CitizenKate

For something you're calling "plain", those look pretty sharp and handsome to me, Josh. I know the challenge in trying to develop a product that is high in quality, but more basic... must... control... urge... to embellish! I lose that battle almost every time, but I think you found a nice balance with this design. Kate

Gorgeous work, Fritz - schön! Kate

Hey, thanks, Noah! I've been looking for a way to do this! Kate

For your wife, or does she have a dog? I make small joke. Beautiful work, megabit, as always! Kate

Glad you're here! There are so many ways to get sucked into leatherwork... glad that arrangement worked out, and I'm sure your daughter did, too. Kate

Rob, you might want to check out a nicely-done video by particle on making holsters. It does show and tell some things about the boning process, and there are lots of other interesting tips in it as well. You can find it, along with a discussion about it by our members at this link: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=22402&hl=video&st=0 Kate

LOL Reminds me a little of Treebeard the Ent. That's a very interesting texture you got from that narrow shader. Kate

*sigh* Yes, it's normal. Kate

Hi Larry, The splits are not especially good lining material, IMO, since this is leather with the grain removed. There is no smooth side, and with the grain removed, it's not very strong, especially in thinner weights. The pigskin would be better, but for something sturdy, you'll probably need something a little heavier, but in any case I would go with something that has the top grain still intact. Kate

I agree, I've used both the Preval sprayers and the single-action sprayers with cans of propellant. The single-action sprayer is more reliable than the aerosol type sprayer used by the Preval system. And the cans of propellant used with the Preval are actually quite expensive compared to the propellants you use with a single-action sprayer, when you consider the actual quantities you're getting. Another nice thing about the single-action sprayer is, you can also hook it up to a compressor when you finally get tired of buying all those cans of propellant. Kate

I haven't gotten through them all, yet, but ones I did watch are fascinating, not just from a technical standpoint, but also the cultural/economic aspects of it. Sure glad I'm not a tannery worker, though. Ugh. Kate

I've just started exploring around there, too, so I'll be interested in hearing what kind of experiences everyone has had so far. Kate

Your carving gets better all the time, Adam. Nice work! Kate

Your work gets better all the time, Noah. You have found a niche in leather work I find interesting. Kate

You have really come up with a very dramatic effect, Caroline. It's kind of surrealistic. I've been admiring this for days... Kate

You might be thinking of Jeff Mosby of Grey Ghost Graphics: http://www.greyghostgraphics.com/Stamp%20Brochure.pdf Kate

I like the art you chose for the pattern. It fits very well, and as you mention, a little off the beaten path, which I always appreciate. Nice work on the lacing, too. Kate

Correct, Denise. Thanks for the clarification. Kate

Problem solved. Anyone else? Kate

Wow, that just doesn't even seem possible. Looks like you took it to a new level, my friend! WOW! Kate

Well done, Troy - and congratulations on your success at the show! Kate

I just posted a new blog article with 8 tips on how you can get the most out of your directory listing. Click here to read it. Kate

