Klara

Did you buy a double shoulder? Then it's the neck.

https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/97215-what-do-i-need-for-tooling-this/?tab=comments#comment-659941 Not sure how many other people use normal magic marker; I have done so successfully. On untreated leather, which I afterwards covered with leather grease for saddles and tack. I also have two belt buckles done the same way which hold up amazingly well. Question to the experts: Am I right in thinking that the result of edge painting should not be just a coloured edge, but a raised, rounded one that looks like the plastic-lined edge of my tablet holder (which is the first thing to come off, btw.)? And that dye + beeswax burnishing gives a similar effect?

My little bit of leather is stored rolled up under the work table. But one professional on Youtube - I believe Hahn - has a very impressive system with huge cardboard tubes stacked on a wall... (possibly concrete form tubes, just looked at the article).

I absolutely second that! One of my ex-colleagues started out with leather shoes and boots and handbags, but they just had too high a price tag to fly off the shelves. So now he makes mainly jewellery, and it sells very well. Making doggy things was just an example - sex would also be a common theme. Though maybe not ideal for a general artisans market... The point is, there should be some logic behind the selection of goods in one artisan's shop, whether online or in real life.

I agree with you. If you only make leather goods, and your wife is a "general crafter", for lack of a better term, keep your brands separate as much as possible. It would be different if the items were somehow related (I mainly did spinning, knitting and weaving, but branched out into needle-felted greeting cards - still wool - and simple pennanular brooches to fasten my shawls - or anybody elses. A friend makes knives, his wife simple jewellery with scraps of the wood used for the handles.), but from what you write that's not the case. Two Etsy shops shouldn't be a problem to create and maintain. If you both want to go to an artisans' market, check out the rules and regulations. I can only speak for my association, and there a leatherworker could apply, but somebody who irons bought pictures onto t-shirts couldn't (well, they could apply, but would be rejected out of hand for lack of "special skills"). If the pictures were hand-painted by the seller, that would be different. But that is just Renn'Arts (which also forbids sub-letting stall space), you need to find out the rules for your market. As an Etsy customer I am also wary of shops that completely change focus and product halfway through. When flipping through felted dogs recently and suddenly there were embroidered brooches (without dogs), my spontaneous reaction was WTF... Incidentally, a common theme like dogs could integrate your interests, with you making collars for the dogs and your wife t-shirts with dog pictures for the owners. And the place to go would probably be a dog show, not a general market... Otherwise, your instincts are spot-on!

Decocuir website says A is the right way and I guess we see why....

Stitching chisels are a shortcut to a nice-looking item, but they cost a lot of money (for just marking stitches the cheapies from Aliexpress will do) and I feel that working with an awl is faster. And more fun.

In France, the mark (piercing through the leather is a big no no) in the corner is supposed to point to the inside of the piece. As for the relationship between leather/object, stitches per inch, needle and thread, DecoCuir have tables, and probably other suppliers as well: https://www.decocuir.com/couture-cuir-fil-aiguille-choisir-guide-c1200x67488 But often it's a question of personal taste anyway. I admit, I started by mostly looking at the pictures (they are drawings of a quality to remind us that drawings can be better than photos. Later, when I read the text, the book got even better...

I can't see any pictures, so don't quite know what you are talking about. I learned saddle stitching from Al Stohlman's book "The Art of Handsewing Leather" which I can't recommend highly enough. I'm pretty sure it will answer all your questions, even those you didn't know you had.

If you want to use maths, 2:3 is generally considered pleasing, or 3:5, or 5:8 (Fibonacci sequence, remember? ) Without maths, somebody (possibly linked to above, I didn't check the videos) said to poke a compass in one side of the belt, about one belt width from the end, adjust it to the belt width, and draw a curve to the point. Repeat on the other side. Or you could just cut free hand: Both sides narrowed to a point and point off - I think it's called a bridle point. Heck, my woven belts have square ends and work as well...

Aren't they supposed to be carried in a jeans back pocket? I don't see a decent-sized smart phone fitting in there. On the other hand, if the phone is small enough, doesn't it fit in there? (I seriously don't know, my SIM card is in an 8 inch tablet as I've never had a use for just a phone....)

@chuck123wapati Thanks for the link! I didn't even know I wanted a biker wallet, but now I do...

Wouldn't you have gotten a similar result by oiling the piece? Seems like a lot of work for not much colour change (for my taste). As far as I remember, traditionally one dyes with walnut. And I believe with the outer, green husks, which are already gone when one sees unshelled nuts in the shop. But I'm not really into vegetable dyeing...

