Johanna

Let me know if you guys are still having problems with the profiles. I think we got it! Johanna

Try it now, Ken. ~J

Okay, Mike & Ken- try it now. Let me know if it is fixed. My fingers and eyes are crossed, and I'm wearing my tinfoil underthings. Let me know. Johanna

There has to be some irony here, because me and many other Americans would gladly skip a trip to North Dakota in favor of a German or European tour. I mean, if North Dakota and lots of other places were so great they'd be more crowded, right? People who live on the east coast of the US think of 'out west" as a giant black hole from Illinios to California. We know there are buffalo on Ted Turner's land, The Grand Canyon is in Arizona, and Las Vegas is in Nevada. Past that, not much is known. Having been out west myself, I cannot imagine loading up the family in a wagon and fighting Indians and bad guys to follow the sunset on an endless hostile plain. I am in awe of the hardy can-do American spirits that did. But I still wanna go back to Europe to explore! Johanna

Wow. It's a very small world. My mother's family is all in New Bremen, so is my husband's, and he has 25 years at Crown. (sorry Russ!) Johanna

The flesh side is the inside of the skin, and the grain side is the outside, where the hair would have been. No such thing as stupid questions. Johanna

Of course we will post it- thanks for the generous offer to share. Johanna Schroer PO Box 103 New Knoxville, OH 45871 Johanna

We never did much better than break even at craft type shows, even with a full table of already made lower priced items. However, when Jon would pick up his mallet and start tapping, people would stop to watch and talk, and would often take a card. Often times these cards were used to call us weeks, months, years later. So, yeah, I suppose the shows were worth it. It did get us out of the shop and talking to people. Bonnie- I know what you are saying about people not wanting to pay for the better quality leatherwork from a real leatherworker. Those are also exactly the kind of customers we WANT to shop at WalMart. We need customers who can recognize and appreciate the difference, and aren't hesitant to compensate us for our time and trouble. I quit doing zippers because of the situation you described. If it took me an hour to hunt a replacement zipper, tear out the old one and sew the new one in, $25 was more than fair (because the zipper does cost a few dollars, too!) and the people didn't want to pay that much. Oh well. They can learn to sew zippers themselves. I just started shaking my head, "No." and repeating, "I'm sorry, we don't work on clothing." until they took the hint or starting flashing fifty dollar bills as incentive. (It happened twice!) Now, who needs a website to market their leatherwork? I can help with that. Johanna

Kodiak- I'm not very optimistic that you're going to successfully dye a piece of latigo. Because of the oils and waxes, it's going to be hard to get any dye to penetrate the fibers and not rub off later. If you decide to experiment, use scraps of your hide for testing before you commit the whole hide. Let us know what you decide to do and how it turns out. If you do get the hide to take the dye well, we are all going to be begging for the secret! You could try to find a powder blue project or maybe sell the hide here on the Marketplace forum if your scraps don't turn out as desired. Johanna

There is indeed a Santa Claus, because I heard from Billy & Mary yesterday. They are spending the holiday with his daughter and her family in London, and send their best wishes. Those of you that have asked me about downloading Billy's video "The Technique" that describes image transfer and embossing- I asked! If he says "Yes" I can have it ready an hour later. If anyone wants to send Bill & Mary a message, send me a PM or post here. He will be delighted that so many are thinking of him fondly. Johanna

I'm not sure the leather that the sandal in the picture has is tanned to absorb water and take impressions. I don't think that you can burn or carve chrome tanned leather, but someone is sure to correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, glad to have you here on the board. Make yourself at home, and the coffee is always fresh. Johanna

The Buckeye Leathercrafters have a website coming soon. Pitt Pounders (my home guild) welcomes members even if they can't attend meetings. Once upon a time, there was a great concentration of leather folks in Mass. when the shoe industry thrived near Lowell. Bermans has been sold now, and I don't know what all is left in New England. But Churchill Barton is in Maine, still. There have to be others. Johanna

I'm not done with this project, but you can see a beautiful selection of David's work here. The pics will change every 6-10 seconds, or you can click any thumbnail on the left to go straight to the picture. Johanna

Here it is Johanna

One of the reasons glass isn't used much, other than losing the detail behind the glass, is mold and nildew problems behind the glass. If you must use the glass, make sure the leather is as dry as it's going to get, and keep an eye on the piece, especially the first year. Also, watch how the light shines on the piece while it is on display. Sometimes glass reflects or concentrates some sunshine, which will discolor areas of the leather over time. Welcome to the forum, glad to have you here. Johanna

Thanks, Gary! You're a peach! Johanna

Really nice, Ken. You know I'll do whatever I can to help if you will please do another tutorial! You do beautiful work! Johanna

Here Billy- try the express route: http://www.leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showforum=69 Johanna

I got this email, and I don't know how to answer him. If you can help, I'll make sure he gets the message. Thanks, Johanna

