JW Report post Posted October 29, 2017 (edited) Hey, you clicked the title! Thanks for doing that. As you may have deduced, I am a new member; while I made this account awhile ago, I am just starting to get more active on this. I am a hobbyist leather worker, and hopefully I can change that and become a leather worker full-time. I have done this for about 2 years, and it’s been an amazing journey so far. I am still in college so posting pics and being super active unfortunately isn’t a luxury, but I’ll try and post when I can. I'll attach some of my old work so you know I am a human, and not a robot. Please keep in mind that I am only a beginner, so any criticism is welcomed. Thank you again for reading, and if you want to see some more recent pictures of my work, check out my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lowellleather/ -JW Edited October 29, 2017 by JW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DJole Report post Posted October 29, 2017 Welcome to the forum! Looks like you're off to a decent start with the tooling on those pieces. I'm not so sure about the dye job on the right hand piece, the flowers and leaves. It seems that the green and pink are mottled somehow, or is that just an illusion? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JW Report post Posted October 29, 2017 @DJole Thanks for the welcome! Yeah, that was my first time using the Angelus Leather Dye, and on that particular piece of leather (a glazed double shoulder I believe) it didn't absorb as it should have. I wanted to have some parts of it lighter and some darker, but you can see the final result. So the splotchy parts were a combination of inexperience, bad choice of leather, and trying to layer the colors. It didn't turn out the way I envisioned it, but not terrible enough to warrant a new tooling. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JD62 Report post Posted October 29, 2017 Hi, and welcome. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JD62 Report post Posted October 29, 2017 Your Instagram pics are very well done too. Did you take the photos your self? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KingsCountyLeather Report post Posted October 29, 2017 Welcome! Nice work. I really like the carving on instagram! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JW Report post Posted October 29, 2017 @JD62 @KingsCountyLeather Thanks to both of you, and everything you see is hand done. Hand stitched, tooling, stamping, dyeing, and the photography is just with my phone-- I don't have the room or resources for anything fancy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RemingtonSteel Report post Posted October 31, 2017 JW, Nice work. For me, basket-weaves are not as easy as they look. Keeping the lines straight in both directions of the weave can be tricky, but you did a wonderful job of keeping it all lined up. Only criticism that I have, would be directed near the bottom of the holster. It looks like the basket-wave stamp was either faded out too soon, or that you lost some depth to your impressions when you wet molded the holster near the end of the barrel, as the camo stamp does not appear to be as deep there either. Regardless, I really like the deep mahogany color on the holster, and the stitching is nice and clean. I'd be proud to have made it. If you really want to make a career out of leather working, I would encourage you to do it right out of college. Take it from someone who is a bit older, it is hard to make a career change once you have bills, a mortgage payment and other obligations that make switching careers later in life a riskier proposition. So I say go for it! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cjartist Report post Posted November 1, 2017 Hi. Looks like you have a great backdrop for photos. Very nice. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
