And they call themselves leather workers

[Cumberland Highpower]

23 hours ago, fredk said:

A. inform local trading standards offices of your concerns. I'm thinking that most places have such located at, in or near the local town hall

B. Many years ago now, about 15, I was in touch with my TSO;,  In the EU 'Leather' is no longer just the material made from the skins of animals, its just a describer. In the same way 'cloth' can be used for wool, cotton, silk

Perhaps so.  Only experience I have with buying leather goods from the EU was in 2011 during the recession.   I ordered a pair of new  "Made in EU" "genuine leather" couches sight unseen from a local discount furniture outlet.  Paid $650 a piece and was expecting not all that much.  When they came in, the packing was marked Made in Italy everywhere, and they were 100% leather.  Napoli I believe.  Not a scrap of vinyl to be found, even on the backs.  A great buy and I still have them.

[Handstitched]

Geez, I'm onto my second box    

Its now becoming ' hand made vs mass produced' 

HS

[Cumberland Highpower]

18 hours ago, Dwight said:

No argument with much of what you said . . . just one to mention . . . I bought the jacket from Pakistan . . . simply because it was the only place I could find that had the style jacket I wanted . . . AND . . . would make the alterations I wanted.  I happen to be one of those long legged, long armed hillbillys that's hard to fit in anything mass produced.

I simply could not find one here in the states . . . at any price point.  So in that case it is you do what ya gotta do to get what you want.

My main gripe was the advertisement of "leather goods" in the stores I visited . . . and a huge bunch of it was vinyl/cloth leather look alike.  The leather jackets they were offering did not have an origin tag . . . but they were sloppy made . . . positively ugly . . . and there was no one there to say "how can we get you what you want" . . . it was more "thats what we got . . . buy it or leave" . . . 

The belts were imitation hand made . . . I would not have worn one to a dog fight . . . and like I said . . . there were many of the ones made from glued and pressed leather remnants . . . started at 26 bucks and they went up from there.

I think they were trying to interest the "wanna be" cowboy / cowgirl crowd . . . as some of them were just audacious in their design . . . 

And I am . . . halfway between a hobbyist and making a living . . . it's a part time job where I make custom holsters, belts, knife sheaths, ax sheaths, and other stuff.  I've repaired saddles, made halters, made chinks and chaps,  even made a USMC style hat from leather.  It is a one man operation . . . but if I had started this a number of years back  . . . I can see myself with 2 or 3 or 4 trusted employees . . . earning a living with leather . . . together.  And you are totally correct in the description you gave of that gambit . . . tough sledding for sure.

But in the end . . . big company or small . . . one man or many . . . giving the customer a product that could possibly go down to his grandchildren . . .because it was well designed . . .. well made . . . etc. . . . that's my goal in leatherwork.  

Two holsters went out of here Saturday . . . I have no doubt that at least children will inherit them . . . and they could easily be passed on to the grandchildren.  Another one and a belt to match will go out sometime this week . . . with the same perceived destination.

May God bless,

Dwight

 

 

 

 

I have no doubt you do good work. The holster in your profile photo looks well thought out and made.   It is possible to make a living from working leather although I'd advise against it.  It's what I've done for 15 years and I've thought allot about switching gears in life.  I work as a "subcontractor" of sorts for a couple big names and make my own lines of goods that I mostly rebrand.  I mostly come on here to discuss machines and ask for input, thoughts, etc.  I almost never talk about the actual items we make, it's a mix of paranoia and reluctance-lol.   

[SUP]

@Handstitched . 

[chuck123wapati]

6 hours ago, Handstitched said:

Geez, I'm onto my second box    

Its now becoming ' hand made vs mass produced' 

HS

baked garbanzo beans!!! 

drain em, pat dry, coat with olive oil add your favorite spices and bake on a cookie sheet until crunchy. I like creole seasoning on mine.

[Dwight]

Last bout with popcorn cost me 382 bucks . . . and a solid hour in one of them there dentist chairs.

And it was the soft stuff . . . no kernals.

Sticking to Doritos Nachos . . . 

May God bless,

Dwight

[Handstitched]

7 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

baked garbanzo beans!!! 

I had to google that, chic peas.Sounds delish, and morish  

HS

[Klara]

20 hours ago, Cumberland Highpower said:

Perhaps so.  ...  I ordered a pair of new  "Made in EU" "genuine leather" couches sight unseen from a local discount furniture outlet.... they were 100% leather. 

No, not so, as I have pointed out (France is in the EU!) If it is called leather (cuir, Leder, cuero or whatever), it is tanned animal skin. And an expression like vegan leather is illegal, because it creates a false impression. Man-made materials must be correctly named.

Trade standards are fairly strict over here...

 

Edited September 12, 2023 by Klara

[Cumberland Highpower]

2 hours ago, Klara said:

No, not so, as I have pointed out (France is in the EU!) If it is called leather (cuir, Leder, cuero or whatever), it is tanned animal skin. And an expression like vegan leather is illegal, because it creates a false impression. Man-made materials must be correctly named.

Trade standards are fairly strict over here...

 

I don't get it?  So I guess my leather couches aren't leather?  I was trying to point out that I don't know if it's right or not, but rather that what I ordered was billed as leather and turned out to be leather.

I did about 5 min of research into EU "leather regulations" and I find them ranging to from somewhat absurd to the point of retardation.   It would appear for example, the import of leather goods is prohibited if "leather dust" in a significant amount detected on the goods.  How do they find out? A $200 fee for analysis on importation...Apparently all imported leather goods are supposed to be "tested" and number of tests varies on types of leather and colors present.......

My wife is from Europe and I've heard, probably hundreds of times over the years how you "cant do business over there."

Edited September 12, 2023 by Cumberland Highpower

[Klara]

I was assuming your "perhaps so" referred to fredk's claim (which you quoted) that a material called leather in Europe need not come from animals. And that is not the case, if it's called leather, it must be leather. As was the case for your couch. Fredk's adviser was either misinformed, regulations are complicated, as you have found out, or the regulations have changed since, which they do frequently. 

4 hours ago, Cumberland Highpower said:

My wife is from Europe and I've heard, probably hundreds of times over the years how you "cant do business over there."

Yep, that's the other side of the medal: If you try to protect consumers by applying strict regulations and standards, life becomes harder for manufacturers and sellers.