outdoorblonde Report post Posted October 14, 2015 Hello from Northwestern MN! I stumbled upon this forum and boy I wish I would have found you people earlier. I farm and have a small dog collar business on the side. I'm also very active with my dogs in areas of agility, flyball, dock diving, hunting, shed hunting and herding. I help others train their dogs too! I'm heavily into rescue work and have been known to foster up to 10-20 dogs a year. Outdoors is where I prefer to be, I'm a creative soul that loves to try new things. I tend to jump in and learn as I'm doing. My business is called Off Leash Collars. Since 2011, I have specialized in fabric dog collars and a little over ago, I started working with leather. I fell in LOVE with the leather medium and after much investment, I'm selling leather dog collars alongside my fabric ones. I also make memory leather cuffs and add a hand stamped name or saying to help people grieve the loss of a loved one. I am self taught and have learned mostly by trial and error. I have learned so much over the course of the year and I want to learn more. My craft has evolved so much and there are tricks to everything. I've searched for so many places to learn in person or a mentor since I'm such a hands on type person, but I have failed at finding any schooling type places. When I found this forum yesterday I was on cloud 9! My goal is to have a finished product to die for. Us crazy dog people love to deck out our pups! I'm needing help to make those tweaks in looking seriously professional, not just artisan. I have companies that are looking at my work and want to offer my collars for sale on their sites. Which brings up another topic of how much to charge. I've included a picture of one of my collars, all my other pictures are apparently too big to add Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Art Report post Posted October 14, 2015 Your collars look very good. I would suggest you also make Orange covers for them for wear during hunting season (that's about 3 months down here). You can make them out of two pieces of Orange BioThane somewhat wider than the collar sewn together. The BioThane wears pretty well and is something any good hunter recognizes. You will sell more of these than you sell collars. Art Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
outdoorblonde Report post Posted October 14, 2015 Art, Fabulous idea. I have not sourced biothane, but I have used it in long lines when I train. Any good sources? This collar is nearly 2" at it's widest, can you buy biothane in sheets? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Art Report post Posted October 14, 2015 Art, Fabulous idea. I have not sourced biothane, but I have used it in long lines when I train. Any good sources? This collar is nearly 2" at it's widest, can you buy biothane in sheets? You can get 3" and I think 4" rolls, I've never bought it in sheets. I buy from Beilers, only because my daughter lives up there and can call in an order or pick it up if they have it in stock. I'd give BioThane a call and see if they can ship it to you. Art Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Colt W Knight Report post Posted October 14, 2015 Howdy I had an orange biothane collar on my Beagle from the time he was a pup til he died. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JLSleather Report post Posted October 14, 2015 We've been here.. sent messages, but they may have hit a cold front north of the twin cities and got stalled on the way to you Collar looks good.. very trim. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zuludog Report post Posted October 15, 2015 Think carefully about trying to get too perfect a finish, or supplying professional outlets. Your selling point is that you make collars that are individual, handmade, custom and so on; people will like them because they look artisan made, but good quality, and be more willing to pay for a unique item. Once you try to compete with commercially manufactured products in both finish and quantity you may well find that; your enthusiasm & interest quickly disappears; you're tempted to buy expensive tools & machinery; you've committed yourself to a large order and what was reasonably interesting has become a task. You'll also find that you have to compete much more on price Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thor Report post Posted October 15, 2015 We've been successfully hiding until you found us Looks like you won. Welcome to the forum. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LeatherNerd Report post Posted October 17, 2015 (edited) Look fantastic! I especially love the mix of materials and the attention to detail, such as the peening around the corners of the metal tag. The soft lining looks fresh and new and warm and inviting. The rivets and the tag look like they've already been to see the world, had a great time, got broken in perfectly, and can't wait for the next trip. Absolutely gorgeous. +1 what zuludog said. That collar is art. I would pay a premium for that kind of hand-crafted, loving attention to detail. Seeing it at a mass retailer makes me start comparing it to any old $9.96 collar at Wal-Mart. I'm not recommending against it necessarily, so much as I second the "think carefully" part. If a professional retailer can market you as exotic, scarce, and "exclusively at our outlets" or whatever, then it may be worth it. If they just want to put it on a shelf or in an online catalog, it'll devalue your work. When I buy something online, I consider it a defect rather than a feature to read "handmade items; may vary from pictured". It means some faceless person is going to give me something different than what I'm ordering. The problem is NOT the handmade difference; the problem is the faceless presentation. These collars need to be handed to someone--or very nearly so. Etsy might be a good place to look into, where sellers and buyers are often in close personal contact. That collar above needs to be presented as the kind of treasure it is. Even if you scale up your production, preserve this aspect of uniqueness and originality so that every time they grab their dog by the collar, the feel of the suede and the leather remind them that they're holding a "Jane Smith Original" that is as unique and special as their dog. I wish you the best in however you decide to pursue it. If the professional outlet can deliver enough volume for it to be worth it for you to simplify and streamline your product, that's a valid choice. Either way I hope you have many years of success doing what you love. Again, absolutely beautiful! Welcome! Dave (Total newbie to leather, but a couple decades consulting for small- and micro-businesses) Edited October 17, 2015 by LeatherNerd Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BondoBobCustomSaddles Report post Posted October 18, 2015 Welcome to the forum, you will find all kinds of help from really good artisans here. One tip, someone on here gave a while ago, (it might have been Art of Wiz) when stitching through bio-thane use a needle that is 2 or 3 sizes larger than what you use for regular leather. The bio-thane has a tendency to close around the top thread and grip it at the bottom of the travel and cause a really ugly mess on the bottom, even with high tension on top thread. Bob Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Colt W Knight Report post Posted October 18, 2015 Welcome to the forum, you will find all kinds of help from really good artisans here. One tip, someone on here gave a while ago, (it might have been Art of Wiz) when stitching through bio-thane use a needle that is 2 or 3 sizes larger than what you use for regular leather. The bio-thane has a tendency to close around the top thread and grip it at the bottom of the travel and cause a really ugly mess on the bottom, even with high tension on top thread. Bob I had to step up a few sizes to sew biothane material on my machine. i wasted a lot of thread till I got that one figured out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
