Johanna

I'm touched, Kevin. You've got so much going on right now, but you still thought about LW. I don't think everyone realizes that LW has bills too. I know you will get things squared away soon- you are a "can-do" kinda guy. I closed the shop 10 years ago, I never sewed on a machine much, and even I want to know the "secrets" to the look you get, even though I will never use the knowledge. My curiosity was piqued a long time ago because you do such fine work. Hope you get set up soon, and hugs to you and your son! Thank you for thinking about LW. We've been lucky to make some great friendships here, haven't we? Johanna

And never ever take on work without getting half your money up front. If they punk out, at least you won't be out the cost of your materials. Johanna

My daughter, Jane, is the same age as leathercat, Casey, and she thinks you are a super cool mom, and would I do that to her? "Oh Please, mom, you have an airbrush! I don't care what colors you use!" I told her maybe after church tomorrow...who cares if she is purple for school on Monday? Glad you ladies had a good time, and won some ribbons! Johanna

People’s Choice Emiko Yamaoka IILG BEST of OPEN DIVISION Emiko Yamaoka IILG BEST of SHOW Emiko Yamaoka IILG This was her entry inthe Open Division It was extremely carefully detailed. One of those, you think you've seen it all, then something stops you in your tracks. For me anyway. I guess everybody else too, because she earned the Peoples' Choice Award. Emiko is on the right. To the left is Michiko Matsuda, as equally talented. Mr & Mrs Theobald Keith and Tina, (yes, her shirt really does say "Bite Me".) Gerald "Woody" Woody holding up an ornament his wife Geraldine "Jerry" Woody made. Ga leathercrafters rock! Marcelo Dario, Lone Star, attended the ceremony and got a lot of attention from Roz. I did take his picture, but I'm not going to post it or you ladies will weep. He's a handsome man from Brazil, extremely talented, very taken. Rod Stanger http://leatherworker.net/ifolg08comp/pages/P1010083.htm http://leatherworker.net/ifolg08comp/pages/P1010075.htm Congratulations to all our members who won ribbons- I recognize almost all of you on the above list. Randahl, you need to get moved up, you're competing in too low a class. Oh well, Edd Lucas will get you sooner or later. If anyone want more detailed info, let me know. Johanna

