And you WANT me to do this to you?@!

[JLSleather]

Got a pic in the mail this morning, somebody wanna know kin i do this by Christmas ... with a pic of a "tooled" belt, splotchy background dye, ant-streak smeared all over it, and that gaudy turquoise paint that for reasons unknown you sometimes see these days.  Or was it the frayed edges they were wanting me to recreate? 

I hate turning these down, since tooled belts are probably my favorite part of doing leather work.  But, .. that's a bit insulting.  You find one of my listings, you like the way I do this, and then you want me to do that?@! uh. no -- maybe have a coffee, calm down, come up with relatively polite way to pass on this one ... 

Sad part is, tough to get someone to refer them to. 

EDIT:  Oh, yeah, that actually felt better.  Now be able to just say no and let it go

 

[JLSleather]

SHOOT .. that didn't work out at all!  Who would have guessed I'm better with leather than diplomacy

Somehow,

"not at the present time, but thank you for your consideration" came out more like

"I can make you a very nice belt, but not that commercial stuff --- acrylic paints, antique paste caked in the low areas, and "fuzzy" edges.  Perhaps you should contact the original maker?"

Drat.  Foiled again.

[ABHandmade]

Sir, tell him that you can make such a bad belt only for BIG money.

I hope that, despite my terrible English, I was able to correctly express my thought.

Edited November 6, 2018 by ABHandmade

[JLSleather]

Well, I admit that crossed my mind   But, I'm not a prostitute .. so a fella kaint just give me money and then I do whatever he thinks I should do

 

[Kulafarmer]

Thats pretty funny,,

 

[VabaX]

Any pictures of the offending item?

[JLSleather]

Nah, I looked at it.  Then gagged for just a second. Then looked at it second time, like ... REALLY?@!  Then deleted the message with the pics.

Ridiculous part is, there ARE some who like that belt.  And sad part is, there will be many who will try to do "just enough" with brown dye and turquoise paint to appear to be "the same" as the original guy, whose belt may have looked quite nice. This was no doubt one of those bad immitations.  I assume that the person who contacted me KNEW that, or else they would have contacted the person where they found the picture.  UNLESS,  of course, that person is one of those who thinks he/she should git $40/hour, and plans on taking DAYS to make a belt ..

 

[koreric75]

 

On 11/6/2018 at 8:20 AM, JLSleather said:

SHOOT .. that didn't work out at all!  Who would have guessed I'm better with leather than diplomacy

Somehow,

"not at the present time, but thank you for your consideration" came out more like

"I can make you a very nice belt, but not that commercial stuff --- acrylic paints, antique paste caked in the low areas, and "fuzzy" edges.  Perhaps you should contact the original maker?"

Drat.  Foiled again.

I understand...at the end of the day if I make something and I'm not willing to sign it or claim it, then it's going to file 13. (large box of scraps and rejects that comes in handy when I need to test a stitch or mock something up)..I have done project management and prefer to get the requirement with some key points, then let me work...rather than send me a picture of someone else's work and ask for a duplicate.  I don't mind a reference for inspiration, but honestly for a duplicate just forget it... now don't get me wrong, there are many makers out there I aspire to, and my work shows aspects that I've learned or patterns I've purchased, but once it's done it is still mine.  What's worse is when someone sends me a picture and says "can you make this exact item, but only charge me a fraction of what this maker sells it for"  I usually am quick to answer..."Nope, that maker has a process established, as well as a pattern, and if they're selling in volume likely have a team of workers making parts etc, what I can do is make something like what you want, but you'll be paying for the cost of custom setup, one off materials if req'd, as well as my time"  I may have the wrong outlook on this, but I enjoy this craft for the craft part of it, and I do enjoy it.  

 

[BorisBaddenov]

2 hours ago, JLSleather said:

Nah, I looked at it.  Then gagged for just a second. Then looked at it second time, like ... REALLY?@!  Then deleted the message with the pics.

Ridiculous part is, there ARE some who like that belt.  And sad part is, there will be many who will try to do "just enough" with brown dye and turquoise paint to appear to be "the same" as the original guy, whose belt may have looked quite nice. This was no doubt one of those bad immitations.  I assume that the person who contacted me KNEW that, or else they would have contacted the person where they found the picture.  UNLESS,  of course, that person is one of those who thinks he/she should git $40/hour, and plans on taking DAYS to make a belt ..

 

Ian has a video, something about a list of things to watch-out for/common mistakes.  On his list #15, if memory serves, is "The customer is not always right".  And then he goes on to explain a situation similar to the one you've described.

 

Peace-

Boris

[JLSleather]

What is an Ian?  Oh, wait -- I think I know.  Nah, I wouldn't have seen that.