"Normal" people, I dare say, not enough to pay for your time. If you manage to find a billionaire who absolutely wants to have it, whatever you ask. Sadly I have no idea where billionaires do their shopping - I'd have a few things to sell them, as well...

Something that hasn't been mentioned yet and which I didn't know until recently: A well-made strap is supposed to be cut in the direction of the animal's spine, not at right angles to it. Which is why double shoulders, even if the measurements look good, don't work - the length is in the wrong direction (does that make sense?) (I'm saying "supposed to be" because I have a double shoulder and a double butt and various pieces where I don't know and I'm using them however I get the needed length and so far everything has worked out fine. But I'm only making things for myself at the moment...)

Why, for leather workers it schould be easy: 1mm = 2.5 oz. (And for the rest of the world this equation is completely crazy: WTF have 71 g to do with 1 mm? I suppose leather used to be weighed per ... square foot, I suppose?)

Another question: Why do you want to use foam for a wallet? I'm really curious because the way I see it foam would add thickness without solidity (just checked my current wallet: no foam anywhere...)

I suppose I have Ivan's version, and it also cuts straps... Even straight ones, as long as I concentrate. It' not a particularly complicated tool that would be difficult to copy. Patents only offer protection for a certain time - as the original patent was granted in 1974 I'd be surprised if it was still valid (anyone know how to find out for sure? I have found the patent https://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=3831279.PN.&OS=PN/3831279&RS=PN/3831279 but no expiration date.)

Great work, and may I second tsunkapasa's request?

Another vote for these round thingies. I've used them on wool pompons for fridge magnets (even the smallest magnet sticks better than bought fridge magnes with strips on the back). I attached them by wrapping them in fabric and sewing them on (the ones without hole were much cheaper and I bought a lot). If you use not the smallest size of magnet, they could be strong enogh to put inside a lined nametag (if you have fairly thin leather for lining)

Actually, cost is important. You need to know what an item costs you so you won't lose money by selling. Make sure you get at least the money for leather, hardware, consumables. Ideally also something for your time. If you can get more, by all means, charge more! Regarding the quality of the show, I've been in your situation. Ideally one would visit shows first as a "tourist" to see whether it's worth participating. In France you need to send an application with pictures of your work to the better shows, which means committing a long time in advance. Shows which don't have an application process often are like the one you described. Incidentally, I don't find well-executed handstitching boring to watch. And most people have no idea how leather is sewn... I used to sell handspun items and I always had a spinning wheel during shows. Not only to attract attention - which it did - but also to have something to do while waiting for customers so as not to go crazy with boredom. Two of my colleagues working with leather also worked during the Christmas market (4 weeks, 9 hours a day - with very few customers on weekday mornings). Not to generate interest, but simply to create inventory. (I did needle felting - not enough space for a spinning wheel.) So I'd say, do what you can during the show. It also helps convince the customers that you really are making yourself the things you are selling!

Did you really go from no experience at all to this in 4 months? WOW! Congratulations! I am deeply impressed! (Btw, I don't see the bad tap of the hammer )

Unless you have the shape of a model, a mannequin as is won't be much good. You can either buy an adjustable dressmaker's dummy, something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Adjustoform-FG150-Male-Dress-Form/dp/B00EZQ55VO (can't help with availability because Google gives me mostly French options). Or you could make it yourself with the help of a friend. Here is how https://paulaobrien.com/making-a-duct-tape-dressmakers-dummy-the-right-way/ though I'm not convinced about the duct tape. When I first read about it 15 years ago they recommended paper tape, the sort artists use to frame pictures or bookbinders to glue pages together. I couldn't find any at the time, used duct tape and it would come apart fairly soon. You might want to look for other instructions- YouTube also has some for adapting a standard dress form to your measurements. There are stores that sell equipment for other stores - everything from shelving to shopping bags to cash registers - they have the standard display mannequins, which you could maybe adapt to your size. A cheaper way to get them might be to find a store that goes out of business. Or you could try Ebay, or classifieds. Good luck!

Does your phone not allow to resize pictures? Even my entry-level Samsung tablet has the function.

Very nice work! Regarding the edges: Jo from JH Leather, a professionally trained saddler, never seems to use Tokonole. I believe what is necessary depends on how the leather is tanned. Now that I see the browband installed it occurs to me that the absence of a snap hook on the throat latch might be annoying. For you can't simply throw the crown piece over the horses head... But you'll see how it works when you get the halter to Bent (love the emroidered name!)