IFoLG COMPETITION RESULTS for 2008 2008 OPEN DIVISION 2008 Category A: Pictures A-1: Pictures, uncolored flat, under 100 sq. in. 1 Christine Storms CIL 2 Eugene Cooper CIL 3 Randahl Gustafson Lone Star A-2: Pictures, uncolored, flat, over 100 sq. in. 1 Randahal Gustafson Lone Star 2 none 3 none A-3: Pictures, colored, flat, under 100 sq. in. 1 Randaha Gustafson Lone Star 2 Linda Zavala Prairie States 3 Joe Talbott Pikes Peak A-4: Pictures, colored, flat over 100 sq. in. 1 Michiko Matsuda IILG 2 Sharon Buck Everglades 3 Mary Ann Kunig Buckeye A-5: Pictures, embossed, under 100 sq. in. 1 none 2 Randahl Gustafson Lone Star 3 none A-6: Pictures, embossed, over 100 sq. in. 1 Riley Cornelius IILG 2 none 3 Randall Gustafson Lone Star A-7: Pictures, 3-dimensional under 100 sq. in. 1 Michiko Matsuda IILG 2 none 3 Sharon Buck Everglades A-8: Pictures, 3-dimensional over 100 sq. in. 1 none 2 none 3 none A-9: Pictures, leather framed, no limits 1 none 2 Lola Lee Loveall Lone Star 3 Steve Cox Bluegrass Category B: Cases B-1: Large carry & sporting cases. 1 none 2 none 3 E. Holke Prairie States B-2: Small carrying & sporting cases 1 Anton Chance Georgia 2 Tina Croff IILG 3 Randall Gustafson Lone Star B-3: Holsters & sheaths not attached to belt. 1 James W. Schawo Calumet 2 Tina Croff IILG 3 Brent Howard Hoosiers B-4: Holsters & sheaths attached to a belt. 1 none 2 Robert McCoy Bluegrass 3 Oakley T. Reed, Jr. South Central B-5: Purses, carved. 1 Tina Croff IILG 2 Mathew Branon Gateway 3 John W. Walsh Buffalo Trace B-6: Purses, stamped. 1 Chris Gilliland Prairie States 2 none 3 James Tullis Lone Star B-7: Purses, other 1 Michiko Matsuda IILG 2 Randall Gustafson Lone Star 3 John Jarvis CIL B-8: Books & book covers. 1 Steve Carter IILG 2 Scott Cox Bluegrass 3 Dave Smith Lone Star Category C: Pocket Items C-1: Billfolds or wallets, carved. 1 John Lynch Leather Artisans 2 M.M. Yzquiprdo Lone Star 3 Eugene Cooper CIL C-2: Billfolds or wallets, stamped 1 Helen Dean Georgia 2 James Tullis Lone Star 3 C. Douglas Pickering CIL C-3: Billfolds or wallets, other. 1 none 2 none 3 James Tullis Lone Star C-4: Pocket items, carved, stamped, or other. 1 Scott Cox Bluegrass 2 Marla Rieck CIL 3 Brent Howard Hoosiers C-5: Clutch purses, carved. 1 Brent Howard Hoosiers 2 none 3 James Tullis Lone Star C-6: Clutch purses, stamped. 1 none 2 none 3 James Tullis Lone Star C-7: Clutch purses, other. 1 none 2 none 3 James Tullis Lone Star Category D: Wearing Apparel D-1: Belts, carved. 1 Michiko Matsuda IILG 2 Douglas Winkler Blue Grass 3 Danny Kimbrell Bluegrass D-2: Belts, stamped. 1 Douglas Winkler Bluegrass 2 Eryk Smith Georgia 3 none D-3: Belts, braided. 1 Danny Kimbrell Bluegrass 2 none 3 none D-4: Belts, other. 1 none none 2 none none 3 none none D-5: Wearing apparel. 1 Linda Rostedt Buckeye 2 none 3 Galo Garcia Gateway D-6: Accessory items 1 Tina Croff IILG 2 Helen Dean Georgia 3 Emiko Yamaoka IILG Category E: Large Complex Items. E-1: Saddles, carved or stamped. 1 Jeff Swanson South Central 2 Tom Wilhelm Buckeye 3 none none E-2: Horse gear. 1 Nicole McClure Bluegrass 2 none 3 none E-3: Furniture. 