ClayB Report post Posted November 11, 2009 I've been asked to teach an embossed wren class at the Tandy Leather Factory store in Fargo, ND. We're shooting for December 11th and 12th, weather permitting. If anyone is interested in taking the class, contact Mark Norquist Manager Tandy Leather Factory #170 1617 32nd Ave. S, Suit O Fargo, ND 58103 Phone:701-235-4005 Fax:701-235-2775 E-mail Here's a picture of what we are going to be doing. Even if you're not interested in taking the class, but are in the area, stop in, I'd love to meet you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sdkid Report post Posted November 11, 2009 I didn't know there was a store in Fargo. Is it new? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ClayB Report post Posted November 11, 2009 It's fairly new, I think it opened about 6 months ago. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sdkid Report post Posted November 12, 2009 Stopped in and checked the place out this afternoon. Chatted with Mark a little too. Nice guy, nice place, and I dropped a few bucks. I don't think I will be able to make it in Dec though, hope some others from the board can though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ClayB Report post Posted December 15, 2009 Friday morning I headed to Fargo, ND to teach a leather class at the Tandy Leather Factory store. When Mark asked me to teach this class in the middle of December, I made him promise nice weather and he came through. After a week of sub zero temperatures, it was 16 degrees when we left home. On Saturday it was in the 20's in Fargo. I should have made him promise a month of nice weather! As soon as the class was over, it was back into the deep freeze for us. We ended up with four students in the class, Mark (the store manager) Dave Peterson ( my friend from Bismark) and Bob and Zack from MN. Zack is an 11 year old boy with a lot of talent. It was pretty impressive to watch him work for a very long 10 hour day on Saturday. Everyone's projects turned out very well and they all seemed pretty happy when they were done. A few challenges presented themselves during this class. I decided instead of packing a can of rubber cement and taking it with to the class, I'd just pick one up when I got there. I'd completely forgotten that Tandy had re-formulated their rubber cement and never gave a thought to the fact that it might be different in any way. Rubber cement is rubber cement, right?? Well, apparently not. On Friday night we carved, embossed and filled in the backs of our projects with putty. We quit there for the night to let the putty dry. When we got back Saturday morning, we got a surprise. All of our projects had a spot on the front where they had been touching the marble slabs overnight. The rubber cement from the putty had soaked through the leather. This was a little disturbing because I had now idea how it would affect the outcome of our project. I was pretty sure that when we did the feathering and then painted the wren, it would cover up these spots and I was right. Whew!!! I'll know next time to not let the area where the putty is set against the marble when it's drying. I guess that's why whenever I've taken a class with Jan Schoonover, he hangs the projects up at night to dry. Lesson learned by the teacher!! The next challenge came when we learned that this rubber cement, while extremely sticky, doesn't dry when mixed into putty. This caused me to have to go to plan B when it came to working the feather areas. Usually we'd have beveled the feathers prior to using the hairing tool to give them texture. Since the putty didn't dry and was very mushy underneath, we just shaped the feathers with a modeling tool. Once again, this seemed to work. Next time I teach a class, I'll be sure to try out all the products I'm going to be using in the class to make sure they work the way I need them too. One thing that I've noticed in a lot of the classes that I've taken over the years is that a lot of times we seem to be running out of time when we get to the painting part of the class and we get rushed through it. When I decided to start teaching, I really wanted to make sure that didn't happen, but at the first class I taught in Rapid City earlier this year, it did. This time I started a little earlier and ran a little longer and we ended up with plenty of time to color our wrens. I really wanted to share some of the tips that I have learned and it was really nice when Dave came up to me after the class and said, "out of all the classes I've taken, this is the first time I've been happy with the coloring on my finished project". We decided that they wouldn't spend the time coloring the background on their projects, but instead, I just quickly showed them the process that I have been using to do that. I want to thank Mark once again for inviting me to spend some time with him and some of his customers at the store. I hope we get to do it again sometime. Here's some pictures that Mark took during the class. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MuseEvolution Report post Posted December 16, 2009 I'd like to thank you personally for visiting our store in Fargo and teaching this class, Clay. Hopefully the next time around I'll get to take the class while Mark helps our customers. We opened our store on June 18th. I actually hired on July 6th and have loved every minute of it since. I'd done a bit of leatherwork in Boy Scouts, but starting at Tandy was something of a crash course for me. - Steve Kok Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ClayB Report post Posted December 16, 2009 Hi Steve, It was nice to meet you and Mark and it was a pleasure to teach a class there. Looks like you guys are doing a great job there. I hope to get a chance to come back someday and when I do, I hope you'll get to be in the class too! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
