Zhen Hai Lee

[JohnBarton]

Zhen Hai Lee has been with me almost two years. He started out doing contract work for me and I asked him if he wouldn't like to come to work full time. He came from a backwater city in China where he feared that he would be caught up working for that place's equivalent of the mafia. Being a tattoo artist as well as a leather worker he was doing tats for a lot of the local gangsters. He didn't tell me this because he doesn't talk about those things to his "boss" but he did tell my mother in law all about it and that he is very grateful to have been able to bring his family to a safer and secure environment.

This is some of the work he does for himself to supplement the income he makes from me. Some of these pieces are sold for more than $200 in China to Chinese customers. Each one is completely hand made by him and his wife in their apartment. Today we had a talk and he wanted me to express to all of you here that he is very grateful that a site like this exists for him to learn from. Even though he can't read it we have translated a lot of the techniques and tutorials from LW for him.

Together we are building some nice cue cases. By himself he is building some really nice leather goods. I hope you like them.

If you want to browse yourself then check out his TaoBao website: http://shop34439126.taobao.com/

Edited April 8, 2009 by JohnBarton

[tonyc1]

Is that Mao on the wallet, John?

Tony.

[JohnBarton]

Is that Mao on the wallet, John?

Tony.

Yes it is. (I am fairly sure)

[Tina]

Nice work, I really like the wallet with the snake and the first one with the knife scrolls, sweet:-)

[Kustom]

John,

Very cool. Since he's a tattoo artist as well it would be great to see him make some tattoo art inspire leather things.

[leatheroo]

great work, i love seeing work from other countries. the snake skin work is my favorite...the piece here as well as the other pieces on his website

[JohnBarton]

John,

Very cool. Since he's a tattoo artist as well it would be great to see him make some tattoo art inspire leather things.

We did this case based on the customer's body art;

[Tina]

We did this case based on the customer's body art;

I Love this one, must be one of the best I've seen. The design and the coloring is both very appealing

[Kustom]

We did this case based on the customer's body art;

That's what I'm talking about. Very cool and original.

[PANTHER]

John and Zhen

That case is outstanding!! I think it is the best I have ever seen. Wonderful job.

Panther

[Tkleather1]

this stuff is frickin amazing.

how did you color the case based on the body art?

[TomSwede]

You have a very gifted tooler John!!!!

Lovely leather art!!!

Tom

[RustyMelton]

I like the way the tooling comes up onto the lid of the cue case, it makes for a cool effect. I think his black bag he made is super nice too.

[SteveBrambley]

That's some very fine work, excellent!

Steve

[JohnBarton]

Thanks everyone.

The Doc Cue case was done based on the customer's back piece, a small tombstone on the leg and the fact that he was a medic in Vietnam.

It took me a year to figure out what I wanted to do on this case. I thought about it a lot. The customer's back is fully tattooed with a Japanese samurai who is also an outlaw as depicted by the body suit he has tattooed on him. He is fighting his oni's or inner demons. So I had Zhen Hai draw this up and we refined it until we were both happy with it. I went through half a sketch book doodling versions before settling on this one.

The clouds swirling around the front symbolize confusion giving way to clarity. The Combat Medical Badge on the lid sits as the highest layer on the case to stand for the service above all and that remembering that clears away the pain.

The lower pocket has the small tombstone that remembers fallen brothers.

While I had the idea in my head of what it should look like Zhen Hai really brought it to life in a way that I never could on my own. He has a great way with shading that works well. I give him a lot of critique from an art director's standpoint but it's just the equivalent of filing away the rough edges on a great piece.

I'd like to think that I have given him a platform to become a better tooler and a place to grow as an artist. I am pretty proud of how far he has come since the first pieces he did as contract work. Back then I was working with other toolers who were technically better but he showed me that he really wanted to get better and be creative. And he is.

The next case I have to show you all later is going to be out of this world. But I promised the customer that I would let him debut it so it will be another month before it's done.

[bobocat]

Zhen Hai Lee,Your work is very good. your work is better and better now.

JohnBarton,I will go to tianjin of China to teach the leathercarft class on the button of May. If I have a chance to go to xiamen,I will go to visit you and Zhen and longway.

bobocat

[zhh660626]

漂亮作品。

[Brandon]

I do wish that your site's background music is Chinese, like "One Night In Beijin".

Beautiful work !

漂亮作品。