1 none 2 none 3 none Category F: Household Items F-1: Molded & leather items formed over other medium other than leather. 1 Jay Vannoy Buckeye 2 Galo Garcia, Jr. Gateway 3 Christine Storms CIL F-2: Sculpted leather items cannot be formed over any other medium than leather. 1 Galo Garcia, Jr. Gateway 2 Linda Zavala Prairie States 3 none F-3: Household items. 1 Emiko Yamaoka IILG 2 Tina Croff IILG 3 Tommy Hillgren Lone Star F-4: Miscellaneous. 1 Scott Cox Bluegrass 2 C. Douglas Pickering CIL 3 Oakley T. Reed, Jr. South Central 2008 ADVANCED DIVISION 2008 Category H: Pictures H-1: Pictures, uncolored flat, under 100 sq. in. 1 none 2 none 3 none H-2: Pictures, uncolored, flat, over 100 sq. in. 1 David Theobald Pitt Pounders 2 Katherine Luby Buckeye 3 none H-3: Pictures, colored, flat, under 100 sq. in. 1 Bea Wayman CIL 2 Robert Ambriz Lthercrft. Gld. 3 Sandy Nowacki Buckeye H-4: Pictures, colored, flat over 100 sq. in. 1 David Briggs Pitt Pounders 2 Harold Bligan CIL 3 Sandy Nowacki Buckeye H-5: Pictures, embossed. 1 none 2 Clay Banyai Columbine 3 Bea Wayman CIL H-6: Pictures, 3-dimensional. 1 none 2 none 3 Mike Meyer Columbine H-7: Pictures, Leather framed, no limits. 1 none 2 none none 3 Bonnie Dunnewind CIL Category I: Cases I-1: Large carry & sporting cases. 1 Jeff Carnes Pitt Pounders 2 Charlie Crow St. Louis 3 Katherine Luby Buckeye I-2: Small carrying & sporting cases. 1 Arihiro Inoda Lone Star 2 David Briggs Pitt Pounders 3 Bob Kennedy Bluegrass I-3: Purses carved or stamped. 1 none 2 none 3 none I-4: Purses, other. 1 Sharron Schedler Bluegrass 2 none 3 none I-5: Books & book covers. 1 Clay Banyai Columbine 2 Randy Cornelius Buckeye 3 Allan Scheiderer Buckeye Category J: Pocket Items J-1: Billfolds or wallets, carved or stamped. 1 none 2 Sochiko Toyoshima Columbine 3 Dan DeWilde St. Louis J-2: Billfolds or wallets, other 1 Gerald Woody Georgia 2 none 3 none J-3: Pocket items 1 none 2 none none 3 Bob Kennedy Bluegrass J-4: Clutch purses, carved or stamped. 1 none 2 none 3 Allan Scheiderer Buckeye J-5: Clutch purses, other. 1 none 2 none 3 none Category K: Wearing Apparel K-1: Belts, carved. 1 Harold Bligan CIL 2 Charlie Crow St. Louis 3 Jim Frederick CIL K-2: Belts, stamped. 1 David Briggs Pitt Pounders 2 Ernie Wayman CIL 3 Charlie Crow St. Louis K-3: Belts, braided or other. 1 Mike Meyer Columbine 2 none 3 none K-4: Wearing apparel. 1 Jeff Carnes Pitt Pounders 2 Tim Kleffner Lone Star 3 Bob Kennedy Bluegrass K-5: Accessory items 1 none 2 Gerald Woody Georgia 3 Bob Kennedy Bluegrass Category L: Large Complex Items. L-1: Saddles, carved or stamped. 1 none 2 none 3 none L-2: Horse gear. 1 Gerald Woody Georgia 2 none 3 none L-3: Furniture. 1 none 2 none 3 none Category M: Household Items M-1: Molded & leather items formed over other medium other than leather. 1 none 2 Mike Meyer Columbine 3 none M-2: Household items. 1 John Dennehy Columbine 2 Sochike Toyoshimo Columbine 3 none M-3: Miscellaneous. 1 David Theobald Pitt Pounders 2 none 3 none 2008 MASTERS DIVISION 2008 Category Q: Pictures Q-1: Pictures, uncolored flat. 1 none 2 none 3 none Q-2: Pictures, colored, flat. 1 none 2 none 3 Clyde Gilliland CIL Q-3: Pictures, embossed. 