what do you do for a living

[Dynamik1]

Well, you could raise cattle, shoot them when mature, skin and tan the hide and cook the meat while listening to Christian music, then pound on the leather when the tannage is complete!!! It sounds like a circle of life!!

LOL! That sounds too much like my Everquest days!

[randyandclaudia]

I am a husband and father first! Nothing in this world is as important as my family. Nothing! I study the cosmos and work everyday to fill my toolbox with the tools I need to continue my journey of enlightenment. Being awake and aware of my place in the universe is necessary to be alive in the moment of each day. By being true to myself and what makes me happy . . . I am a leather artist! One day it will be our only source of income. I used to create my art for money only . . . Now I focus solely on doing my art for my heart in knowing that commitment, dedication and perseverance to us being happy is what will bring success.

Randy

If you were randomly placed into our universe, the chances of being on or even near a planet would be one in a billion, trillion, trillion! Carl Sagan

[rhall]

Well I've spent the last hour reading everyones history...It is so great to know something about you folks!I have spent 39/8 providing Electricity to the Nations Capital..DC.They packaged me out in 04.Rehired me in 06 cause they didnt have any available experienced Bla bla blas.Meet some new folks building /rebuilding SubStaions...They hired me as GF.Back to work,teach them to stay alive until they are old and brokedown like me!That way they can teach the next group.Viet Vet Father,Grandfather,Husband.Mentor of some young folks whose parents didnt do so well.Love the craft I still have alot to learn.I've been doing mostly shooting related leathergoods for fun not much profit!Still get alot of satisfaction from it.Auther Rightass has jumped into my bones so that is why I need amachine to continue all this fun!!!Thanks for listening....I gotta stop now my left hand is nummmmmm!

[JohnsCustomLeather]

I like this thread..

I am a roller / supervisor in a specialty steel mill, I have hot wire and rods running past me at speeds reaching 23 m/s. THAT"S MY DAY JOB!!

I first began pounding nails in dad's bench in the shop when I began to walk. I started working on saddles and Tack at 5 and machinery at 10. When I was a kid it was more like SLAVE labor!! HA! HA! HA

Then after completing college in '99, with a BS in Industrial/Operations Management. I found that my day job, or sometimes night work was very stressful. So I got put on Midnight shift 10p-6a for 6 months so I could run heavy equiptment for a friend of mine through the day. That was great 4 hrs of sleep a day, Hey as long as it is concentrated sleep it is enough.

That did not take away the stress. Then I started pounding nails in Dad's Bench again and realized that it was great relaxment, until he made me pull them all out!!!

Then I started a webpage with him and another, all because I was bored one day.

He gets to do what he loves and it keeps him busy and me sane.

He has been at it, pounding leather, for 50+ years and started his business full time in around '74. Making boots saddles or anything else some one asks for, or sometimes doesn't. Prior to his full time leather shop he was an Engineer, I tell them they all think backwards, for a specialty carbide company.

[DG Leather]

I am new here but thought I would let you in on my big secret career....it is glorious so hold on to your petunias.....

I work in the addictions field. I have been counselor last few years but am just starting as a medical detox worker in the hospital here....

I would much rather spend my time in the woods camping with my bow, my guns and leather work and soapstone carving though.....I have also wrote an unpublished novel that is near done being edited befor ei attempt to find some sort of professional editing or publishing....

[budd4766]

I'm a designer. My company supports manufacturing companies with computer aided drafting/design support. Currently I'm the on-site guy helping a company design heavy construction equipment.

[Ian]

Here's my resume in a nutshell: Born in Tanzania, Came to the United States from South Africa at 12. Left home at 16 to groom for a circus bareback riding act - spent the next 20 years on and off the road training horses and dogs for circus work (also performed in a trapeze act) , and travelled to almost all states, South America and Canada. In between and on the off season, I did every job imaginable, from bartender to dockworker to juvenile corrections.

I operated a private dog training business for a few years. Learned harness making and operated a leather shop doing repairs and custom work and also a fairly large retail area selling motorcycle goods.

