CitizenKate

Years ago I wrote for an online craft magazine. Some of my articles focused on craft fair exhibits and which ones seemed to attract the most serious shoppers. I used to just rove around and ask the exhibitors how their business was doing. Some of them would say, "This is a crappy show," and others would say of the same show "This has been a great show so far!" Go figure! I would also rove around and watch for the booths where the most people were hanging out, and in any case, observing what it was that seemed to be attracting them, or turning them off. Of course, a lot depends on the event and the kind of shoppers that attend, but here are some general things I observed: - Product types that seemed to attract the most shoppers: craft supplies, food products (like specialized spice mixtures; recipe kits, etc.); they swarm around jewelry of all kinds (but there are a lot of jewelry makers out there); almost anything that has some kind of use like belts, bags, wallets, or hair barrettes, including frivolous use, such as toys, games, musical instruments, etc. - Exhibit designs: Layouts that allow shoppers to view the offerings without having to be directly confronted by the seller - that's a biggie!; exhibits with a little decor - designed from top to bottom with some kind of cohesive theme; exhibits that have the appearance of being fully stocked with good variety, but with a defined scope of offerings (back to that theme concept). - Location: Most craft show sellers have a little less control over this, but if you have any choice, try to get well into the thick of traffic, as distinct from the outer extremities, like corners or the very last aisle. The closer to the main entryway, the better. Hope this is useful... Kate

That is absolutely gorgeous! I love the dye work - wow! Kate

Here's the link: http://www.hansensilver.com/ Kate

I love it! I've been playing with some paisley designs myself, inspired by some work I saw from Verlane Desgrange a couple years back, and yours really hits the spot. Spot-on, as the Brits would say! Kate

Nice, clean work, Trevor! Can't wait to see more. Kate

Those are so nice! I'm definitely going to have to do some more playing with that idea. Kate

That is good to know, Troy. When I'm evaluating various finishes, I tend to look more at the results of applying them, and sometimes overlook the question of what happens 5 or 10 years later, when the piece needs to be cleaned and reconditioned. Kate

Doug, I purchased mine in liquid form packaged in a 22oz. metal bottle (not a spray bottle) at an Ace hardware store. If you can't find it locally, you can order it directly from the Trewax web site. Kate

There are also a couple of wax finishes that spray very nicely from an airbrush or single-action sprayer (which is what I use for finishes). They are Bee-Natural Leather Finish, and (believe it or not) Trewax Clean & Wax Liquid Carnauba Wax (a wood floor care product). They both spray easily out of an airbrush full-strength (they're both pretty watery), both produce a beautiful, natural-looking finish, and both are more water resistant than any of the acrylic finishes I've used. The Trewax is available in home improvement stores and is a lot less expensive than the Bee-Natural. Just thought I'd throw that in there to let you know that acrylics are not the only finishes that can be sprayed. Kate

He said, "This is really a jawdropper! Should do great in Ohio." Close enough, Tom? Kate PS: I don't really know Swedish... just plugged it into InterTran, which can be kinda hit-or-miss sometimes. PPS: I agree!

I got to travel around Europe a lot when my family lived in Germany for a few years (I'm an air force brat). When you travel from culture to culture, you can really get a sense of the overall demeanor (or spirit, if you will) of a place. The two places I had the fondest memories of were Sweden and Spain. In Spain, there is (or at least was at the time) a great sense of kindness and friendship. In Sweden, it is peace and tranquility. Both places are places of great beauty, both natural and man-made, despite man's long tenure in those places. I think that says quite a lot about the people there. Kate

Thanks for sharing that, John. Great resource! Kate

The little ghost rider guy you carved reminds me of Tom Petty for some reason... the hat, maybe? Those knee joints are a hoot! LOL Nice work, as always. Kate

I absolutely LOVE pandora.com!!! You can create custom channels of your own for ANY type of music you like, and it routinely adds new stuff to the play list from their library that is like what you pick. I've found tons of new artists I like from there. (Like Chris Thile! Wow!) If they play something you don't care for, you can tell them so, and they won't play it, or others like it. You can build multiple channels; I have about 6 different channels for different types of music I like. And it's totally free. www.pandora.com Kate

Neat design, Tom! I'm curious to know what you used to cut those intricately curved parts? The edges are nice and clean. Thanks for showing us that! Kate

Nice! Looks like it has a pretty decent macro lens. Is that from your garden? Kate

Hi Brumbie, It was not removed intentionally. We lost the last few days of posts due to a hacker attack on our database server. Our hosting provider was able to restore from their last backup, which was several days ago, so thankfully we were able to restore everything up to that point. If you would like to re-post it, that would be great. Kate

Johanna beat me to that point, and put it much better than I would have. It's easy to give constructive criticism that really helps people improve their work without being harsh. Just say, "If you want to improve your backgrounding (or whatever), try <doing this1>, <or this2>." If you can see anything positive or affirming to say about the piece, there is nothing harmful about mentioning it. It really isn't necessary to tell someone their work sucks. (Even if it really does.) And lastly, don't tell someone their work is awesome unless you really mean it. Kate

Kate

Lovely work, ya FREAK! Very nice! Wow! Kate

Yeah, I've tried it. It works great on veg-tan, and you can get some pretty interesting effects from all the different-shaped bits that come with them. Sometime when I've got more time to play with it, I'll try to post something. (Don't hold your breath, though, I'm pretty tied up for the next few months.) Kate

I second that! I snagged my copy as soon as I saw the announcement. And Billy... Kate

That's quite a coincidence. There's another leather artist who lives in Pennsylvania, also named James Ammon. He specializes in game boards. Kate

I'd be interested in seeing how that comes out. Punching out the squares seems less tedious than all the backgrounding you did on this one, and what you put underneath could really make for a nice touch. What weight of leather are you using? Kate

I can't tell for sure from the photo, but it looks like you wrapped the leather around a piece of MDF...(?) That works pretty well if you want to go frameless, or make a leather frame to go around it. Even if you do use a frame MDF still makes a good backing for the surface. (It's very smooth and rigid, and doesn't seem to warp very easily.) Then place the surface and the backing in the frame, like this one... You can try more coats of shene, as perhaps it wasn't completely covering the stain. Or you may try spraying the shene on with a sprayer, which would help it get into the depressions better. Kate