BillB

Damon, I would like to welcome you and your daughter to the Forum. I think you will find that we are all interested in advancing the art and craft of leatherwork. You will find that there are lots of ways to solve a problem and we all have different experiences and that is why we share them. Sample them, find the ones that work best for you, modify them to fit your style and needs, expand on them and then share them. That is how we learn and grow the knowledge base. And remember that we all had our first leather project, even if it was so long ago that we can't remember what it was or where it is today. 8-) Look around, ask questions, share your work and techniques, enjoy the coffee and cookies. BillB.

escherblacksmith, Welcome to the Forum. As rdb has stated this is a friendly place to share and learn about leathercraft. Look around, make yourself at home. The coffee is always hot and the cookies are great. Again Welcome to the Forum BillB

Shoer, Welcome to the Forum. I think you will enjoy it here. This is a very diverse group of experiences as well as leather interests. As with anything, you will find that we have all had difference experiences and thus have come up with different solutions to various problems and way to create beautiful work using leather. We are happy to share this knowledge so that others can sample and decide for themselves the best solution. We are all interested in advancing the knowledge of leathercraft and leather base art and sharing our knowledge and techniques is part of that. I believe that it is possible to "teach and old dog new tricks" and I continue to learn. BillB

Kathy, Welcome to the Forum. What a wonderful history. I look forward to seeing some of your work. As you probably already know we have quite a collection of Craft-folks and Artists here. I am continually amazed by the width and breath of artistic endeavors based on leather. My only caution is to watch out for the donuts, the dog likes to lick of the icing. The cookies, however, are great. BillB.

Karl (badger) Welcome to the Forum. Lots of interesting folks here and a lot of amazing art and craftsmanship. I look forward to seeing some of your in the future. BillB

There are lots of different styles of moccasins. Here is a web site that explains how to make the North Woods style Native American Moccasin. http://www.jumaka.com/moccasins/MakingMocc...nstructions.htm or http://www.nativetech.org/clothing/moccasin/moctext.html or http://www.siteduck.com/skills/mocs/index.html or http://www.natureskills.com/how_to_make_moccasins.html These have no resemblance to what folks call moccasins today thanks to the shoe industry. Here is a website that has a video for sale on another style "moccasin", sort of a "High Top" getting close to a Muk-Luk. http://www.sodhoppers.com/html/moccasins.html BillB

SwFla1, Welcome to the Forum. As Mike D (TwinOaks) has already stated, you can't find a better website with folks all interested in Leather Crafts. Since you are a beginner, my suggestion is to pick up a few books on the basics from any number of the various resources found in "The Business" under "Resources" and "Suppliers" forums. Once you have the basics down, then explore the various styles of leather crafting that are out there. A good sampling can be found in various forums and sub-forums in "Tooling, Stamping and Carving" and "Specialty Leatherwork". The main thing is to explore the various styles and art forms and mostly have fun. You can find a reference map for this site at: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=4751 or Leatherwork.net>Leather is tanned animal skins, and is a byproduct of the meat industry > Board Ambassadors > LeatherWorker.net Quick Reference Map. Again, Welcome to the Forum BillB.

Has everyone forgotten the KISS principle - Keep It Simple, Stupid! I used to belong to a Harley Owners Group Chapter and we published a monthly newsletter. So in addition to the Editor, we had to have authors for any of the topics we wanted to include in the newsletter. Pete listed around 7 topic ares, that means seven people to come up with and author material for each of those areas. Then someone has to pull the all together and, oh by the way, actually proof read the material to make sure that spell checking used the correct two,to,too. Then, if you want to add photos, some one or every author has to be comfortable using a camera. This is starting to get complicated. Then, if we want to use material from other sources, we will need a legal department to verify copywrite issues. I, for one, find this forum to provide all of the things that Pete brought up without the complications. Although I do subscribe to LCSJ, I find that this supplements it very nicely. So my recommendation is KISS. BillB

Cris, welcome to the Forum. Very nice work. Now that you have made your presence know in a very stunning way, I hope you will join in and share with us your knowledge on fashion. It is also clear from your work that you understand the process of developing an item, making the pattern and producing a final high quality product. I look forward to see more of your work. Again, Welcome BillB

twofour878 Welcome to the Forum. You can not find a better bunch of folks all interested in Leather Craft. As you go through the various forums, please join and and ask questions and provide your own insights. Here is a handy chart to help you understand the layout of the site. You will find that there are lots of different forums and styles of Leather Craft. Take your time and explore all those that look interesting. Again, Welcome to the forum BillB

