Johanna

You can wash clothes like that in regular detergent, but do NOT put in the dryer. That's where the leather gets damaged. hang it up to dry. If you want to get grunge off of suede, use a toothbrush and some baking soda. If it's regular leather, any standard conditioner will clean it- just be sure not to slop it on the fabric by accident. If the whole garment is leather, especially suede, spend the $$ at the professional dry cleaner that regularly deals with leather. If the person behind the counter seems unsure about your item, run, do not walk, out the door. Johanna

I have a friend who does craft shows and she always puts out a jar to "win this" and people drop in their business card or fill out a slip of paper to enter a drawing. But like Ray pointed out, some people don't want to be spammed. I had a look at your website. You do some unique work that a collector or professional musician might want to be kept apprised of, but there is no guestbook on your site. That might be the place to start collecting that mailing list. Add to it the info from all sales tickets you write. If I bought a guitar strap from you, constantly got compliments on it, and my best friend's birthday was coming up...well, the email saying "hey, look what I did that's new!" would probably make me a repeat customer. There is a company up in Maine that restores trunks and is a retail supplier. He uses a mailing list to send out a periodic newsletter. It is so well written and funny I always read it. (People are nodding their heads. Churchill Barton of Brettuns Village, of course!) If Ray started a newsletter or blog, I would sign up for the same reason. There are just some people you know you would enjoy sitting around drinking coffee on the back porch with, ya know? For an artist like yourself with a niche market, you have to be able to communicate why yours is better, has more value, quality. You may want to include a little education on your site. I know what goes into doing inlay, stitching and measuring, but the average customer does not. They assume you have a magic machine that attaches everything in the back room. They didn't see you standing there with the strap of leather and an idea, then going through your stuff until you found just want you were looking for...let them see you as an artist and an individual, but your site is sort of impersonal. Pics really help sell good work, too. Close up detailed pics will sometimes send the customer over the edge. Your question was about a guestbook at a show, but my answer is that to use your site might be even more effective, especially since you do such specialty work. People looking at your guestbook would see "oh, it's even better than I expected!" "thank you for the quick courteous help!" etc and that helps add to your credibility and reputation. You do list your website on your business cards, right? I know sometimes I sit down with a pile of them and visit the sites after I've been to a show. "Oh, yeah, I remember that lady- she put the jewels in the guitar straps!" When dimosaurs roamed the earth, and there was no internet, we leatherworkers were limited to our geographical locations to sell. Thanks to the Internet, UKRay has eaten Oreos. People here sell to anywhere they can ship, and are glad to, especially when they are highly specialized leatherworkers. HTH Johanna

It's a good idea in theory, but within our small community of leatherworkers, we have too much diversity. What is "best" is subjective, because what works for Jim in Utah may not be the right answer for Tim in Australia or Jose in Brazil. Joe might need a machine to sew chaps and chinks, while John might need one to do harness work. The "best" sewing machine doesn't exist, only the "best one for you". Same with tools, hides, books, suppliers etc. Someone just posted about tools, and got several recommendations. "I like his backgrounders, and someone else's bevelers, and take a look at the basketweave stamps made by so-and-so." You might say, "Oh, those backgrounders are way too small (big) for me, and I like the basketweave stamps made by this maker. Meanwhile, someone else is saying, "Great, but they won't ship any of it to Siberia, where I live." Depending on what you are making, what your style is, who your customers are and where you live changes the "good, better, best" rankings. But when 85 saddlemakers say, "I get my "blank" from "a-company", that's a good indication that if you are a saddlemaker, you might want to try it too. Ten people can post horror stories about something they bought, then one rocket scientist will post an exquisite work of art made with the same thing, and we all go, "hmmmm..." and wonder what they did differently? The best source of information is right here on the board, with hundreds (thousands?) years of experience and opinions. Occasionally a crackpot will post, but his peers usually clear up any misunderstandings immediately. ("Point the blade AWAY from your other hand!") That's really the best that we can do, to draw on the collective knowledge and experience of the members. Johanna

Have you tried a carpenters pencil? Many of the old timers are shuddering at ink on the back of anything, whether a lining will cover it or not. Johanna

WESA is Western and English Sales Association. from their site: Jan 16-20, 2009 Denver, Colorado

Read that again out loud, Tom! Johnny said "gotta love the internet!" Cheers for 2009- may we all be blessed with health and laughter, and the friendships here at LW. Johanna

I don't know about leather, but coffee is an excellent dye/darkener for bone beads. It will "antique" the white choker beads to look more natural. The beads will take color differently, so it's best to do them all at once for the best match of color. Johanna

Here are 6 pages of pics from the Texas museum: enjoy! http://www.leatherworker.net/tandymuseumpics/index.htm Look on LW's main page for the other Stohlman Museum gallery of pictures. ~J