1 Karen Siems IILG 2 none none 3 none none Q-4: Pictures, 3-deminsional. 1 Kathy Flanagan Columbine 2 Ernest Harris Calumet 3 Richard Passey IILG Q-5: Pictures, leather framed. 1 none 2 none 3 none Category R: Cases R-1: Large carry & sporting cases. 1 Marcelo Dario Lone Star 2 George Hurst Lone Star 3 none none R-2: Small carrying & sporting cases. 1 Clyde Gilliland CIL 2 none 3 none R-3: Purses, all. 1 none 2 none 3 none R-4: Books & book covers. 1 none 2 Marcelo Dario Lone Star 3 none Category S: Pocket Items S-1: Billfolds, or wallets, carved, stamped, or other. 1 William Brown Buckeye 2 Ute Yaeckel Lone Star 3 John France IILG S-2: Pocket items, all. 1 none 2 none 3 none S-3: Clutch purses, carved, stamped, or other. 1 none none 2 none none 3 none none Category T: Wearing Apparel T-1: Belts, carved, stamped, braided, or other. 1 George Hurst Lone Star 2 Clyde Gilliland CIL 3 none T-2: Wearing apparel. 1 Cyndde Griffith Buckeye 2 John France IILG 3 none T-3: Accessory items. 1 Clyde Gilliland CIL 2 none 3 Charles Crenshaw Buffalo Trace Category U: Large Complex Items. U-1: Saddles, carved or stamped. 1 none 2 none 3 none U-2: Horse gear. 1 Walter Priddy Buffalo Trace 2 none none 3 none none U-3: Furniture. 1 none none 2 none none 3 none none Category W: Household Items W-1: Molded & leather items formed over other medium other than leather. 1 Roderick Stranger IILG 2 Kathy Flanagan Columbine 3 none W-2: Household items. 1 Richard Passey IILG 2 none 3 Charles Crenshaw Buffalo Trace W-3: Miscellaneous. 1 Roderick Stranger IILG 2 Marcelo Dario Lone Star 3 none 2008 SPECIAL “Z” DIVISION 2008 Z-1: Juniors. 1 none 2 none 3 none Z-2: Seniors. 1 Lester Luce South Central 2 Monica Nibbe Calumet 3 none Z-3: Beginners. 1 Dom Siracusa Everglades 2 Linda Rostedt Buckeye 3 Thomas Putinsky Buckeye Z-4: Handicapped. 1 none 2 William Drope St. Louis 3 none Z-5: Partnership. OPEN 1 none 2 none 3 Tom Wilham Buckeye Don Martin Buckeye Z-5: Partnership. ADVANCED 1 David Theobald Pitt Pounders (his son) Theobald Pitt Pounders 2 Jim Frederick CIL Bonnie Dunnewind CIL 3 none Z-5: Partnership. MASTERS none Z-5: Partnership. SPECIAl None BUCKEYE AWARDS 2008 Competition 2008 OPEN DIVISION – BEST of CATEGORIES A: Riley Cornelius IILG B: Michiko Matsuda Lone Star C: Brent Howard Hoosiers D: Michiko Matsuda IILG E: Jeff Swanson South Central F: Emiko Yamaoka IILG ADVANCED DIVISION – BEST of CATEGORIES H: David Briggs Pitt Pounders I: Clay Banyai Columbine J: Gerald Woody Georgia K: Jeff Carnes Pitt Pounders L: Gerald Woody Georgia M: David Theobald Buckeye MASTERS DIVISION – BEST of CATEGORIES Q: Karen Siems IILG R: Marcelo Dario Lone Star S: William Brown Buckeye T: Cyndde Griffith Buckey U: Walther Priddy Buffalo Trace W: Roderick Stranger IILG Tribute to Dick Giehl George Hurst Lone Star Basket of Leather Edison Williams, Jr. Buffalo Trace Peoples' Choice Emiko Yamaoka IILG BEST of OPEN DIVISION Emiko Yamaoka IILG BEST of ADVANCED DIVISION David Briggs Pitt Pounders BEST of MASTERS Marcelo Dario Lone Star BEST of SHOW Emiko Yamaoka IILG 2008 BEST GUILD DISPLAY Lone Star