Now I work for a mega wealthy dude, driving, making appointments and travel plans and doing a lot of interesting travel to variouys gambling meccas. That is 3 days a week. The other 4 I have my custom leather business. That's it.

[TomSwede]

Here's my resume in a nutshell: Born in Tanzania, Came to the United States from South Africa at 12. Left home at 16 to groom for a circus bareback riding act - spent the next 20 years on and off the road training horses and dogs for circus work (also performed in a trapeze act) , and travelled to almost all states, South America and Canada. In between and on the off season, I did every job imaginable, from bartender to dockworker to juvenile corrections.

I operated a private dog training business for a few years. Learned harness making and operated a leather shop doing repairs and custom work and also a fairly large retail area selling motorcycle goods.

Now I work for a mega wealthy dude, driving, making appointments and travel plans and doing a lot of interesting travel to variouys gambling meccas. That is 3 days a week. The other 4 I have my custom leather business. That's it.

Just commented your seat!! You'll be doing alot of handstitching in the future;-)

Tom

[hiloboy]

well i have worked for myself for the last 30+ years.as a handengraver and scrimshaw artist. its a job that i have always loved..i always thank God for letting me have a job that i really love to do. it make life so much better..i have put 6 kids thought collage carving metal and ivory..about a 2years ago i did a job that ended up paying me with a whole bunch of leather tools..that is what started me on my way to learning leather.then i found this site best thing that ever happen..

[ryano]

Great thread! Too many cops though! lol Well lets see, at the moment I am a Singer Sewing Machine technician. I do a little machine work, welding, leatherwork. I have been making obsolete sewing machine parts at the present time, welding a floor in a 57 chevy and a 56 chevy conv. Oh yeah I almost forgot, I am a degreed Industrial Engineer who designs manufacturing machining processes, machine design and plant layouts. I just like turning chicken crap into chicken salad.

[Suze]

Well here goes - I have only had TWO jobs in my life - a waitress for a year out of high school - (toughest job ever - you learn to be POLITE if it KILLS you)

and my current job of 30 + years -- I work for Crown Equpment - we build lift trucks - I work in the electronics assm department building circut boards - in a "cleaner room" >giggle< some days I come home filthy......

but before I worked in the "clean room" (why they call it that I have no idea - it is NOT a clean room by any definition) I worked for them building TV antenna rotators. I did that for 20+ years and then they decided that they wern't "profitable" anymore and got moved from Plant 1 to Plant 7 (We have 13 plants in one little bitty town) and 3 others in outlying bergs. Johanna's hubby works in one of the other ones.

as far as hobby addiction ---- YES. If the tools to do something are not that expensive - I think I've done it.

and the only reason I have been sucked into leather is a certian someone with a leather shop in her basement........(Hi Cuz) I don't have to buy tools......

Well that's me in a nutshell.

[Grunt]

WOW! THere are lto's of different folks here. Let's see. I am a career Army Infantry Non Commissioned Officer stationed at Fort Bliss, TX. I have been in, between National Guard and Active duty, for 19yrs.

I have been doing leather work for about a year now. I would like to do this full time but I will have to assume a second career after I retire from the Army. I have been making a little bit of money here and there from my leathr work so I am enjoying myself and making a little money.

Nick

[Kustom]

My full time gig is web marketing and in particular search engine optimization. If people have a business selling a product or service I do keyword research to see what people search for that would be interested in their product or service, then I get their website in the first page of the search engines. I like it, I've been doing it full time since 2001.

[Jordan]

Whoda thunk it! there is an amazingly diverse group gathered here.....or is it preverse. LOL Must be a rightbrain leftbrain thing. Congrats to all for finding a common grounding point in leathermania. And a great big thanks for all the help I get from this forum. Jordan

[whinewine]

I began leatherwork back in the late '60s as a hobby, worked various jobs & had various careers...

was asked to become an assistant for Tandy Leather in my hometown & freelanced my holsters, belts & wallets,

wrote & sold articles on a freelance basis,

became a professional photographer shooting graduations in action & in the off-season, shot senior class panoramics with a 4 X 5 view camera,

became a full-time stringer photographer for a daily newspaper,

worked in various social services in diverse facets, &

retired from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections in 2005

(plus I did other stuff throughout this time period, but some I don't remember anymore {due to some of this being SO unmemorable} & some I choose NOT to remember {because of it being SO memorable}).

