Some projects I've completed so far

[Ornyal]

Thank you all for your warm welcome and positive feedback!

 

@MarshalWill: I indeed went to your profile > activity > filtered through "topics" and found your first topic with the holster pictures here

@Doc Reaper : that's some solid advice. I keep all my patterns in tagged envelopes so I could indeed do more of the stuff I liked!

@Simplejack1985: thanks! I see room for improvement (sides stitch lines could be closer to the edge for instance), but it had been in my mind for a while when I made it, and overall it came out nice.

[Klara]

First of all, your pieces are beautiful and good enough for selling. But I wonder whether a general crafts fair, or even Etsy, is the best option. You seem to like making watch straps and I think they'll sell much better in places where watch lovers gather (real or virtual). Watch lovers think nothing about enhancing their € 1000 watch with a € 50 strap. Normal people think: "So much money for such a little thing? Are you crazy?"

It's probably the same for lovers of handbags or wallets, but I have no idea who they are  ;)

 

[Ornyal]

Hi Klara,

You are right indeed, I'm part of an online forum for whatches amateurs, and I share my work there, so people contact me for custom straps from time to time, I hope it catches from word of mouth and grows enough that I can focus more on this activity!

[Tugadude]

All of the work looks very nice and it is clear you are having fun!  I made a watch strap for an old Seiko that I purchased when I was in college way back in 1981, I think.  Hard to believe, but it is still working!  Zero maintenance and not much wear over the years, but just a little shake and presto!  

That Seiko 5 is a great watch.  It deserves a nice leather strap!

Your stitching looks very tidy on most of your work and I would say is even better than some handmade straps I see advertised for sale online.  

Keep having fun and keep us in the loop as you come up with new stuff!

[Ornyal]

Yeah, I'm very pleased with this little Seiko 5 too, it's discrete, functional and I not afraid of a trip in the wild. Thank you for the encouragement, I'll keep you posted !

[MarshalWill]

Thanks for the link, Ornyal. Yeah, that was when I first signed up on the forum. It's been a while.

[AussieTanker]

Some wonderful projects there.  I would be extremely surprised if you didn't sell pretty much all of them at some sort of craft fair! Well done!

Some wonderful projects there.  I would be extremely surprised if you didn't sell pretty much all of them at some sort of craft fair! Well done!

[Ornyal]

Hi! Hope everyone is doing well! Here are the recent project I've completed:

* A few keyrings for my parents & a couple of friends moving out

* A commissioned belt that for someone who wanted me to recreate an old belt they liked. The belt was from a well-known brand but despite being a bit costly (around $450) it was made out of bonded leather and machine sewn. I ended up recreating the exact same built but with higher quality leather, and I just kept the belt. Leather is semi-aniline finish (I had aniline as well but they wanted a very smooth leather), glued with water-based glue (aquagum), and saddle stitched with linen thread (Meisi, M40). I ended up trying edge paint for the first time (please don't hate), and picked Uniters over Edge Kote, because it holds a lot better from what I've read. I applied 5 coats, with sanding in between. There are a few things I'd do differently if I had to do it again, but overall, the belt turned out OK imo.

* Another small coing/bills pouch for a friend

 

 

[Klara]

Nice! What does the narrow strip of leather at the inside of the belt do?

The blue marbling on the pouches is beautiful as well - how did you apply the dye?

[Ornyal]

2 minutes ago, Klara said:

Nice! What does the narrow strip of leather at the inside of the belt do?

The blue marbling on the pouches is beautiful as well - how did you apply the dye?

Hi and thank you for your reply, I just realized the picture is indeed not very clear. The strip is here to keep the belt loop from being lost, here is a better picture.

Regarding the marbling I've bought the hide already dyed, so I'm afraid I can't help. I'd assume it's done with big brushed, but I can't tell for certain. Maybe someone here will know!