Johanna

I watched an old man charge a customer $10 to set a rivet one day in Macon, and he never missed a beat. After the customer left, I asked him how he could justify that kind of money, and he said, "You don't argue with the plumber, do you? They are paying me for what I know, not what I do." He had to turn his attention to the customer, and he figured setting down his tools for a few minutes to set the rivet was worth ten bucks. A 10 minute visit in the doctor's office costs me $80, so the old man was probably right on target. That laptop is selling for that price because of the service agreement it's bundled with, but the leather is a nice touch. They will come to your house to fix it! Nomi's right, though. There are people who don't care what the price is. If you don't expect the right prices from the right customers, you won't get enough to cover costs. Johanna

I am sooo wishing I were going, too! Have fun! Johanna (favorite zz top album: tres hombres)

Hiloboy! It's not every day I get a phone call from Hawaii (I think that was my very first one!) Pull up a chair and make yourself comfortable. There's lots of folks here who can help you get started on the right foot in leatherworking. We are always glad to see new faces around the table! Johanna

Ahhhh... 67 degrees here in Ohio this morning. The heat has been unusually steady this summer, and we are something like 20 inches under normal rainfall here in the Miami Valley. There was NO sweet corn this year. The local farmers seem to think we are in for a harsh winter, and I'm not going to contradict them, just prepare for the worst, and hope for the best. Hope everyone gets a cool breeze and some rain soon, if you need it. Johanna

Have you tried skiving the center of the book where it folds? Skiving is like using a vegetable peeler to take off a layer or two of leather, only you have to use a sharper knife. I like the little $4 "super skiver" from Tandy (takes regular razor blades) for skiving like this. By getting the leather slightly thinner at the fold, nothing bunches up or wrinkles. The kind of work you are doing is not called "engraving" in the US. I would describe it as "filigree". The intricate detail of your designs looks beautiful, and I can only imagine how many hours of love go into a project! One slip of the knife and, back to the bench! Thank you for sharing, Vera. Your work is inspiring and unique. Johanna

Hello, Vandy! Glad you are here! Please don't feel shy about talking about your business. If you can offer someone what they are looking for, please speak up. No one is going to look down on you for spamming, because you aren't. You are a retailer/supplier who cares enough about your customers to participate in the forum, and you are very welcome to do so. Why don't you post your store telephone number or website so people can check out Sheridan Leather? Do you offer catalogs or swatches? Let everyone know! I'm really glad to "meet" you. You have a reputation as one of the stellar leather suppliers in the US, and I can see why. I wish you continued success, and look forward to your input around here. Welcome to leatherworker.net !! Johanna

I saw the D rings, and wondered, too. Then I saw the second picture, hit myself upside the head and said, "Brilliant!" A briefcase like that will hold your laptop, a change of clothes and everything one needs for a day or so. It looks like it belongs on the First Class section of the train, too. Take a look at the 5th pic, where it is being used a backpack. Johanna

What I like about that briefcase is the fact that it is the perfect traveling companion, and has every detail, down to a way to catch an umbrella and jacket in the straps. Oh, yeah, and it looks good, too. Nice, Ed! Keep pounding, you're turning out some really fine work. Do you need a website yet? Johanna

Hello, Kevin! You should win a prize for having the most original item! Glad that you are here, and looking forward to seeing more of your work. A thanks to your sis, "Pegleg" for modeling! Johanna

http://gasharpshop.com Johanna

I started using gmail to prevent OE from collapsing over a couple of yahoo accounts I had to accept all individual messages from or else I couldn't see the pictures. (I really like the pictures!) I don't think any email program has a better search than gmail. I probably should convert my other mail, but my ISP has an excellent spam filter, and I've had the same address for years. Like I said, it's laziness on my part. I always work assuming everything will be lost forever, so my back ups prevented any possible disaster from this, but let my experience serve as a warning if anyone has gotten sloppy with OE. It's a temperamental piece of software, and it will let you down when you least expect it. If you don't like that idea, there are good alternatives, like gmail. Anything online has no privacy. Anything we type is public record forever, server to server, living forever. gmail has never lost my mail, either, and I till have 65% of my account in free space, with over 15,000 stored "conversations". I have years of yahoo pics and posts online, not hogging any space or resources, and available in a couple of clicks. I hate yahoo, did I ever mention that? Johanna