If Google Maps is telling me right, you are a little south of Cambridge, which puts you about equal distance (though it's 2 hours each way I'm sure) from the Buckeye Leathercrafters of Central Ohio and the Pitt Pounders east of Pittsburgh, PA. The annual IFoLG show is in Indianapolis in the fall of 2009. But don't worry- you're back here again, and we have all sorts of folks who can help with tips and tricks and general mayhem. Glad you found your way back! Johanna

When I clicked on the link my kids came running in, "The Shrek Song, mama, it's the Shrek Song!" Johanna

The "old bones" bike seat blew me away, too. Please send him an invite to here, if he's not here already. Wow, awesome work. Johanna

Now I wanna see the matching purse! ~J

Hey, you gotta believe a guy with a big hat and a big mustache, right? All I can say is "God Bless America", and thank you, Mr. Black, for the reminder of what is really important. Johanna BaxterBlack_LuckyToBeAmerican.wmv BaxterBlack_LuckyToBeAmerican.wmv

There are plenty of IFoLG guilds that accept out-of-town members. Of course, I'm more familiar with the east coast ones, but Pitt Pounders, Buckeye Leathercrafters and The Georgia Leathercrafters all take members from around the world, and send you a newsletter. I don't usually recommend the IILG (the Internet guild) because to actively participate you need a Yahoo account, and to be in a meeting you have to download and install an IRC (Internet Relay Chat) program. (Oh, yeah, and their leadership threw me out for starting this site!) Dues are cheaper in geographical guilds, too. I have been asked why LW is not an IFoLG guild, and there are two big reasons. One is that IFoLG guilds pay dues based on membership, and we can't afford the dollar per person. The second is that an IFoLG guild has to meet certain obligations- they must send two delegates to the annual show, they must set up a display, they must agree to host shows every so many years etc. LW is just not set up to do that. I suppose a subgroup of LW could be established and could apply for membership in the IFoLG in Indianapolis in 2009 so that members could enter the 2010 show, but someone else would have to take on the responsibilities. If there is enough interest, maybe someone would start another thread and put out some names for officers and volunteers? Johanna

Well, this is the show off section, so here is another Al's Leather ornament. I had to find it on the tree to get the pic.

On my desk I have an oak leaf Kate carved and gave to me when LW hit 1000 members, and the oak leaves ClayB did for the challenge right before the big meltdown a year ago. My address is Johanna Schroer PO Box 103 309 W. German St. New Knoxville, OH 45871 and, Josh, I would be honored to have something of yours. ~J

Santa's elves sent me some goodies this year. From Clay Miller- the pieces he did for the challenges you carvers did earlier in the year. Thanks, Clay- these mean more to me than you can ever guess! and Allan Scheiderer sent me a lovely checkbook and memo pad set. The value of my purse just shot up past the coins in the bottom! I am honored and humbled to have these things, and so pleased that you guys thought of me for Christmas. I would love to have a little scrap piece- a doodle- off of everyone's bench. What an amazing collection that would be! Thank you guys so much! Johanna

Luke, you're related to my kids. They both are Chubbs of Deephollow. Henry=Hatley? Hmmmm... Sandybanks obviously means "hard to spell German/Scandanavian name", huh, Tom? Love your names, Kate. ~J

Ruby Sandybanks Hobbit Name Nessa Nénharma Elven Name

The Washington Post says: It looks like Mac users have bigger problems this week. Information Week reports. This web site uses no scripts that can do anything to your personal computer. Even if LW were hacked, the software for the board doesn't have any permissions to exploit. Kate and I keep up with the security issues because angry mobs of annoyed leatherworkers with sharp knives and bad attitudes would assault the poor hacker, if the leatherworkers were deprived of their daily dose of LW, oh my. That would be terrible. Half of you are military or law enforcement and the other half are outlaws-weirdos-psych patients- "not easily classified" and loners, and are proud and pleased about that. A girl feels safe walking the halls here at night, but I have no idea why. Many of you are armed and dangerous, but are big sweeties. Johanna

Darryl, when I get a note that says, "This forum helped me!" it makes all the work worth it. Merry Christmas to you and yours, from Ohio to OZ and everywhere in between. And for those of you who don't celebrate Christmas, may the holiday season be a time of family, friends and laughter, and may the new year bring you good luck! Johanna

You've got the Pitt Pounders Leather Guild, too. I'm originally from Charleroi. Nice to meet you, and welcome to LW! Johanna

