. I enjoy seeing your work. Thanks for sharing! Johanna

This thread is about the new machine from Artisan. If anyone wants to comment on the new machine, wonderful. If you want to spread rumors and take sides- please do it by PM. Thank you! Johanna

Artisan has been hard at work! Check out their latest machine! The Artisan Toro 3200 is complete with a twelve and a half inch throat and will sew 7/8 oz leather! Johanna

Kate and I are ahead of you guys. We are installing a link manager to LW, and you will get more details as soon as we have all the kinks ironed out. If anyone needs help with their web site, please PM me or Kate. Johanna

He last logged in about a week ago. Oh dear, nothing is wrong I hope. Sidney Wood. Calling Sidney Wood! Check in and let us know you are okay, please! Johanna

Kevin has been busy- check out his "new and improved" website! http://springfieldleather.com/store/ Forget Fire Mountain! Who knew he had all those beads and findings there too? I didn't! Memo to self: never give Jane (my 11 yr. old daughter) a credit card after she's been looking at Kevin's store online! She wants it ALL! They are still running the $4.79 square foot price for Hermann Oak Leather, too. The store has finished leather goods, sewing machines and splitters, and every leatherworking supply you can think of, plus they have top notch customer service. Springfield Leather tip #279 If you don't see it in the catalog, call. If Kevin doesn't have it, he knows where to get it. Johanna

PM sent. Thanks everyone for the kind words. Johanna

Rayban- the day to be there is Saturday. The competition and display rooms will be open to the public from 9am to just before the banquet that evening. I'll be getting in around lunchtime on Thursday, and leaving after the raffle on Sunday. Johanna

Click on a "Springfield Leather" ad on the top of the page or call 1-800-668-5818

The deadline for show registration is August 24, 2009. registration.pdf Who is going to be there? For more info on the show, go to the CIL website. I am teaching two classes on Friday, and then it says I am teaching a class Saturday about leatherworker.net for a fee, but that's wrong. If anyone wants to come by and meet others from the site, please join us for coffee and (fresh!) donuts Saturday morning before or after you get to see the competition and display rooms! (Pics will be up by afternoon, don't worry folks! ) Hope to see lots of you there! Johanna registration.pdf

Posted with permission from Bob Beard: Robert Beard http://robertbeardtools.com

Bob graciously gave me permission to repost this on our forum:

LW is running a special to encourage you to sign up to jumpstart your sales, and reach thousands of customers a month! We will make your first ad banner for FREE (a $50 value!) and if you call or email me to make arrangements for your ad campaign before August 15th, we'll make you a second FREE banner. We have the traffic and the expertise to make a successful campaign for your business, and we will help you every step of the way. Details of our ad campaigns are here. If anyone wants year-to-date stat reports of the site, let me know. All ad campaigns come with daily or weekly reports so that you can monitor your investment. Yes, I know I'm pushing this, but it's a great opportunity for you folks to get effective advertising, and we want to upgrade LW, which will increase our viewer volume even more and help your ad campaigns be even more successful! Please call me with questions or anything on your mind. Best regards, Johanna (419) 753-2612 (419) 953-1386 (Verizon cell) admin@leatherworker.net