If I only had a dollar for everytime someone has said that about me! It's always MY fault. ~J

Okay, jacks and jennys make mules and hinnys. Can you tell them apart? They are sterile, but do they count as males, females or androgynous creatures? Do you yell "Whoa Boy!" or "Easy Girl!"? I'm curious because they used mules to pull the canal boats, not horses. There is no mention of donkeys in the history, but there had to be some, right? With no jacks, you don't get mules, right? The local history is full of mule stories and they sound like stubborn critters! Twelve and thirteen year old boys tended them and traveled from Cincinnati to Toledo, Lake Erie. I don't mean to be hijacking this thread, it's just something I've always wondered about. ~J

I've never had to pay for anything off the scrap pile at any monument yard. Sometimes the nice men will even put them in the truck for me. They always have a few that chipped, or they made a mistake, or there is some flaw you don't give a flip about. Someone should go to my old house in Georgia. We had so many we used them as stones outside the doors, like thresholds. I have a huge red granite one performing the same function on the south barn door here in Ohio. There are a couple in the shop, but they take up space, and how many do you need? (For me it would be the only one directly under the light!) Glue a piece of Poundo board to the bottom if you don't plan to use it as an inset to your bench. It cuts down on the noise, makes them easier to slide when they need moved and somehow stabilizes the stone so it is not as likely to fracture. Johanna

As you know, Randy, some customers don't really know what they want, and will use incorrect terms in their descriptions. People used to come in the Tandy store and ask for rawhide strings, but what they meant was latigo, that kind of thing. Perhaps they don't want mulehide after all. I'm guessing to them "mulehide" means tough and thick, not "mule" hide in particular. Take them some scraps of the leathers you would consider for the project and let them feel it and look at it. Bet you know what they want better than they do. By the way, what is the difference between a donkey and a mule? (I'm a town girl, can you tell? ) I was thinking "mule hide" sounds rugged and durable, "donkey skin" sounds cheap. But isn't it essentially the same thing? Johanna

After you look at the Stangers' site, you'll be able to pick out their pieces from the gallery easily! Johanna http://www.leatherwood.com.au/

Not to derail the thread, but did you see the two pieces Rod & Denise Stanger sent to the IFoLG show? Stunning, as usual. Rod understands and uses color to set his work apart. Johanna

Roboform has a good reputation and a proven history. Are you on Vista or still using XP, Bill? Johanna

Bobocat- thank you for sharing your work. It is quite unlike the styles we see here in the US, and we admire the quality of your art. I also wanted to thank you for referring some of your friends/colleagues to here- tell them not to be shy, just jump in and post. We enjoy learning from you, and would like to see your friends' pics, too. Johanna

Wow, the DonnaKay looks like a sweet blues guitar. Love the deep cutaway. I have a 30 some year old Guild that I love to pieces, but I would love to play that DonnaKay, just once. Your brother's sculptures are pretty cool, too- reminds me of The Dragon Lady's work with all the detail. Everyone here likes to look at fine craftsmanship- thanks for sharing, Tim. Tell him the folks here at LW said to Johanna

BillyP- the next time I go to visit my family in Charleston I'm gonna look you up, get a tour of your shop, give your dogs head scratches and buy you a beer. You just summed up the whole point and purpose of LW. Thank you. Johanna

I lived in the deep south for eleven years, and I don't care how you fix them, grits are gross. Every southerner will tell you their "sweet tea" is the best, too, but plain water tastes better than iced tea. My dad is from PA and my mom is from Ohio, and when I was little I lived in "New Hanpshuh" so maybe I'm just an ignorant Yankee like they said. "Grits" in this part of Ohio is pork headmeat and pinoats. You bake it or fry it and cover it with pepper. Delicious! Johanna

LW encourages people to post their links in their profile and/or signature, and talk about their business and their products as appropriate. People don't use this board to spam, and they discuss whatever they want. We have had a few spammers, and we dealt with them, but they are not from the leatherworking community. See, many of of know or know of each other, so when you read a post here with someone's name on it, it means they aren't afraid to say, "This is what I think." Readers can decide for themselves who has more credibility. By the way, Google lives on this board, and lots of other spiders are here every day. Links in profiles do matter. Johanna

Well, Mike, that was the point. Using LW to get more hits to his site. Efforts at diplomacy and cooperation have failed, this topic is now over. Anyone with something interesting or relevant to say can start a new thread. Johanna