Marketing Handcrafted Leathergoods A basic guide for craftspeople This practical guide sets out a range of cost effective and commonsense leathercraft marketing strategies for maker/retailers. Introduction I have been working leather for more than thirty years. In that time I have attended countless craft markets, owned and run four retail shops and more recently set up a small manufacturing unit and wholesale leathergoods operation. I am happy to share my knowledge but definitely don't have all the answers; so if you have any great leathergoods marketing ideas you want to share or need more information about anything in this guide then please email me at ray@barefootleather.co.uk Market Research Marketing depends largely on knowing who your customers are - or who you think your customers might be - and precisely what they want to buy. Market research allows you to find out what people want to buy, ergo it tells you what you should be making. Remember: it is much easier to sell people what they want than to try to sell 'em stuff they don't need. Start out with family and friends and then move on to groups and clubs to discover what people in your area are looking for. If you are really brave then go and ask people in the street. You could be surprised at what you discover. Personal promotion Always carry a top quality piece of your work with you. Wear one of your own hand-tooled belts, carry a bag you have carved or a briefcase you have hand sewn. People always notice unusual or beautiful things and will often ask where you got an item from. You won't get a better chance to promote your own products. Demonstrations Take every opportunity you can to demonstrate your craft alongside your sales operation. People love to see something being made especially if they can't do it themselves. You will make a lot of friends and sell a lot more products if you demonstrate what you can do. Photography You might want to start out by getting some great photographs of your products - if your budget is limited then a friend with a decent digital camera, a set of lights and a burning desire to create is a huge asset. You can use these pictures to develop all kinds of marketing collateral such as postcards for putting in store windows and to be handed out everytime somebody comments on your belt, bag or briefcase or asks why your hands are that funny color... Flyers If you are a computer geek grab a copy of MS Publisher (or any other desk top publishing package) and create yourself a three fold flyer with pictures. You can promote a huge range of items on one of these and best of all you only need print what you need. They look good on noticeboards too. Postcards I used to have some very simple postcards with the words HANDTOOLED LEATHER in big letters at the top and a couple of nice pictures underneath that brought me in loads of work. Best still they got people to call me to talk about stuff they wanted. I couldn't always help but after a chat they often came back with other ideas. Noticeboards You could put business cards, postcards or flyers onto noticeboards at colleges and big office complexes. Find friends who work in these places and persuade them to pin cards up for you. The simple approach is best. Another good trick is to make up your flyers with printed 'tear off' strips underneath so people can rip off a copy of your phone number or email address to take home with them - that way your flyer stays on the board. Tags Make tags for your leathergoods that carry your contact details. People like to see who made an item and, if they are pleased with the way it performs, you will have made it easier for them to re-order from you. You can also use a tag to promote bespoke/custom leatherwork. Be inventive - how about using your leather scraps to make your tags? All you need is a rubber stamp or a Sharpie. Niche markets Re-enactors have always been a great source of business for me. I love 'em all but I don't expect them to have big bucks. If they are your target market then you might want to think about the sort of stuff they might need and produce yourself a mini catalog of good leathery things for distribution at Medieval Fairs and the like. You will be surprised how these catalogs are kept safe until the cash is found to make a purchase. Dog equipment is another lucrative market for the leatherworker because it constantly needs to be replaced. Hand-tooled collars and leads are good sellers and can lead to bigger orders. Try your local pet shop with a sample of your work. I have created a number of blog sites that offer advice to people in niche markets. For example: A Guide to the Restoration and Renovation of 1940s Leathergoods http://1940sleather.blogspot.com links back to my website and to my eBay shop. This will be picked up by the search engines and will lead people to my sales area. Online marketing Build yourself a website to use as an online brochure. Go to Blogger or one of the other free blogging sites and see how easy it is to create an online brochure for free. For an example of a free leatherworker's blog check out: www.barefootleather.blogspot.com Don't worry about online sales as you can always open an inexpensive eBay shop until you are ready to invest in a full e-commerce package. A more design-focused and craftsperson friendly alternative to eBay is Etsy. Listing prices can work out cheaper but the market isn't as large. The 'plus side' is that buyers know that goods sold on Etsy are handmade. Check out: http://tombanwell.etsy.com Always remember that people can't buy from you unless they know you are there. You will need to make sure your website URLs are clearly visible on all your marketing materials, on the end of every email you send and on every letter you write. You should also try to get other websites to link to your pages - add a link to your Facebook page, take a look at all of the social media websites and link your web page as many times as you can so others will find it. Conclusion I really enjoy the marketing side of leatherwork and can't wait to try out new ways of reaching out to potential customers. The trick is to stay focused on the client. Always try to make what they want (which is not necessarily what you want to make) and make your marketing materials look as good as your leatherwork! http://www.barefootleather.co.uk ©2008 Ray Hatley UK

I sent the artist an invitation to the forum. Perhaps he can explain why someone wanted a leather car? Just when I think I have seen it all....another leatherworker surprises me! Johanna