TheSenescent Report post Posted July 15, 2014 Hello leatherworkers of Leatherworker.net! After some searching for a good place to bring an idea of mine to life, I was recommended this forum by a Reddit user. The project, as you may have guessed, is a personalized leather journal. Here are the specifics that I'd like it to have: 8 1/2 inches x 6 inches x 1 inch, Height, Width, and Depth respectively. Depth doesn't have to be exact, but I'd like it to have that level of thickness. (Paper included.) I'd really love a dark, rustic brown sort of like this picture. In addition to that, I'm looking to have a dreamcatcher tooled/imprinted/however it's done onto the cover of the journal. This one in specific. Although not entirely necessary, I'd like to have some things printed or written fancily on the first few pages of the journal. (It would have blank pages throughout.) If you can't do that, it's fine and I'll seek that service elsewhere, but if you can include it that'd be awesome. My budget at the moment is $25. Suggesting I get hired in the next week or so, I could negotiate something higher, but I received a quote from someone else that was around $25 (I'm asking here because that leatherworker wouldn't be available until mid-August, and I'd like to receive this item sooner.) If you'd be willing to take on this project for me, I'd really appreciate it! The price is, of course, negotiable. I'm looking forward to your responses and I'm open to suggestions about more efficient colors/ways to go about doing this, as I'm not familiar with leatherworking in the least bit. Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Quillleather Report post Posted July 16, 2014 Not trying to be rude, but $25 is on the low side. That may only cover materials. A leatherworker could easily spend a couple days time , a few hours each day, making what you have described, depending on how much detail n tooling and such things. They have purchased special tools that allow them to do things with leather that majority can not or will not try. Personalization, to have the only one in the world, what is it worth? What is the workers time spent at a bench worth? Minimum wage? for 16 hours would be $112 just for time/ labor, not including materials. Even if only 4 hours were spent, 4x7(min wage)= $28+ Add materials... Over $50 easy....Is a leatherworkers time, tools, knowledge, craftsmanship, etc. worth more than min wage? I would say it is. Just a few things to think about... And remember , quality handmade leatherwork will be passed down generations, store bought will be passed into a trash can in a couple years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheSenescent Report post Posted July 16, 2014 I hadn't meant to offend. I am honestly not familiar with leatherworking or its costs, and I'm glad you corrected me on these ideas. I'll gladly pay what the worker feels appropriate when I have the funds, and whenever the work starts or how much it costs is definitely a negotiable thing. I wouldn't want anyone to think that I'd force a low price on their quality work - I just didn't know where to start. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheSenescent Report post Posted July 16, 2014 I can't quite figure out how to edit my posts here, but I'd like to inform everyone that I have someone working on the project. Thanks for your time! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
