DheereCrossing

Absolutely wonderful work. I make dog harnesses too but that is another level, and it fits so well too. Those photos of the new owner modeling it are great. He looks so proud of his new clothes.

Sweet work! I like the color and the size is very well proportioned. The border carving and your logo are very cool and unique.

Well done! Very nice. Generally on a piece that nice or darkly colored, I would tend to line the back piece or at least use a gum trag product and then slick down the flesh side fibers which will darken a bit in the process.

Based on your location, I'm guessing it's an indoor show? Do you know how the room will be set up or in a school's hallways? I try to scout my location a few days in advance and have had to redesign my booth to fit odd spaces. You want your display to be eye-catching and attractive but not to much to distract from or camouflage the products. Lighting is very important; we did shows 'back in the day' and LED lights were still new. Since powerful and clean LED lights are abundant now, that could even run on batteries, I would light as a photographer once told me, "Every curve gets a highlight and every highlight gets a curve" (It was a weird conversation, but you get the idea). I liked to keep the register/money/invoice exchanging station out of site - when people browse, they don't want to be 'hit over the head' with 'GIVE ME YOUR MONEY!!!' until they are ready to make that decision on their own. However, feel free to start a conversation about the product or process if someone picks something up to get a closer look. Halitech said it above - smile and be confident. Some shoppers will be trolls and maybe not even know it by saying things like, "I can get that cheaper at Wal-Mart" - be prepared for some negative feedback and prepare your responses in advance because it will surprise you the first time you hear it. Be positive and polite. HAVE A GREAT TIME! It's scary having your first show. You'll learn quickly what venues match your offerings best. Don't be afraid to change the types of show you sell at; high-school crafts, juried art shows, etc.

I'd like some help on centering holes and correct spacings. When punching belt holes, I can lay out the measurements, even using templates, and mark a scribe/pin hole correctly; pleased with the spacing. So the issue comes in where I use a larger hole punch on my hand press of say 13/64" to go over a screw post stud or a Sam Brown stud. I'm having a hard time getting a large punch hole to exactly center over a single point. It makes the errors add up and some holes will be too close together while others way to far apart. I've tried the 'barely touch it to make a small indent and try again' but is there a better way?

Outside of what you have already, I'd say the center foot and possibly the flat bed table if you do thin or flexible pieces.

Good day folks, I'm Jeff. I'm currently living in Mesquite, TX just outside of Dallas. I've been on and off leatherworking for a few years and have a few nice pieces in some peoples hands out there. What is prompting me to make my first post here is that I'm going to be stepping up production, marketing, and make this a viable business. I've spent the last couple days building the social media and website for OMG Leatherworks. Not all the sites are published and open for business yet as I'm still unsure of what order I need to put some things in and get some better photography put together. I'm going to have some specific questions to pose to those who've been at this for awhile and mainly running small business's. I've been reading up here on sewing machines and have a friend that introduced me to industrial walking foot machines. I think I've settled on the Cobra Class 4, but unsure of when to pull the trigger. Long winded way of saying Glad to be here and hope to be part of a few discussions. I'll attach a few pictures of a wallet, superhero themed, I made a couple years ago. The Batman and Joker are the two external panels. I'll put the interior and more in the gallery at some point.