:soapbox: Many of use plain old Microsoft Outlook Express, and it usually does what it's supposed to. However, OE is not a storage device. OE will unpredictably crash, now and then, and you will lose your some or all of your mail. Period. It seems to have something to do with getting too full, and the "compact messages" prompt every 100 times you close the program. I'm not saying "do not compact messages" when prompted, but I seem to go along just fine for months and months..and I get careless and complacent, then WHAM! :fire: The inevitable OE overload crash. Some folders are just empty. My rules for sorting mail don't work. My saved mail is gone, including the most important folder of all...but I didn't cry or anything. I think I did say a bad word or two at first, but it was at the thought of the nuisance. See, I do regular backups, so I have the .dbx files (OE messages) handy. I also have some software that will display them other than OE. How many people who use OE regularly can say that they wouldn't mind if their inbox and some random folders disappeared? I don't see too many hands... It's a PITA, that's why. You know the pics your sister sent are gone. You can't find the directions to the event you are going to. You will forget Aunt Helen's birthday and the telephone number you were supposed to have in case of emergency. Another inconvenience is the suddenly missing address book. (Save a copy of your WAB "Windows Address Book" today, before you forget.) Instead of getting a headache over any recovery, this is what I did- I deleted everything that OE had left, and then let it download the mail from the server. Yes, in OE, under Tools> account> properties> advanced you can tick "leave copy of message on server". (very handy if you have a laptop, too) Some ISPs will only retain so much mail, but then, if that mail was important to you, you did "save" it out of OE, didn't you? Did you click "save" and navigate to a folder in "my documents"? If you didn'tuse the "save", then the message only exists in OE. And that is not good. I have had OE just gasp and choke, and half my mail will be gone *poof* several times. It's a big mistake to keep anything important in OE. I learned to save things the hard way. When my Inbox disappeared, I knew that all that unread mail was likely to stay unread. I would have to be sick or bored to ever catch up on all those interesting online newsletters that accumulate in my mail! All the mail that meant anything was saved elsewhere, and recent mail was downloaded again. I fixed the broken rules, and I recovered what I wanted to, I think. But who knows? I don't remember what all I lost. So, if I was supposed to do something for you, and I didn't, bear with me and remind me, because my inbox is weird (empty) at the moment, and I'm blaming it on a computer crash. I'm also reminding everyone who uses OE of the fragility of their mail. It could be gone the next time you close OE, you never know! So if there is something truly important to you, save it, or, better yet, gmail it to yourself. Then, not only will you be able to keep it forever, you will be able to find it in a second, an ability OE has never mastered, ever. OE is undependable, clumsy and frustrating, and there isn't a good reason to use it, nor should a person ever get too comfortable with keeping anything in there safely. If you want to keep it, save it OUT of OE. Johanna

I've had to salvage leather from chalky black dye with Leather Balm with Atom Wax by Fiebings. It comes in several different colors, including black. Good rescue idea using the neatsfoot oil, too. Caution to new folks- too much oil will weaken the leather, same as too little in it in the first place. Dry leather tears. Oiled leather stretches...only so far, and snap! Johanna

Yep, Clay, same as I thought. If you don't like the look of it from the back, you line it. Good job, Freak, whichever one of you made that belt! Johanna

I was planning to go, too, but I just accepted a new job, and now I'm not sure if I'll be able to get the time off either. I thought I'd make "business cards" that people can print off and pass out, if they want to. I'll see what I can come up with, and post it to this thread. Johanna

Welcome to leatherworker.net. Hi, Dunc! Are we already acquainted? (J?) Sweet bike! Holler if you have any good ideas or problems. Johanna

That is very nice work, Luke. Want me to make you an avatar with that picture? (the little picture people have next to their names) Let me know, and I'll email it to you. Thanks for sharing! Johanna

That's interesting. With today's digital cameras, pictures are often taken in much larger sizes than necessary. I find I reduce more than I enlarge. (Hands up everybody that ever got a staggering 2 or 3 Mb pic from a well-meaning friend in an email?) I use Irfanview (which is free) more often than Photoshop. The monkey is a Photoshop whiz, and modest. (He did our banner.) Johanna

If you click the "add reply" button, you can use the email feature to "hide" an email address. Highlight the word(s) you want, click the envelope, paste or type the address. Johanna

Please keep showing us your pictures. We really enjoy seeing your work! Your belts for women are terrific. Removing the background is "filigree" to us. Very few leatherworkers do this kind of work because of the potential for error. Some will only do shapes they have dies for. Do you use a sharp knife or another technique to cut out what you aren't keeping? Thanks for sharing! Keep them coming! Johanna

Well, it's about time you got here! I am possibly the crankiest lady in Ohio, so I'm sure we'll get along well. Help yourself to the coffee, but watch out for the doughnuts ClayB brings- he lets the dog lick them first! Johanna

Teasers and other stuff on http://leatherworker.net Glad to have you here! Johanna

We don't see much filigree in the US. I am so glad you found leatherworker.net, and look forward to seeing more of your artistry. You describe your work as "engraving", does that mean you use other types of tools? Thank you for sharing with us! Johanna

Here is an everyday room. It has a sewing machine in it, and a hand braided rug. See the nickel? Suze offered me a drink. This is the night before Christmas: Suze built a lair for the dragon and the wizard. These are full size tablecloth patterns done with thread. Note the coin. Her mom did these. Some other things: Thank you for letting me barge in with my camera today! :flowers: Johanna

This is the 8 strand braid. Suze says it's about 15 feet long so far. I'm going to post pics of her miniatures in off topic. I did get over there today, with my camera. Now she needs to get the rest of the stuff out on display so I can take more pics! Johanna