faceOdd

Thank you! Is there a better setting tool? I have the Tandy basic glove and Segma set. I'm not ready to give up yet! Tamara

Wow, thank you! I was so focused on my 3D horns, which I'm really happy with, and so frustrated with how unruly horse hair is, that I paid little attention to the jaw. I have one like this to ship out tomorrow, and then I'll redesign a bit. That mini fog machine would be great with a Dragon mask! Tamara

Hello Mask Makers! I recently had a commission for a Baphomet with a horse hair beard. Although the customer was happy, I'm not excited about the beard. Any tips for making horse hair 'goatees'? Thank you! Tamara faceOdd Wearable Art Masks

I was away for 6 years and this is the very first thing I saw when I logged back in yesterday. Wow! I don't know that 'beautiful' is the appropriate adjective, but beautifully executed nevertheless! Tamara faceOdd Wearable Art Masks

Thank you, Tom! Tamara

Hello Leatherworkers! I taught an Introduction to Leatherworking: Cuff Bracelets class this past weekend. I typically make masks, and when I need to use snaps, Line 24 have always been great. For bracelets, I was thinking the lower profile of Segmas would be better. Having no experience setting them myself, I pulled up a quick YouTube tutorial and we were on our way. To disaster! We had to pull out about 80% of the snaps we set because they were mangled in the setting process. Once we adjusted the amount of force and focused on keeping the driver perpendicular it got a little better, but it seemed like the driver was causing some of the grief. Aside from ever using them again, what suggestions do you have? Thank you! Tamara faceOdd Wearable Art Masks

Thank you, everyone, for your input. I decided to take the commission. The mask is finished and delivered to the wrestler. We're both very pleased with the results. Once it makes its debut in the ring next week, I'll post pictures in the 'show off' section. Thanks again! Now I'm off to make pink leather fairy wings and bags for senior citizens' walkers. Such a strange summer! Tammy

Hi Alex, Thank you for your input. I met with him yesterday. He's not worn a leather mask before, so it's new to him also. I was feeling more confident about it yesterday, but last night I had the worst nightmares about it. I'm sure it'll be fine, but I just wanted to put my questions out there in case someone has information I'm not aware of. I'm such a perfectionist that I won't even let him wear it if I have any reservations when it's done. It's going to look really good, but I want it to function even better : ) Tammy

Hello there, I've been crazy-busy and someday, I promise to post pictures again of the things I've been up to. For now, however, I'm in desperate need of information. I've been commissioned to make a custom pro wrestler mask. We have the design worked out, but I've been having nightmares - literally - about the safety aspects. The outer layer will be 5-6 oz. water-hardened leather, with six straps riveted to this layer with double-cap antique brass rivets. There will be an inner layer of 3-4 oz. leather to keep the rivets from ever touching his face. The two layers will be sewn together. There will also be a chin strap. The mask will lace in the back to hold it securely to his face. My concerns: ~How can I make it easy to remove in the case of an emergency without risking it being pulled off by accident during a match? My idea is to include a pair of paramedic's shears for cutting the laces if need be, but he wouldn't be able to pull it off himself. ~Some people line the masks with hard rubber in key places. How can I do this, and what are the 'key places'? With the double-leather concept, I was thinking about putting a thin layer of padding between the two layers, thinking this may suffice. It's hard to know, since I've never been punched in the face before. ~After taking every safety precaution I can possibly think of, how can I keep myself safe from being sued in the event something still manages to go wrong? A liability waiver releasing myself? Are there things from your experience that have been problematic that I may have not taken into account? I know it needs to be sleek and without buckles, spikes, etc. to keep his opponent safe, but I'll be the first to admit that this is a whole new world for me and I'm feeling a little clueless. I don't want anyone to get hurt - any more than they intend to, anyway! Thank you for whatever input you may have! With any luck, the mask will make its debut in the ring in two weeks and then I'll be able to post pictures of it : ) Tammy

Make that two guaranteed customers. I LOVE them! What a great idea. ~Tammy

This is my favorite of your masks, so far. It turned out fabulous! I really like how you layered it, and how well the layers work with one another. Sometimes people layer masks for this effect, but they don't quite achieve an organic look or feel the way you did. Great job! ~Tammy

Yesterday I e-mailed a high end boutique manager at a performing arts space of sorts about the possibility of them carrying a selection of my sculpted leather masks, either on consignment or wholesale. Today he requested my wholesale price list. It caught me off-guard, as I expected he'd want to try them on consignment first. Is there a formula for determining wholesale pricing? Is it half of my retail price, like most consignments would be? Or, should it be even less - 40% or so, since they'd be buying them outright? The venue is a great match of my own interests and some of my styles will, I think, be very popular there. I don't want to over-price them and risk missing the opportunity, but at the same time, I don't want to under-price them, either. Any advice? Thank you! ~Tammy

You're very welcome, Regis! I'm glad you like them. ~Tammy

Spider, I put my oven on the lowest setting possible, and once my masks are dry enough to hold their basic shape I put them in on a cookie sheet for two minutes or so. The time varies depending on the oven and the thickness of the leather. Not enough to dry them completely, but enough to stiffen them so I can put the rest of the sculptural detail in. Then, using shoe laces through the holes where the strings/straps, whatever will eventually be, I hang them face-down from a row of pegs on the wall. I let them hang this way overnight, and in the morning they're dry, quite hard, and ready to be painted. It might be worth a try? AMAZING mask, by the way! I love it, and I don't want you to stop! Hopefully the oven technique will make it a little easier. Oh, and I've found that golf balls are perfect for puffing the cheeks out a little, etc. : )

