Members TheCleverLeather Posted January 30, 2013 Members Report Posted January 30, 2013 Hi! My name is Cathy and I reside in Ohio. Many years ago, I had to give up leather crafting to work fulltime+ and raise my children. Well, now that the kids are grown, and I became unemployed last spring, I picked up the craft again, thanks to the encouragement of my kids! Wow! I sure did forget how therapeutic this is!! Anyway, This past fall, I started selling at craft shows and designing my own wallets, trinket boxes and molded masks, etc...I am hoping to learn from others here about tooling tips and more. Here are a couple of my pics to show you: Quote
Contributing Member Ferg Posted January 30, 2013 Contributing Member Report Posted January 30, 2013 A fellow Ohioan. Only real fault I have with your products? Too shiny. You are good enough to try some larger products. Good luck ferg Quote
Members David8386 Posted January 30, 2013 Members Report Posted January 30, 2013 Welcome to the forum. David Quote
Members bluesman1951 Posted January 31, 2013 Members Report Posted January 31, 2013 I like your work ,I also agree with 50 years leather "Too Much Shine" . From a money stand point I would focus on your masks and the naughty side it brings out in people . That in my opinion is a retail winner with lots of directions to go in . Spice up your booth and imply "Naughty" its just crazy enough to be stacking up the dollars . I tried bracelets some years back : result ,in stores with a high traffic volume they were having birthdays on the shelf . Not a good thing . After a month I dropped that line of stuff and will not be bringing it back . My suggestion is take the time spent on those and do a hot looking chocker ( Not with bone or native American looking) Go for the high end jewellery look with sparkle and flash . Something for the bedroom and the night club look. Marry that with your masks and you will have a attention getter at the shows . All you need is a chance to sell and that requires getting their attention and getting them to stop . Put your chokers and your masks in a custom box and sell as a unit, the steam punk design with the gears is a good idea . Here your market focus should be "Bridal Shower Gifts " Combining items allows for a hefty price upgrade . I am just thinking out loud here so take my words or pass them by . You have a good line of stuff and a tiny bit of tweaking will make you smile all the way to the bank . Just think "Its all about having fun " Bill Quote
Members Dwight Posted January 31, 2013 Members Report Posted January 31, 2013 Hey, Cathy, . . . fellow buckeye here, . . . near the Marion area. I'm a holster, belt, scabbard, sheath, gun bag guy, . . . quit wallets after both of the first two were super successes. Ain't pushing that luck. Anyway, . . . welcome, . . . May God bless, Dwight Quote
Members TheCleverLeather Posted February 1, 2013 Author Members Report Posted February 1, 2013 Thanks for the acceptance here and thanks for the input! Is there any way I can dull the shine? Ferg - This stuff all has super shene on it because I didn't know what else to use. Any sugestions? Dwight - I'm in NW by the lake. Bill - I'm already on it. Making glam and bling chokers to go with the masks. What you didn't see on the display table were the leather thong undies with lace. . Quote
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