Verlane Desgrange Verlane Desgrange, 58, a nationally acclaimed saddle maker and leather worker, died Dec. 2, 2007, at West Park Hospital from complications of cancer. A longtime resident of Cody, she came to Wyoming from Daytona Beach, Fla., in 1973 at age 24. She graduated with a B.A. in constructive design from Florida State University where she earned scholarships from the National Teachers' Association and Daughters of the American Revolution. In Wyoming she apprenticed to master Western saddle maker Cliff Ketchum of Ralston and former U.S. Cavalry saddler Hamp Brand, also of Ralston. In 1986 her growing interest in English equestrian equipment and dressage led her to Portland, Ore., where she continued her studies with Hans Biglazar. Verlane's interest in horses, leather work, saddles and all things equestrian started at an early age and shaped the path her career and interests would follow throughout her life. She loved Cody Country and enjoyed riding her tough little Arab gelding, Goblin, in the mountains and open country behind her home on the South Fork, as well as in the dressage ring. She ran the South Fork Saddle Shop, building saddles and making bridles, chaps, purses and all manner of tack for local residents and clients throughout the country. An exceptionally creative craftsperson, she won many awards for her work including the prestigious Al Stohlman Award for Lifetime Achievement in Leather Craft (2006), for which she received additional recognition from Sen. Mike Enzi and the Wyoming Arts Council. WAC also nominated her this spring for the Ford Foundation's USA Artists Award. Verlane presented at many folk art festivals throughout Wyoming. Annie Hatch, director of WAC's Traditional Arts Program, was working with Sharon Kahin and other Wyoming folklorists to nominate her for a National Heritage Award through the National Endowment for the Arts' Folk and Traditional Arts Program. Verlane took first place in the International Leathercraft Guild's Leather Carving Contest in 2007 and received local recognition as Best Artist in Leather at the Western Design Conference in 1998 for her creative interpretation of a 1918 lady's astride saddle which toured the state for the third Wyoming Biennial. Creating fresh interpretations of historical saddles and bridles was one of her passions as was her free-form floral leather carving which took the art of decorative leather design to a new level of artistry. Her work was featured in many prominent publications such as Southwest Art, Persimmon Hill, Western Horseman, Leather Crafters and Saddlers Journal, and the Crafts Report, as well as books such as Crafts in America (1992), Saddles, Bits and Spurs (1992) and Saddle Making in Wyoming (1993). In addition to work in saddlery and leather craft, Verlane had a significant career in teaching, starting with evening classes at Northwest College and culminating at Spokane Falls Community College in Washington where she resurrected the last formal school of saddle making in the country. A prolific writer of saddle making "how to" books for her students and other professionals, Verlane published numerous booklets on saddle making, leather work, leather care, saddle fitting and the ergonomics of accommodating rider to horse. Because of her extensive experience, Verlane was asked to serve as an expert witness in several court cases involving leather quality and equipment safety. She gave many saddle fitting clinics, workshops and seminars locally and as far away as California. A backbone of the Cody equestrian community, Verlane generously donated her time and expertise to the Heart Mountain Dressage Club, of which she was a founding member, and to Pony and 4-H clubs. At the time of her death she was working with 4-H groups in Spokane to develop leather working programs for middle and high school students. She was a founding member of the Northern Division of the Wyoming Arabian Horse Association and participated in the Pony Express ride from Cody to Livingston, Mont., to celebrate the opening of the new Depot Mueseum there. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends. Verlane is survived by her mother Vera Garis, sister Verlona Rogers and nephew Casey Rogers of Port Orange, Fla. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Dec. 12 in Christ Church Episcopal. A carry-in lunch will follow. In honor of her love of all animals, donations in Verlane's memory are welcome at the Humane Society of Park County. Cody Enterprise

Billy has been ill, and is living in Europe with one of his sons. He is originally from what was Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, and lived in South Africa for many years. I will look and see if I can find a pic of the EC guitar case. He is an extraordinary artist and a dear friend, and one of the people who encouraged us to start this forum. Unfortunately, his health has not been good this past year, and he has not been doing leatherwork. He asked me to take his site down because he could no longer accept new work. Please keep him in your prayers. Johanna

Kevin, you are doing quality, attractive work, and I just wondered, where are you selling it at? Please tell me you are not giving these pretty things away and not being paid enough to buy new toys-oops- tools and materials? Very nice and clean stylish work, as usual. Thanks for sharing. Johanna

"Members" are people who have registered on the site. "Contributing Members" have donated $$ to the site, and their names are blue. To donate to the site, click "Purchase Paid Subscription" in "My Controls", or click the Paypal button in my signature. The software to run the forum is not free, and neither are the extras like the "Live Chat". As the site grows, web hosting costs rise. Donations from members make it possible to pay the expenses, add new features, and keeps the site available to all. Donations are not being used to fund a Jamaican vacation for the staff, though offers would be gleefully accepted. No one expected to chip into the kitty, but we do appreciate it when it happens. At each budget meeting, we cross our fingers and hope for the best. We would like to start offering our own video and real-time live demos, integrate a wiki-type database compiled by and for members, and overhaul all of the promotional pages for our members' and friends' links and contact info. We will probably experiment on the Contributing Members first because we have a sense of humor. No, seriously, the potential for the site depends on member support unless we offer some (yuck!) advertising. We'd rather depend on the members. Johanna

Happy birthday, Art! We're not getting older, just better! Johanna

Roger Trone, a retired Marine, did this one. John Henry added the saddlebags.