I use my CD player instead of the ipod and whatever CD it happens to be, I replay it over and over and over and over again throughout the course of the entire project or batch of projects I'm working on. I've found that if I change the music mid-project, it somehow changes my focus on the project too and it doesn't turn out as well. Probably, it's my mood that changes. I also use the CD player as my cue to take a break. When the CD stops, I go upstairs and eat something, get more coffee, pet the dog, whatever. What the CD is depends on my mood, but it's always goth, industrial, folk or punk. (Which is now self-labeled 'indie' or 'alternative' to avoid the negative goth stereotype). It's important for me to listen to things that are completely predictable so I'm not actively listening, but I can't function without my music in the background. Electronic music is somehow symmetrical, and for some reason, this is necessary for me. I despise jazz for the same reasons I love synth pop. The tricky part is, at my new studio space that's open to the public, I have to be more aware of what I listen to. Goth/Industrial seems to always contain one phrase that's clearly spoken and completely inappropriate, outside the genre. Since the goth/industrial scene is so small, I've met the majority of the musicians or have at least seen them perform live. It makes me feel all the more connected to their work, and more focused on mine. Audra, Fear of Dolls, Misfits, Peter Murphy, Switchblade Symphony, VNV Nation, Cruxshadows, Belle Morte, The Brides, Front 242, Sisters of Mercy, Jason Webley, Faith & Disease, Death in June, The Strand, The Azoic, The Hellblinki Sextet, Two Ton Boa, Faith & the Muse, And One, Combichrist, Goteki, Wolfsheim, Clan of Xymox, Wumpscut, Dead Can Dance... Sorry! I love my music : ) You may find it interesting to know that I'm also a huge fan of Willie Nelson, George Jones, Hank Williams Sr. and Chris LeDoux. And Metallica : ) ~Tammy

Hello, A Seattle musician contacted me today via MySpace to see if I could make him a reproduction or similar East West Musical Instruments style jacket. He has vintage gold leather he'd like it to be made from. This is not something I have the skills or equipment to do, so I decided to see if anyone here would be interested in such a project. I think it would be easiest to send me a message with your contact information, and I can forward it to him so he can contact you directly. Thank you! ~Tammy

Spider, I LOVE it! Great job! Mask-making is fun, but seeing what the rest of you come up with is even better : ) ~Tammy

Johanna, It does seem like such a front page would be a good idea, for all the reasons you indicated. Don't mind me, I'm just exhibiting 'vegetarian aggression' : ) That article was funny! ~Tammy

While I think etsy is great, I like LW the way it is. I wouldn't want to see it become a storefront - it's more like the breakroom, for me, where I hang out with my friends : ) ~Tammy

That's really nice! I suggest lining it to make it have a finished, professional look. It would probably be more comfortable to wear, also. As far as how to line it though, I've no idea. Maybe someone else will suggest how. Please re-post it again so we can see how you decided to finish it. If I can find the time this summer, there's a dress I want to make, also hand sewn with the same stitching technique. I may have a couple questions for you when I get to that point : ) ~Tammy

Wow! What amazing talent you have : ) I love the whole mask, but especially the way the spots turned out. (You've just knocked a leg out from under my anti-airbrushing stance, too). ~Tammy

Do you use Nyltex wax-coated brown thread? If so, I have a whole spool of it I can send you, if you want it. It's a dark brown, but it's definitely brown. I prefer black thread, even when making brown things. I also have the better part of a spool of Barbor's linen thread, which most sheathmakers use and I personally despise. It can easily be dyed whatever shade of brown you need, providing you have dye already. I asked earlier if the mask was for a dog, because at our dog park on Halloween, people do show up with dogs wearing mask-like face coverings. Not cool ones like yours, though : ) ~Tammy

I didn't know about using wood gel dyes, so I've already learned something from you in regards to new ways of finishing leather : ) I buy everything from MacPherson Leather in Seattle. I just checked their website, but it's not as complete as it could be. Patrick is their buyer, and their e-mail is info@macphersonleather.com. It might be easier for you to get it locally, since it's made in CA. I just read the bottle (for the first time, I think... : ) and the company is Angelus Shoe Polish Co., Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670. But if not, I know for sure that MacPherson's has it. Rows and rows of every color you can imagine. Silver is too sheer to use alone, though. It creates a shimmery pink on natural leather. For silver that's not translucent (and not pink), Pewter is better either as the color or as the under-color. It's the only one I've found to not be opaque. White is actually really bright, which was exciting after a horrible experience with 'white' dye. As always, I'm looking forward to pictures of your next fabulous creations! ~Tammy

During my Army days, I used the water method mentioned above but instead of filling the boots with warm water, I filled the bathtub with warm water and tromped around in it for awhile. It was more comfortable to make the boots wet and squishy while wearing them than to put them on that way. It's important to keep them on and walk around in them for quite awhile, so I don't recommend doing this on a cold day. The water squeezes out through the course of the day, so it's a good outdoor activity. A nice hot shower and some fluffy slippers or warm, dry socks are a welcome treat at the end of the day's process. Some black Kiwi boot polish after they've dried will bring them back to looking new on the outside, and they'll 'fit like a glove' on the inside. ~Tammy