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Hello, I'm looking for a leatherworker based in the UK or who can ship to the UK, to provide an order of all leather bucklers, at least two in the first instance and possibly more. Purple Heart Armoury used to produce an all leather buckler, but have since discontinued them. My club used these for HEMA training, but all of our kit has gone missing and we're now looking to resupply, and Purple Heart Armoury was the only supplier I am aware of, so now we're looking to commission some. A buckler is appromixately 15" diameter circle, with an outward facing "boss" as shown in the image, which covers a hand grip hole in the main face of the shield across which a grip is attached. In the pieces we had from PHA this was entirely made of leather, including the grip, but was solid and sturdy (we used them for sparring and they held up perfectly well to solid strikes from wooden training weapons) The leather construction was perfect for us as it allowed for controlled contact in our sparring, which is not very practical with the more readily available wood and steel or hard plastic varieties. So, what we're looking for is basically a 15" disc with a central cutout, boss and grip, for training purposes. The leather must be stiff and solid enough for moderate contact martial arts practice. The grip doesn't have to be leather but it seemed to work well on the ones we had. From memory there was stitching around the rim so I assume the main shield portion was constructed of layers of leather. The key is that the central convex boss section was solid but not hard, so the buckler could be used to strike at the head and body so long as the strikes are pulled, without the risk of serious injury as would be the case with wood or steel. If anybody thinks they could produce these for us, or if you have any further questions, please contact me - alchemicalsolution at yahoo.com

Hi, We have recently lost a supplier of leather key fobs to our small UK hotel and are currently gathering quotes for a new supplier. I'm not sure of the exact figure at the moment, we have 89 rooms and also keep a supply of back ups as our guests regularly leave without them, we would obviously keep in touch as we will always need them. I will attach images of the fobs to give you an idea of what we need, each one has a "H" on one side and the room number on the reverse stitched in. It would be helpful to have some rough figures to match up against quotes we have from calling around local company's. Thank you for your time, Damian

Hi, I'm currently in the process of setting up a small business, retailing, high quality, small leather goods, based in England. The ethos of the brand is to offer high quality, craftsman made items, such as wallets, bags, ipad covers and belts, with a strong emphasis on the quality of the leather and detail of the construction. I'd be interested in talking to experienced leather workers based in the UK, or possibly the EU who would be interested in fabricating goods such as wallets, bags etc. Unfortunately I'm unable to recruit help from my friends in the US or elsewhere in the world at this stage, as sadly the amount of import duty I would be charged, and the associated shipping costs, would make this option cost prohibitive. The style of items I want to focus on are rugged, chunky style wallets, bags etc, with stitch sizes around 4mm - 5mm, so it isn't fine, detailed work so much. Wallets will be bi-fold, simple card cases and 'biker' style, similar to the ones offered on the Japanese market. I will provide leather, pre cut to patterns and thread etc. Stitching will be mainly by hand, though some designs can be machine stitched. The initial volumes would be small, and would probably suit someone who is looking for a second income, though natural, organic growth is expected as the business matures. Payment would be on a 'per piece' basis, and is negotiable. Should this sound of interest, then, please get in touch.