UKRay

I'm completely cool with lightning strikes, broken necks etc. Sudden unexpected death happens to animals - and people - all the time. If that is what you are suggesting, Steve, then I believe you should get massive industry support because you have brought something new and innovative to our table. In fact, I'll go further than that. This leather sounds like a gift from a marketing perspective and I'm confident it has a place in our industry. Forget about the vegans and veggies, I know a lot of ordinary middle class folk who would like to support this idea and, having spoken to several dozen of them over the past 12 hours, firmly believe this product has huge potential. The premium price tag simply makes it exclusive and there is always somebody who will pay over the odds to get something with a good story behind it. I understand all the gripes about animals dying of old age and illness and yes, animals deserve better than that - but listen to the man guys - he isn't talking about poor ole' critters left to die in a field. IMHO he is offering you another marketplace and if you are too blind or stubborn to recognise an opportunity then you deserve to miss out on the potential benefits. At the end of the day, nobody is asking you if you think it is a good idea. The deed is already done. The 'Happy Cow' leather exists. Use it or lose it! Thanks, Steve (who sadly isn't paying me for this! LOL). Like I said, I wish it was available in the UK as, after some rapid research, I believe I have a significant marketplace for this kind of leather. Ray

I can't fault your reasoning or your arguments, Lasse C. I'd kinda like to know how these cows die myself - can you tell us please, Steve? (I still love it as a marketing concept though!). Ray

I don't believe it for a minute... read my post again. This is a marketing exercise, not to be confused with reality. That is something completely different! LOL

You may need to stay with this a little longer, Steve. People are notoriously slow in accepting new ideas even if, like this, the idea is a great one. Having spoken to a number of leatherworkers in the UK since replying to this thread, I'm even more convinced it has huge potential over here. If the US doesn't want it, why not think about export? Ray

I've been selling at a bunch of craft markets and managed to pick up almost all my presents from other craftspeople. Alpaca wool hats, socks and gloves, Hand made paper (I made the journal cover) and some great woodwork. It was a pleasure to buy from those folk. Ray

Band-Aid's, little tubes of leather - I've tried 'em all LOL Sadly, the little tubes of leather vanished somewhere under the bench and I used up all the wretched band-Aids so right now I'm back growing blisters again. I know they will turn into calluses soon enough, but you have my sympathy. I should never have purchased that sewing machine! Ray

I was fascinated by this thread and had to see where it went. From a marketing perspective, 'natural death' has a number of fairly major issues - some good and some bad, but all interesting. Let's start with the concept of 'natural death' - Death is rarely a marketing advantage, but it wouldn't take marketing people long to sit down and think up a new way to describe this particular kind of demise. One that sounded as though the critter had lived a long and excessively happy (possibly even dissolute) life and was overjoyed to be giving its hide to make your boots, bag, belt (insert appropriate item here). Maybe as a way of making up for the fun it had. Okay, so we now have a leather that is a by-product of farmyard fun and frolics rather than the meat industry. I can't see a problem with that. The meat hater isn't going to change their attitude, but lets face it, plastic shoes are pretty grim. Sweaty feet are just the start... Plastic bags? I don't think so. Plastic belts? Well maybe, but they won't be selling out any time soon... leather is a natural product, perfect for a whole range of tasks and if it is marketed in the right way will sell - even to some of those who wouldn't normally buy. If I lived in the US, I'd be on the phone to Mr Siegel right now ordering a couple of hides and making up some 'Special order only' bags that carry a premium because the leather came from HAPPY cows. In the UK, people pay a premium for eggs that come from 'happy' chickens - in other words: free range, properly nourished birds that roam free and are not kept in battery cages. This is exactly the same idea and, frankly, I think it could be a winner. I just wish I had easy access to the stuff over here. Ray

I can't tell you how happy that would make me, Luke. In fact, I'd cheerfully be anyone's RICH cousin! Sadly, the truth is I spend far too much on leather, tools and old machines so you'll have to wait a while for your plane ticket to the UK. LMAO

I couldn't agree more, Al. Restoration is a delicate art/science. However, I'm not restoring a book and I'd already taken the starch part of the idea and left the corn out!. Ray

A year on and my visitor numbers have now increased to just over 3000 each month and I'm getting around 150 retail sales a month directly from the website. Do the maths, it is definitely a numbers game. The more visitors you get the more sales you make. My goal is to push this to 5000 visitors per month by next December - I wonder how I'll do! LOL

