Hello From Maine

[Ingrid H]

Hello there! I'm new to your forum and wanted to introduce myself. I'm a carpenter by trade but a serial hobbyist in my spare time. I'm a dog lover and got into leather working through my passion for dogs, learning new things, and wanting to DIY when a dog collar can cost $150!

This is a close copy of that collar I couldn't bring myself to spend $150 on:

This is a collar I called "Owe Canada" because I soldered rivets to the back side of Canadian pennies and put them on a dog collar:

I made back my investment on buying tools and materials and supported my collar making hobby as well as donations to Doberman rescues and local shelters by making my most popular model:

I've done tutorials on basic leather working for fellow dog lovers:

Made some more complicated leashes:

But I burned out on the dog stuff. I set out to do really custom work, but I allowed my customers to push me too far and wound up quitting. Before I closed my little "shop", I started getting into something completely different and more complicated than dog collars.

This is my first and only project that involved stamping and hand sewing. It's obviously not finished or right. I never planned ahead for a clasp, and the stitching on the strap is "faux" because after I went to stitch it, I realized that the d-ring wouldn't have enough room:

I'm not going to try to make any money at purse making, but the sting of quitting my collar business is going away and I'm looking into new stuff to do with leather.

[MonicaJacobson]

That is a beautiful bag. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have any trouble making money with purse making. You could always do an online store (or local) and say you don't do custom, but you'll make stuff, and if someone happens to like it, you'll sell it to them. I've done it that way up until this year, and it's been great. I've been doing a lot of custom work over the last couple of months, and I'm not having time to develop new ideas!

Anyway, your dog collars are awesome, too. I look forward to seeing what else you make!

[Ingrid H]

That is a beautiful bag. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have any trouble making money with purse making. You could always do an online store (or local) and say you don't do custom, but you'll make stuff, and if someone happens to like it, you'll sell it to them. I've done it that way up until this year, and it's been great. I've been doing a lot of custom work over the last couple of months, and I'm not having time to develop new ideas!

Anyway, your dog collars are awesome, too. I look forward to seeing what else you make!

Thank you Monica If I ever try to make money again in leather working, it will be on my own terms. Right now I'm just looking around for my next hobby project and to learn more leather working techniques. I'm currently fascinated with the wet molding techniques I'm seeing here on the forum.

[King's X]

Welcome to the forum.......nice work you have there!

[Wild Bill46]

Ingrid; -----------------------

Welcome to LWN the best leather site anywhere !

Your Dog collar is a thuing of beauty ! Congratulations !

And too, your bag is quite nice, even with your mishap.

Monica, among other craftspeople here, do many really nice looking bags !

Once the leather bug bites you, you'll be smitten for life, .

If you'll embrace it, you'll learn to do many different things ! ------------------ Wild Bill46