Mark842 Report post Posted January 1, 2017 5 minutes ago, CaptQuirk said: If you are an artist, i.e., you make an artistic item. If you have people who like said items you make, and are willing to give you money, it becomes a business transaction. Making a lot of items, and are finding a good demand, it is a business. If you just do it, making artistic items, and don't care if anybody buys them or not, you just enjoy doing it... that is a pretty good thing in itself, and nothing at all wrong with that. Absolutely correct! My point is some seem to think if you happen to do it for a business that in their opinion you hurt the trade. As for the product being art, I hear it every day in customer comments. IMO most of what I sell to them is not art. If you want to consider a piece of leather cut by a clicker die to a certain shape and sewn art, that is up to you. It is an excellent quality product that anyone with the correct tools and the correct leather can make. I can tool quite good, I have an affinity for it but when push comes to shove I rarely have time to do it. From the dollar and sense point of view it makes no sense for me make a "work of art" because in the same period of time and can make more money selling the stuff I click out. The thing I don't understand is why it obviously offends some that some of us do this for a living. Our goal is to make a quality product, have fun and make money at it on the way. I love the fact that there are tons of highly skilled artisans in here making awesome products. A lot of them with skill far past anything I could ever do. I would never knock them for doing it first as art and if they happen to sell it, a business. I guess I'll just go back to not commenting on anything publicly in here and just PM those that I have built relationships. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CaptQuirk Report post Posted January 1, 2017 Just cutting out the leather and putting together the same thing that everyone else is doing, is not art. It is the little touches, the tooling and things, that set it apart from mass produced items. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MADMAX22 Report post Posted January 1, 2017 2 hours ago, Mark842 said: Absolutely correct! My point is some seem to think if you happen to do it for a business that in their opinion you hurt the trade. As for the product being art, I hear it every day in customer comments. IMO most of what I sell to them is not art. If you want to consider a piece of leather cut by a clicker die to a certain shape and sewn art, that is up to you. It is an excellent quality product that anyone with the correct tools and the correct leather can make. I can tool quite good, I have an affinity for it but when push comes to shove I rarely have time to do it. From the dollar and sense point of view it makes no sense for me make a "work of art" because in the same period of time and can make more money selling the stuff I click out. The thing I don't understand is why it obviously offends some that some of us do this for a living. Our goal is to make a quality product, have fun and make money at it on the way. I love the fact that there are tons of highly skilled artisans in here making awesome products. A lot of them with skill far past anything I could ever do. I would never knock them for doing it first as art and if they happen to sell it, a business. I guess I'll just go back to not commenting on anything publicly in here and just PM those that I have built relationships. Yet on the other hand there are a bunch around here that are offended by the guy making a few items in his spare room and selling them, apparently that competes with there business and they hate on them regardless of that persons skill set. There is a pretty well known sheath maker who had a big long tirade on there website about why you shouldnt buy from forum people with all kinds of belittling comments and what not. I remembered when they started out on forums and sent them an email about such and also pointed out many forum type people that make better items then they produce. Also pointed out I remember them asking a bunch of how too's on forums when they started. They never responded but did take down the page long anti basement maker lol. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CaptQuirk Report post Posted January 1, 2017 21 minutes ago, MADMAX22 said: Yet on the other hand there are a bunch around here that are offended by the guy making a few items in his spare room and selling them, apparently that competes with there business and they hate on them regardless of that persons skill set. I WISH I had a spare room when I started! I had to compete with the rest of the family for the dining table! And you are right, I suppose, about new people getting hate for making some money. But, there are a lot of folks who have guns/knives/whatever that they want a decent leather item for. And, judging by the amount of folks here, a whole lot more people making them. Is my holster better than the next guy's? Maybe not. But I do my best to make a decent item, and sell it for a decent price. I'm certainly not getting rich, but I do well enough to buy new tools and materials. If you can't compete, you are doing something wrong. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tnhomestead Report post Posted January 1, 2017 I do compete for the dining room table right now -- but i lost that battle! And the spare room too! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CaptQuirk Report post Posted January 1, 2017 I had to give up the table, when the wife's sleep was being interrupted by my leatherworking. I ended up having to clean out half the storage building... and things have been sooooo peaceful since then Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