Highways and freeways are the same. They have designated exits, not turning lanes. Those campers in the bed of a truck are called "fifth wheels". Our family has one. If we can afford the gas, it sleeps 6 comfortably and is cheaper than a motel. Oreos are the best cookies ever, unless they get stale. They just now, after 40 some years, developed a package to keep them fresh. When you rip the sticky opening back, every kid within a block can hear it and comes running. Twinkies are overrated. Putting A-1 on a steak is sacreligious is some parts of the US. PBS ran some shows like "Waiting for God" and the one with Hyacinth Boo-kay (not bucket!) and we loved them. Anything with Judy Dench is worth watching, too. Along with the letter "u", Brits do funny things with "s" when a "z" works fine. In the US, a "bathroom" is in a house and is "private", a "restroom" is public, and you can't take a shower there. You can put gas in your tank, or pass gas and have everyone leave the room, but we have no such thing as "petrol". A boot goes on your foot- we put our groceries in the trunk. "Wally World" is a nickname for WalMart and "Mickey Dees" means McDonalds. Johanna

Not as old, but just as impressive is tha Angel Oak near Charleston, SC, It is believed to be about 1500 years old, and has survived earthquakes and hurricanes and mankind, who valued oaks for their wood so much that much of the Lowcountry was deforested in Colonial times. http://www.angeloaktree.org/gallery.htm Johanna

Well said, RunningRoan. LW has no problems with anyone promoting their work, business, interests etc. that's one of the reasons we are here. Like obscenity, we know spam when we see it. No one is playing politcal games with you. I thought I made it clear in my last post that we welcomed your input, and were glad to learn from you. I don't know what else to say except I hope when you've had a chance to think things over, that you reconsider and share some of your knowledge with us. Johanna

Wow...my initials are JAMS, just in case you ever make another one like that. Beautiful job. Johanna

Hey Mark, I don't have a dog in this fight, and it feels like you are trying to pick a fight with me. No one at LW is discouraging you from your ambition. We wish you the best of luck with your catalog and hope leatherworkers sell a bunch of stuff! We remind people all the time why they should fill out their profiles, and put their links in their signatures here on LW, and we encourage people to introduce themselves and tell us what they do. Many of our members are not anonymous- they use their own name or their business name. I've been told that LW has generated a few sales. And that's one of the reasons LW was founded for in the first place....to keep leatherworkers from having to get day jobs. So knock off the negativity, apparently we both have benevolent goals, only you're coming off sounding rather confrontational. I have no idea what was said between you and the other members, but I've got no bones to pick with you. You aren't being censored or told what to do, and you're free to discuss your business on the board. We know trolling and spamming when we see it, and the folks in green are good at making the distinction. Otherwise you wouldn't be here, right? I repeat GOOD LUCK with your project. You obviously understand SEO. This site gets about 2000 unique vistitors a day, and less than 5% of those come from search engines. Yet every day new members say they found us with Google. Obviously I have a lot to learn, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who would benefit from a tutorial written by you on how to increase website rankings and get search engines to find your site. Many of us are more adept at pounding cows than keyboards, so if you can teach us how to be better business people on the Internet, we would really appreciate it. When I had a shop there was no Internet, and we were limited to a certain geographical area for sales. No leatherworker needs to be limited like that- a website can be better than a yellow page ad or a billboard. Teach us how to build user friendly sites and market them well. Your friend in leather, Johanna

Hey Kevin! Good talking to you on the phone the other day! Folks, Kevin is putting together the "Extreme Leather Workshop" (look on the calendar for more details) in Beautiful Asheville NC this Spring. This is an event for the family, not just the leatherworker. If you can make this trip and these classes, you will not be wasting your time. Support this event and let those top-notch instructors know you want more more more in the Eastern US. Make sure you sign up for the free newsletter on the hidestoart site, too! Johanna

I spoke with him on the phone about a week ago. He is trying to set up shop in a small apartment, and get things in order. Send him a PM from here so he's sure to get it when he goes online. Johanna