From selling some Native American-style flutes to learning leather tooling

[LakeOtter]

Hello and thanks for having me!

I am excited to immerse myself into carving leather, which I'd done a little of years ago.

Moving back to leather craft allows me to operate (on some level) with less space for all the machines I had to have for making Native American-style flutes, like two lathes end-to-end with a rifle boring drill modified for cutting wooden bores for woodwinds, etc... it may require a couple years practice before I'm comfortable selling anything, all over again (like it was with my better flutes), but I always did want to get back into tooling leather, so now's the time, since the plan to build a wood shop has fallen through (long story, it wound up costing twice what was expected to build the new shop on the new property... when I'd originally priced it, before selling my home and moving, two outbuilding/shed builders both lied about being licensed or insured). I didn't want to get set up to be sued, didn't have time to DIY being a contractor, and so I'm caving in and adapting to a smaller space, but still doing something I do love on the side (leather, now, again...not that I got really far with it before like I did flutes).

At least I made a splash in the flute world while I was there, and I will love the larger niche of leather tooling, esp. since I have unique spins in mind for the designs, which I hope someone will want (like Florida imagery for cowboys and cowgirls, here, instead of us all showing out-of-state flora and fauna on our leather in FL). Or a premium, hand-tooled leather patch on a trucker hat instead of the ubiquitous $4.90 laser patch or one-giant-stamp-smush. The cheap leather patch hats are popular (like Hat Bars mix and match tables at certain shows) and so I thought if someone is wearing a $450 tooled belt and expensive boots, mightn't they get a trucker hat to match that's got a hand-tooled leather patch instead of the $5 one?

Just a thought. And I have flute bags and other things in mind, maybe belts one day with lesser-common, FL imagery like hibiscus and manatees in between the acanthus leaves etc.)

Thanks again.

Jeff in FL

Stuff I was making before I moved (all out of stock indefinitely, nothing for sale):

https://otterlakeflutes.com/shop/

(you might have to dismiss a wordy farewell-for-now notice to the NAF community to view the page)

 

Edited June 8 by LakeOtter

[PastorBob]

Welcome to the forum from SW Missouri.  Look forward to seeing some of your FL inspired leatherwork.