You don't improve with keeping, do you Terry? LOL

That is soooo useful, Dave. Thanks muchly fella. I wonder what the oil of cloves actually does? Anyone here know any chemistry? Ray

You guys are outstanding! Many thanks for all the help. The cornstarch glue is exactly what I'm trying to find out about. I have a very delicate restoration job in mind and want to use the same (or very similar) materials to those used by the original craftsman several hundred years ago. I have been experimenting with all kinds of wallpaper paste but I keep coming back to the old starch based recipes - but I'm still not certain I've got it right as my paper doesn't stick to my leather as well as it should. There could be an extra ingredient I haven't worked out yet but, hey - I'm a patient man! LOL If anyone has any other suggestions then please fire away - I'm keen to try almost anything sticky that would have been around in the 14th / 15th centuries. Ray

Any joy with that corn starch recipe, Mike? Ray

Amazing! Ray

Is it just me but do Christmas songs become more irritating every year? Aside from traditional religious music that adds so much to the festive season (I'm a sucker for Christmas Carols), there are a few timeless classics but not many. What song needs to be banned for ever and which one needs to be preserved? Can I start with banning: (I'm happy to be contradicted, but I'll bet there won't be too many supporters of this one! LOL). I'd personally retain Frosty the Snowman recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950 - but suspect there are a few who would kill that off too... Over to you! Ray

I'd forgotten all about ice-cream soda. That stuff was amazing. Can you still get it and does it still taste the same? Talking about childhood reminded me of things like gob stoppers, aniseed balls and Blackjacks. You have to go to a specialist sweet shop to find those now, but back in the day they were everywhere - staples, you might say! Language is a funny thing. The Brits will know exactly what I mean by jelly but I'm not sure how this might translate elsewhere? Jello maybe? Anyway, back in the 1950s, my mum used to have a selection of jelly moulds (one was shaped like a rabbit). She would make a milk jelly white rabbit on a green jelly base for birthday teas. Anyone remember milk jelly made with evaporated milk? I haven't seen evaporated milk for years either - or condensed milk, the really thick gloopy stuff. I used to like condensed milk in coffee. A lot of the old stuff has vanished from the shelves. Okay, much of it was probably dangerous but somehow nobody died... or maybe they did! Ray

'Liberating' returnable bottles and cashing them in was a full time occupation and a major source of income for some kids where I came from. Two enterprising idiots even started liberating them from round the back of a shop and taking them into the same shop for a refund... That didn't last long! I like the idea of coke syrup being a universal panacea, Dave. My dear mother wasn't so gentle. We used to be given a particularly foul tasting cough medicine called 'Obridges' every time we looked a bit 'peaky'. It was amazing how quickly you recovered if there was any chance of another dose.... I wonder if they still make that stuff? I haven't seen it for years. Does anyone remember when some cough mixtures contained enough chemicals to make you high? I remember being on a bus one winter, sipping the stuff out of the bottle to combat a tickly cough. I got completely stoned and missed my stop! You could buy that stuff over the counter too! LOL Ray

Over here it was just 'fizzy drink'. I can't remember any other name for it. I even called my sister, who is famous for having an amazing memory for each and every one of my childhood misdeeds, and she says the same. Isn't that odd. I knew the word 'pop' but never used it. When I was a kid growing up in the 1950s and 60son the south coast of England, we used to have bottled lemonade delivered to the door. The 'Corona' lemonade guy had a whole range of flavours (okay, make that flavors - LOL) including dandelion and burdock, cherryade, ginger beer and a weird cola. It must have been quite cheap too or we wouldn't have had it. Does anyone else remember this? Did you get lemonade deliveries where you come from? Ray

Thanks for all the comments people. So that is a NO then... or is it? Hmmmmm? Hard to tell...

I'm looking for a skilled leather carver to take on regular piecework. For more information please drop me a PM and attach a couple of photos of your work. Please understand, I'm only looking for professional quality work. This is not an opportunity to get paid to learn. I am happy to pay sensible prices for good quality workmanship. Thanks for looking, Ray

http://youtu.be/SXh7JR9oKVE I do love Christmas! Ray

Any idea how they mixed that corn starch paste, Mike? Quantities, etc? I'm happy to experiment but if you have a recipe... well, you know what I mean! Ray Thanks Paul and Cem. very helpful. Ray Denise, I could have looked at that bottle for ages without noticing that. LOL Thanks, Dave. Ray