Roo, Nice work. I know what you mean about being inspired. It is one thing to do something that some one has paid for and another to do it for your self. Since I have a full time job outside of leather, I can be selective on what I do in leather. Even when asked to do something for someone I make sure they are in no hurry. I have always liked what you do with masks. Don't worry your muse will return. BillB

Bearman, Nice looking knife and sheath. That must have been one old combat knife since all the ones they issued while I was in had composite handles. What did you use on the handle to bring out the grain? BillB

Stitch Welcome to the forum. Good looking website. Holsters look good. Pretty good group of folks here from around the world. If you have not been browsing through the other parts of the forums, here is a cheat sheet. Lots of areas to get involved in. The coffee and donuts are down the hall on the right. For those of us that like tea, the hot water is on the left. Again welcome to the forum. BillB

Gary, Welcome to the Forum. I look forward to seeing some of your work in either the "Showoff!" or "Critique My Work" forums. I also look forward to hearing about your experiences. Again, welcome to the Forum. BillB

Fernanda, Welcome to the Forum. Here is a map of the website that might help you and your friend's father understand the diversity of areas represented here. You will find lots of helpful folks here all interested in keeping this art form alive and will. Once you get comfortable with the site, please feel free to join in the discussions and add your 2 cents worth. BillB

ibonn, Welcome to the forum. The forum is not only a great place to learn but also to share. You will find a diverse set of good folks here all interested in keeping leather crafts and this art form alive and well. Even us "old dogs" are interested in "learning new tricks". I look forward to seeing something like a english saddle with celtic art work carved in it. BillB.

Scissormedic, Welcome to the forum. You will find a diverse set of good folks here that are all interested in leather crafts and keeping this craft alive and well. Look around and join in the discussions. Again welcome to the Forum. BillB.

Scissormedic, All of us have had our "First" as well as our "Second" and so on. Some of us have even had multiple "First" pieces. My first first was back in the 70's. I then had some 20 years away from leathercrafting as I had a full time job in Aerospace and a family to take care of and a dozen other hobbies until I finally came back to the leathercrafts. So now I am starting over again and exploring other carving styles. One thing that holds true is the old saying "practice makes perfect". The other one that I have found useful is the saying "Its hand crafted." Keep up the good work. BillB.

Have you looked at Microsoft Powerpoint. You could draw a box, color it and then duplicate it for the next stitch. You can also rotate objects to get the correct angle you want. BillB.

Like Luke I also go to my local Family Owned hardware store. They like to help and they will open their books to find a supplier and order things for me. BillB.

I thought I might add some additional information to be considered in this discussion. My background is in computers, and I work in and on highly controlled and maintained systems for security reasons. In todays Internet World, a business has to make a lot of decisions about setting up a Web based service. 1. Is it done In-House or do we buy the service. If done In-House: How big is the pipe from the internet that we will need and what is the recurring cost of that pipe?; How big of a machine do we buy and how much disc space?; Does the data store need to be backed-up, how and on what, e.g. RAID system versus disc or tape archive or a mirrored system?: How much does this cost and how is O&M performed?; What is all the software required and the licenses and O&M t go with it?; How much security do we need? How much of the internal business data store do we expose to hacking? (Remember when our website went down do to hacking?) What are the legal responsibilities in regards to protection of OUR customers information? Do we need a bigger legal staff? If it is done by a service: How reliable is that service (remember the crash a while back and Johanna changed services?) What are their Non-recurring cost (setup, etc) and what are the recurring costs? How secure are they?; What are their legal responsibilities if they are hacked and OUR customer data is exposed? 2. How does this service fit into the overall Corporate Business Plan? 3. How much Risk is the Company willing to take? 4. How long will it take to recover the cost? I am sure I have not walked down all the decision trees that a Company or a Corporation must make before it is makes its decision and they have to do this while maintaining their current business line or service. Today, security is probably the biggest concern. In the world I work in and the computers I deal with we get on average over 100 attempts per minute to get into our systems. Most of these are not direct attacks, but attacks that have gone through other systems, e.g universities and companies that have not closed all the back-doors. Not all companies are willing to take the risks involved with a Web based Sales service. I deal with several that only have their "Calling Card" on the web and require all transaction to be either in person or via phone or email. I do not fault H/C, they have a difficult decision to make. I hope they make it soon. Just thought you might like another perspective

I went to Michaels looking for small magnets to make a name tag with and found all sorts of magnets. From small circular ones to ones that are in long strips that can be cut to length to a whole sheet. www.michaels.com BillB.

Here is a quick reference guide to the web site.

Here is a quick reference map of LeatherWorker.Net Web Site. Slide1.bmp Slide1.bmp

Shadad, Welcome to the forum. Won't find a better group of folks when it comes to leathercraft. Look around, see what threads you want to join in on, and post a picture or two of your work when you get a chance. BillB