After my myocardial infarction (heart attack) , triple bypass & re-opened left carotid artery, I've made a lifestyle change by walking every day, (to the extent my emphysema allows), try to eat healthier, keep off the weight & drink less. Now I do leatherwork, ( http://www.wheredragonstread.com) , deliver flowers ,and my son & I do celtic- & ren-faires together. My son is a web programmer for a startup company manufacturing electronic medical prescription dispensing devices & it is starting to take off.

I feel blessed.

And I've never had more fun!

[TOM123]

I work at TORO CO. I have worked there for 23yrs (it started out as a winter job to get throu to spring, man this is a long winter lol) I am the shipping clerk there, i also do custom bailing and my own bailing to feed my horses, also help on the family chicken farm and a few other small job for cash, so about a year a go i needed something to do in my spare time (what's spare time) I started to work on saddle repair and holster making.

When looking for some tool i fund this web site and have been here alot of times---thanks to all the info many of you give.

[Ronny]

I am a semi-retired saddle maker and horse shoer, who is also a rope aholic. Been building and repairing saddles since 1975. Still love it. Truly the Lord has blessed me with the ability to earn a living doing something I truly love. Great wife for 45 years, great kids, and grand kids, good horses.WOW! Life is good. Ronny

[easy]

I worked 15 years for the US Army in the Netherlands , then i had for seven years an pawnshop and now i do upholstery for fitnessequipment , and also make party and erotic leather clothing , belts .....

Ron

[Deb59]

I have had a wide variety of jobs through the years, I grew up working at a 4-H Camp in Central Kansas waiting on tables, washing dishes, cooking, cutting grass, teaching canoing, archery and other activities, and the last couple of years I was the Wrangler at the stables for the trail rides.

I met my husband there and moved to East Central Kansas. I sarted working at a school, cooking and driving a bus, then in 1990 I went to work for the Sheriff's office as a 911 dispatcher. I absolutly LOVED the job! I did this for 7 years. Our daughter got up into highschool and would soon be headed for college. I decided I needed to find a job that did not have rotating shifts and paid a little more for the upcoming college expenses. I went to work in the Transportation office for a Wal-Mart Distribution center. I am the Safety Clerk and keep track of 225 Wal-Mart drivers, DOT Files and training. I have been with the Company for 12 years.

I have always done some time of craft project and displayed at craft fairs selling some of what I made.

My start in Leather began with getting someone else needing a hobby. My Father in Law needed something to do when he was laid up after a surgery. I suggested Leather tooling. There was a store in Topeka Kansas and Bill Gomer was teaching classes at that time. He took the classes and started leather. He taught the grandkids as they went up through 4-H. Then when our daughter went off to College, I found my self with some time on my hands. I started playing around with her tools and I loved it. I gave things as gifts and orders started coming in. I got on the internet and found the Santa Fe Leather Artist's Guild in Topeka just a couple of months before they hosted the IFOLG show in 2003. I have been hooked ever since. I have met a lot of nice people through the shows, guilds, and websites like this, and continue to learn a lot.

I have started building a part-time custom leather business, and would like to be a full time retirement business. - Deb

[LAPat]

