ButtonLady

A work of art...

You look fabulous... I have nothing further to add.

Fred, how big is your operation that you require not just one, but multiple agents??!!

That explains the headache...

I dabbled once with a few retail products, mostly custom magnets and pins made with brass or nickel rims. My big draw was that I could make them on the spot because I dragged my equipment to shows. I learned pretty quickly that (potential) customers really only care about products that represent a specific interest. For example... at a juried arts fair, the woman next to me was crazy-busy selling metal hair clips. Nothing special, I thought. She told me she bought barrette blanks from China and spot-tacked? —glued? metal charms to them that represented things like nursing, teaching, cats, etc. People came by asking, "Do you have anything for _____?" and she usually did. The vast majority were purchased for gifts. She also said she advertised nurse-themed clips in a nursing publication and sold a LOT that way. You're not necessarily going to sell something just because it's made from leather; leather is almost secondary. People seek out things that appeal to their hobbies or personalities or professions, etc. —leather might just be a bonus. If I ever attempt this again, I will cater specifically to interest-themed events (car shows, or marching band competitions, or... whatever) and only have products that appeal specifically to that. Your mileage may vary.

If set properly with a good die, the prongs are well buried. Aside from that, please note that the spots in this example are set with exceptional care (!) —the direction of the prongs is perfectly consistent: The raised center of a machine die pushes the prongs upward into the material (leather, Biothane, etc.): Prongs that are just flattened? Absolute total agreement with you.

These really are gorgeous, and I love that you've already developed your "brand" strap pattern and logo design. Drooling over the lining fabrics, too...

You said it! This is the best show around —thank you so much for sharing this journey with us, Woehlk.

I am CRAVING some good bread-and-butter pickles right now...

Looks like they also stock Scovill's DOT line ("Baby" 20L and "Durable" 24L).

Wow... if "Aristocrat" isn't the exact same pattern, then it's very VERY close!

Leatherhub has something similar, but nothing exactly the same. Seems like something he might like to develop, though —can't hurt to ask!

The brass looks so nice against those gorgeous warm tones, especially since there's no bling to distract your eye —it only compliments the excellent workmanship.

"Plain" is a lot harder because you can't hide your mistakes with bling... Really nice work! Do you use standard release, or soft "EZ" release snap sockets for holsters? The lighting makes it look like.. brass? The old one is nickel?