Hello From Switzerland!

[Blackbirdhills Andy]

Hi all,

My name's Andy and I'm working as a self employed
graphic designer here in switzerland.
I started working with leather in 2013. Not willing to
support the throw-away-society we're living in,
my goal right from the beginning was to make rugged,
durable goods and not following any trends...

With studying many old pieces and having one of the
best western saddle makers as a "mentor", I've
learned a lot in a very short time.

I'm only sewing by hand, the old-school way, almost
everything is made as they did it a 100 years ago,
and I'm trying to keep up with the quality standards
of the old time.

I recently found this platform here and I'm very thankful
for all the posts and "how to" infos.
Also since I'm still quite new to leather working,
constructive criticsm is always welcome and I'm trying to
learn from it!

I'm currently planning to make my very first saddle in
2015, an internship to do this would be great,
so if anyone here is willing to teach me, I'll be willing
to travel! :-)

Thanks for reading,

Andy

Edited October 9, 2014 by Blackbirdhills Andy

[Davy]

Keep that thought process alive and you'll do well . Good luck!!!!!!!

[Blackbirdhills Andy]

Thanks Davy,

It's more like an obsession though! Haha :-)

[Jimbob]

Jo Gruizi mittanand...

Wo aus welchem Gaeu in der Schwitz bist auch du...??

Good to have you on here and good to hear there are still people doing it the old way....you wont make any money like that but it makes you feel good....haha...

Been many times in your woods all over the place with the 'ol BMW and later with Guzzi's.....always loved the Liter Flaschen Bier...heheheee...

Hope to see more of your work and hopefully your company name will be one day in echt schwitzerisch !!! )

Me escaped from around Esslingen am Neckar....many moons ago, now living in SW VA...

Keep it up and have fun

Welcome to the forum !!!

James

[King's X]

Hello Andy and welcome to the forum. You have some nice work posted.

[Blackbirdhills Andy]

Jo Gruizi mittanand...

Wo aus welchem Gaeu in der Schwitz bist auch du...??

Good to have you on here and good to hear there are still people doing it the old way....you wont make any money like that but it makes you feel good....haha...

Been many times in your woods all over the place with the 'ol BMW and later with Guzzi's.....always loved the Liter Flaschen Bier...heheheee...

Hope to see more of your work and hopefully your company name will be one day in echt schwitzerisch !!! )

Me escaped from around Esslingen am Neckar....many moons ago, now living in SW VA...

Keep it up and have fun

Welcome to the forum !!!

James

Hey James, "Sälüü!" :-)

I'm living in the Kanton Fribourg, near Bern (speaking swiss german).

I'm living a simple life with little money (which is'nt always easy in switzerland),

so it's more a "saving money" question than a "making money" one... haha

Serious, I'm making a lot of my stuff for the everyday use, for riding, canoeing etc.

by myself.

This way I have the real deal and don't have to spend a fortune for it...

Also, I found out that-if people see how the stuff is done-are willing to pay a fair

price, and I hope that's gonna continue with the bigger projects I'm planning...

I'm planning to sell my stuff on some Arts and Crafts Market in 2015, I can

tell you more then... ;-)

About the name: Yeah I know, I was thinking about changing the name- not into

swiss german, but into german... But then again, I have nice Hangtags

which where screenprinted by hand by a friend of mine, and I have all the other

things with my logo on... So it's quite a decision to make... :-)

You found a nice place there, I was visiting the USA a year ago, and I love

Virginia and the Appalachian Mountains. Great Music Heritage!

All the best,

Andy

Edited October 10, 2014 by Blackbirdhills Andy

[Blackbirdhills Andy]

Hi Kings'X,

Thanks, seems to be a very nice community here! :-)

I love your work, I'm honored about your kind words!

Thanks a lot,

Andy

[MonicaJacobson]

Hi Andy, I really like your work! Also, the information page you've inserted it into is really cool and professional looking.

[Blackbirdhills Andy]

Hi Monica,

Thanks a lot! And let me say: I like your work too! Specially those fiddle/mandolin influenced bags are very pretty! Do you still sew by hand?

Sorry; I just saw that your stuff is hand-stitched! Very nice! :-)

[MonicaJacobson]

Thanks, Andy, yes, I'm scared of machines. So yeah... and I like my leatherworking to be a calm experience, rather than a super efficient one.

[Blackbirdhills Andy]

Monica,

That's exactly why I love hand-stitching! :-) Machines are way to fast for me, and I like to be in control of my work! Also, everytime I'm making a new piece, when I'm done with pattern making and cutting etc, I'm really excited about bringing all the things together by hand... It's almost a meditative experience... :-) I often do the sewing on my front-porch, that's even better! :-)

[MonicaJacobson]

I wish I had the patience to be meditative; I love to listen to audiobooks while I sew. I go through about one a bag, which is fun. I sometimes try to sew on my front porch while my kids bike around, but the mosquitoes are still too bad. Give them another 2 weeks, and they'll all be dead. (I hope!) Between kids and mosquitoes, I very much doubt my front porch experience is the same as yours.

But yes, I know what you mean. I don't really enjoy the pattern making or cutting out. I consider that a chore, and I get very excited when it's time to sew it all together. It'd be a bummer if the cutting out and pattern making was the longest part of the work.

[Blackbirdhills Andy]

Exactly! Hope those Mosquitos are gone soon, I know how they suck! (literally! haha)

Here's a -not so good- picture of that frontporch expirience; no kids, just my dog and some birds... :-)

I'm currently getting into the whole tooling thing. that'll bring the two things together: my graphic design and the leather work, I have lots of ideas and I'm lookin forward to share some of my first carvings/toolings with you guys here... But first I have to finish my new workbench! :-)

[MonicaJacobson]

Ha ha, yeah, that's not at all like my front porch. Mine is a postman's death trap of kid bikes. We call it a burglar deterrent. Nice looking dog and belt, btw.

Well, I look forward to seeing what you make! Leatherworking is so awesome, because people approach it in much the same way, but the outcome is almost entirely unpredictable and interesting.

[Jimbob]

Andy

Yes, Bern....cool place...been there few times....matter a fact I went to my very first Pro knife show to Bern and was hooked into knive making !!!

We rode many miles around there and other places in drr Schwiitz....love it !!!

Your work is extra cool and you kind of thinking too...keep it up !!

Greetings

Now I have to go outside and see how to get my 250 pound sewing machine on my porch....szzzzz....I wanna relax too....;0

[Blackbirdhills Andy]

Haha, good one james! :-)

Another PLUS for the Hand-Stitch!

Ah nice, never been to a knife show here, but sure love knifes! :-) I always feel like a little boy again when I'm stepping into a knife shop! haha :-)

I have my 100 year old victoria knife with me all the time! (The 1st picture is how it looked when I found it, Pic2+3 I've treated it with some polish and love! ;-)

Edited October 13, 2014 by Blackbirdhills Andy