Now that we've had the Leatherworker.net business directory up and running more than a month, and a few of you have set up your listings, we're already starting to see some trends developing in what listings seem to be drawing the most traffic, and what you can do to improve the performance of your directory listing. Just to give you an idea of what we're seeing so far, as of March 6, with just the few listings we have so far, our listings have received almost 7,000 hits, and almost 3,500 of those resulted in web site click-outs. A hit is when someone clicks the title of a listing to view the description and contact information. A click-out is when someone viewing a listing clicks on the link to visit the lister's web site. We also keep track of what is called a click-through rate, which is the percentage of listing hits that get click-outs. It helps us determine how effective the ad is, or how likely the ad is going to produce a sale. So far, the overall click-through rate for text listings in the directory is running around 51%, which is a staggering rate, compared to traditional pay-per-click advertising (such as we offer on the forum). But even without the stats, we see the inquiries coming in, some involving volume work, and people are already telling us they've gotten orders from people who found them in the directory. Considering we're just getting started, that's a very good sign! That sounds great, but why isn't my listing getting that kind of traffic? One thing a lot of people need to realize is that a banner ad or directory listing is not a magic bullet. Just having one there is not going to guarantee you're going to get more sales. What you put - or don't put - in that listing does affect how many shoppers will click that site link, send that email, or pick up the phone. All listings are not equal. There are some listings that are attracting a lot more traffic (and business) than others. The good news is, you have a lot of control over what to put in that listing to improve its performance. Here are some tips to keep in mind when setting up or modifying your directory listings: Use the logo box. Use the "logo" box in your listing to upload an image of your work, which will appear in the listing. This will make your listing more attractive, and serve as an enticement to click your web site link to see more of your work. Include a description. My first tip for a good listing description is: include one. This seems pretty obvious to me, but I'm amazed how many listings have nothing written in the description box to tell shoppers about what you're offering for sale. Not surprisingly, these are the listings that get the least number of click-outs. Most don't get any. Don't expect the listing title to do it all. Use all the words you have available to you to promote your work. Include a call to action. Write a description that urges people to visit your web site, send you an email, or pick up the phone and call. I know most of you will think this wouldn't make any difference at all. I know I didn't at first. In marketing, this is a "call to action", and I found out after years of working with pay-per-click advertising, that it does encourage people to take that next step. Sometimes all it takes is a simple suggestion. Toot your horn! Write a description that "toots your horn". Sometimes it amazes me what a humble bunch of people we have here at Leatherworker.net - never quite happy with their own work, despite how others admire it, which is a sign of a true artist and is the reason your work possesses the quality it does. But when you're trying to sell your work, that's a BAD thing! When you're selling your work, you need to focus - just long enough to write your listing description - on what you (secretly) LOVE about your work, and what you know others love about it. Use enough keywords. Here's a really sad reality: About 95% of all the searches done in the directory for specific items are coming back empty. And a lot of them are searching for things that are offered by makers or businesses in the directory, or searching for specific makers or businesses that we know are members of Leatherworker.net. It's a sad reality because this represents a lot of missed opportunities to get found by your customer. It means a lot of you are being searched for, but not being found. Adding keywords to the keyword box in your listing will help directory shoppers find you via the search function. What keywords should you enter? It's pretty simple: choose words that people shopping for what you offer would search for. Do you specialize in holsters? Then at least one of your keywords should be "holsters". If you make lots of different items, try to include any other terms that are inclusive of the range of what you are offering, such as "equine", or "outdoor sporting". A Basic Listing can have up to 10 individual keywords. You can also use phrases that are more than one word, but each word will count towards the 10 word limit. Each search word or phrase should be entered with a comma to separate each one. What's the difference between keywords and meta-keywords? The search terms entered in the keyword box will help people who are searching in the directory to find you. The search terms entered in the meta-keyword box will (eventually) help people who are searching from places like Google and Bing to find your listing on our site. What do you mean "eventually"? It sometimes takes awhile before the search engines can pick up that information and get it indexed so it begins to appear in their search results. We are working on ways to get more traffic from the search engines sooner. Get your site in shape. If your site is getting traffic from the directory, but not much of it is converting to sales, take a good critical look at what people see when they visit your site. Is the layout clean and attractive? Is the photography the absolute best you can make it? Is it filled out, or does it look like there are pieces missing? Are shoppers finding what they thought they would find when they clicked on the link? Is the ordering process free of any obstacles? If you don't have a site, consider creating a gallery photo album to display images of your work. Having a web site makes selling on the internet a lot easier, but it is possible to sell your work on the internet without a site of your own. I can almost guarantee you won't sell a thing on the internet without at least displaying some images of your work that shoppers can see before taking that critical step closer to an order. One way to do this is to create a photo album in the gallery and upload your photos there. Then you can make your "web site" link go to that album. Consider upgrading your listing. You knew I would bring this up eventually, didn't you? Sorray - just had to put in a plug for the paid listings! You can do any or all of the previous tips without spending a single dime. And you probably should, whether you are considering upgrading to a Feature Listing or a Banner Listing, or not. But one reason to consider an upgrade is that the Feature and Banner listings really are getting a lot more traffic. It's still a little too early to come up with more accurate averages, since there are only a few so far. But we can safely say they're getting more than 3 times as many hits as the Basic listings. Regardless... We want to help you get the most out of your listing, whichever one you use, because the more successful you are at selling your work, the more we all benefit. So if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Hey, suppliers! The Leatherworker Directory is already bringing new customers to businesses we have already listed there, and is very quickly becoming the place to look for suppliers for leather, leatherworking supplies, tools, and equipment. Are you one of them? With 600-1,000 page loads a day, a supplier listing in the Leatherworker Directory is the best advertising value you can get on the web or anywhere else. Your listing will be seen by thousands more people than any printed ad, yet is a fraction of the cost. On March 1st, our February Special on Supplier Basic listings ends, and the monthly rate will go back to $15/month. But for a limited time, you can get your first month free by contacting Johanna and saying, "I want the March special!" We'll even set up your listing for you! So what are you waiting for?

I've used both, and prefer a maul. For me, it just works better, and is easier on my arm, because of its heavier weight and balance. Kate