AussieMade

Welcome fellow Aussie. There are a few Aussies that frequent this forum. Not sure how many over your way though, But a few here in QLD. Good luck with Etsy. Been debating about whether to finally get mine going or not. Damien.

This is what the leather colour started off as before colouring

Thanks, the colouring came out really nice, better than I had expected it to. It was actually an accident, I was trying to darken the whole piece of leather lol. I think the rubbing shouldn't be too bad, and yeah could really add to the used look. Never thought of the leather being to small on the d-rings, that was as per plan, will definitely look into widening next time though.

Thanks, we are already having a bit of rubbing on the shoulder strap. We have found the measurements to be slightly off the 25mm for the buckles, so going to shave a slight bit off and recolour the edge. But for the lower part where the hardware rubs the top flap, the edge is solid so shouldn't rub off too much I hope.

We finally finished our take on Tboyce's (Tom Boyce) Medium Messenger Bag pattern he gratefully shared in the patterns section of this forum. This is a present for mum who has only seen a few pics from when we first started putting the basic parts together, and to really tease her we have not told her about any of the snake skin (she is a snake lover). and have also changed the design on a few things since we started. The bag is a nice piece of 3mm full grain light brown upholstery leather dyed over with Dark Brown stain and the straps are 3mm Aussie Full Grain Veg Tan Bovine Leather also dark brown stained to match. The buckles are Antique Brass and the swivel snaps are solid brass. The inlays are 100% Snake Skin Leather. The inner pouch is Veg Tanned Kangaroo. The whole bag is all hand stitched between my partner and myself (mostly my partner). We have learnt so much making this bag and I can't wait till we get to make another, but with a few changes. I hope you all enjoy looking as much as we have enjoyed making it. Any Comments and criticism is welcome, as we are still learning and want to know where we can fix things for next time. Cheers Damien

Thanks. Can't wait to see what my mum thinks of it. She has only seen a few starting pictures, And the design has changed a bit since then.

Next update: Handle is stitched in place all buckles are attached and front snake section is stitched and completed. We still need to stitch the front on, but are waiting on a couple of swivel snaps to attach the shoulder strap so it can be removed if required, then we can stitch the D-shields in. All D's and buckles are brass with gold rivets (only 10mm long rivets we had in stock) The gem on the front is a glass Gemini Constellation Cabochon for my mum. Hopefully we can have it finished by the weekend again so I can post the final pics . Any feedback is recommended.

The handle is pretty solid so shouldn't wear much at all. I have twisted and bent the handle different ways, and it is holding up well, the snake has also been laid so as the scales are left to right so will bend with the handle. It still needs to be stitched in and a backing put on as well. Thankfully it is a gift for my mum, so if it does wear to much I can fix it for her. Will keep the pics coming for sure

Thanks Brian, Yeah we are going to finish that off, Still deciding if we will stitch all the way around the front flap though or leave it un-stitched. Leaning towards stitching all the way around though. Also still have to finish the edges as well.

Thanks Bikermutt. Never tried anything like this before, as said we are modifying the design as we go to make it more our own, But the front, gusset and back/front flap are all as per Tom's plan.

Couple of addons already, Still need to stitch the front of the bag on and the snake buckle inlay. But gives an idea on how it will look. I have got brass fitting to go with this so it should match in nicely.

Hey all, this is our latest project on the board. It is our own take from a Tom Boyce (tboyce) design Medium Messenger Bag: We still have a few things left on it, but thought I would show what we have done so far. The bag itself is 3mm Full Grain Upholstery Leather supplied by a local Brisbane distributor Eastcoast Leather that we have sealed and run a couple of light coats of Dark Brown Stain over it and resealed again. We have put in a Kangaroo leather pouch on the inside, and we are using snake skin inlays for the handle and along the bottom of the front flap (still have that bit to do). We are also going to be changing from one buckle to two buckles for aesthetic looks. We haven't gotten to that stage yet, but almost there. All this is hand stitched using brown waxed braid thread. We are sort of winging it as we go, but I hope you enjoy, I will keep updating as we are going forward. Cheers Damien

Here is one I found through the Patterns forum on this site: http://www.troop7.net/Resources/5. Old Style Sporran Patterns.pdf I hope this helps you both in building one

I live about 10mins from Packer Leather and get my kangaroo from them as well as my belt blanks etc. Packer leather are really good for high quality Kangaroo, but only have 3rd grade in their bovine range. Maclace down at Capalaba are really good for tools and import leather etc. If you sign up for their wholesale membership (need ABN) you can get a really good discount with them. http://www.maclace.com.au/ There is also Crispins at Wooloowin, also really good for tool supplies ect. And Lastly there is Eastcoast Leather at Mount Cotton, They are probably the best for Leather supplies including exotics as well as some tools. Hope this helps you out.

Hey Chucky and fellow Brisbaneite, I am also still new to leather working. We have some amazing leather & tool suppliers here in Brisbane. Love the bikes, I am pretty sure my dad had a Yamaha the same as that one when I was a kid

I think you mean Facebook ads. That has nothing to do with this forum. Facebook see what you are looking at and put "Suggested" posts and ads that you may be interested in looking at, from what you have been searching for through Google. Unfortunately with Facebook and Google now working together, this will be seen more often.

Great job for your first attempt. The only thing I would critique is to keep the tension on your stitching even when drawing the thread through. This will even up some of the stitches as you are going. Keep trying and dont give up.

So true. I am still a newbie and would't know half the terminology involved in leatherwork. I search google first which usually brings up heaps of results from this page first. Then I search this forum which can bring up pages upon pages of results that are people showing off their work with no information regarding what I am looking for in the first place. Probably the most annoying thing I have found on this forum compared to others is there is to many categories and sub categories (86 total I just counted) to search through for newbies like myself. I believe so many could be merged with others to make it easier to search for answers. As JLSLeather says:

This is Product Pricing Calculator I just found. Looks good, and seems to work in a few factors on pricing items. I am going to start breaking all my raw supplies into individual unit prices. This will allow me to see how much each product I make is actually costing to produce. This calculator should help in getting the final sale price for you from your figures you get. It downloads as an Excel Spreadsheet. http://www.caaa.biz/resources-page/product-pricing-calculator/

The customer received the collar this morning, and they love it (feeling relieved lol). It's so hard when you can only show pictures to people who custom order a job without actually meeting them in person. But here is Nitro showing off his new collar

Yep full agree, Our dog loves his leash, but can pull often, but a simple no and he is back walking usually by our side. Not sure on what they want it for, But Bull Terriers are known to pull hard when excited. So I probably will incorporate a no pull system (D-ring on chest plate) and a grab handle on top as well I think.

Thanks Scott, A lot of work went into this one project and probably my favorite project yet. My partner is my chief designer so she can get all the credit for the design. I am the chief assembler lol. A few little mistakes I made which are not really noticeable, but I really need to invest in an oblong punch for the buckle tongue holes to make those holes better looking and more consistent. The edges took a lot of work to smooth out they way I wanted them to be. The stitching was fun. Not easy to hold the collar in my stitching pony with those spikes in place though. The riveted name was the most challenging part of the build. We started with 8mm single cap rivets but found them to overlap in a few places so couldn't set them in place without damaging the one beside it. So went with the smaller 5mm single caps instead, but came out looking good still.

Hi thanks Gary, I like the design, Will see what the customer says.

He is their first ever pet after the lady of the house had a pretty bad accident and her husband got him for her, so he's more of a therapeutic dog for her. But if they want to pay I will continue making stuff for them And I could think of a few more names after they cop one of those spikes in the legs lol, They hurt.