I started out in the film business as a secretary to Donald Sutherland. Worked my way into a job as a creative executive, did story notes for screenwriters, producers and directors for years, and taught story development at UCLA. Published a little scifi, a little literary fiction and produced a low budget horror flic called Voodoo Dawn. Took a break to go to art school. Still do dog portraits on commission . Schooled horses at Pepperdine for a guy named Jim Wyllie (90 years old and still in the saddle, he is). Switched to dogs when I got my first Leonberger. Hooked up with a woman named Vicki Hearne, a philosophy instructor and dog trainer who wrote a book I loved and she introduced me to a lot of the old classical dog trainers across the country. I can't tell you how generous everyone was in teaching me everything I could learn. Not to mention that Dog Training will change your life, becuz you have to do what you say and say what you mean. I got a weird sleep disorder and gave up reading. Training dogs kept me awake. I ended up specializing in remote electronic collar training for pet and competition dogs, spent a few years working with Sit Means Sit, put every sort of training onto my Leo I could think of (utility obedience, agility, water work, tricks, but no bite work, he was too heavy) and then crashed from lack of sleep. Gradually woke up, took a job managing an all natural pet store in Los Angeles for a former client, and started making leashes and then recycling old belts for collars. For years I have made dog toys out of sheepskin that are used by top agility competitors in my area. Now I'm getting into making my own stuff from scratch. I want to start doing dog portraits in leather, but haven't got the time right now to learn how to use a swivel knife, so for now it's the other stuff.

Pat

PS Having a hard time managing attachments. Sorry if they come up in weird places.

[Ian]

Truly the Lord has blessed me with the ability to earn a living doing something I truly love. Ronny

Giving credit where credit is due - Very nice.

I heard a quotation this week that really struck home. Actually it's from the Koran. To paraphrase; "Never be arrogant of your own success. All success belongs to God"

Another thing that stuck out is when I visited Hancock Shaker Village (a religious enclave, now a museum). When asked how he achieved such flawless results in making his furniture, the Shaker craftsman replied "Everything I do, I do as though I am presenting it to God as thanks for the gifts he's given me"

I always fall short of that goal, but never quit trying to achieve the results that would be worthy of what I have been given. I hope I can get close to that goal in the time I have left here.

[ArtS]

I'm in IT. I was a Network Engineer for BellSouth working on Business internet turnups. Then I was made the manager for the team. Then AT&T bought us.

I also went to Art school for commercial art but that was always a side line.

I grew up loving animals and our trips to farms. I always begged for a horse ( I wanted to be like my childhood hero Roy Rogers). Never could afford one though until I got out on my own. I got into it big time first working part time on a Dressage manor. I learned a lot there and got free riding lessons. Then I got my first horse - a really green Arabian then another one. I trained and showed them. Took me a few years to realize showing wasn't making me happy. Started trail riding and fell in love with it.

When I started riding I didn't have time for the art work any longer. Wife, kids, work and horses just didn't leave much time for it. Then one day I figured if I couldn't really afford the saddle that I wanted I'd make it. I got some tools and a stitching pony at a flea marker and started learning on my own. Then about a year later I got in touch with a saddle maker. Then I really started to learn something and fell in love with leather working and saddle making.

I love being able to make my riding friends items that they can use and that I can also use my art background to design. Functional art work!

[Lee]

Howdy Gang

I am curious what does every one do for making money.

I am a finsh carpenter cabnet/furniture maker and builder been doing it since I was 16.

Josh

Hi just signed on to this group a couple of days ago. I must say this is a very eclectic group, everything from porn to aero space. I'm four years away from retirement as a rail conductor. After I retire I hope to build muzzle loading rifles and leather goods when I have the time to do them justice. Lee

[flyingcuda]

i opened my own lingerie store last year..before the "economic crisis" i feature lingerie for the full figured woman...meaning the normal lady! i also carry for the tiny ones as well. i have a corner dedicated to accesories for adult play time sorry, couldn't resist. i also do the leatherworking there. i have 3 kids out of 4 still at home...under 13...so being able to do my leatherworking at work is great...no fighting, crying or yelling to distract me...well except when i do it!

[claybuster101]

Our store motto was " If your Dinghy is limp, we can fix it ". Servicing Inflatable Boats, River Rafts and the like. For several years we have also repaired Inflatable Bounce Castles (Moonwalks) here in SE Michigan. I am also an NRA instructor. We produced a really unique "Rapid Response Assualt Vessel" that is currently being tested by Uncle Sam. Along with Inflatable Boats we still find time to do some salvage diving, mostly for lost items overboard at dockside, rings, Rolex watches, bracelets etc.