Where is the money in leatherwork?

[tat2]

I make my real money is custom work and advertising my higher end belts to suit wearing people. I find a lot of people email " What is your best price." During slow times I will mark something down But other wise during your email or call you are explaing the wonderful product they are looking and in a nice way convince them this is something they need. Customer service is key with customers and suggested up sell, is key too. I also started to offer services to other businesses, embossing logos on their products. strap cutting services and recently began to make an effort to get some of our products in retail stores. It think the trick is to find a product no one makes (HARD!!) and find your clientle to buy it.

Custom work I fins fetched a decent amount of money and the customer is prepared to spemd the money as they want a one of a kind product.

We make an exclusive line of impact weapons so our customer come looking for me.

[JRodz]

I read this thread today and it has some great insight and answers. I usually lurk around the forums but this is only the second time I post. That being said, the information and help I have gained from this site has been such that I have become a contributing member. I felt the least I could do is give back a little.

I learned a long time ago while working construction for my uncle's company that you never discount your labor, you are worth it.. aren't you? Consequently, I have started and sold several profitable businesses over the years where I was never the cheapest, the most expensive, or the flashiest but I was the one that stood behind everything that I have done. I was called back to fix a loose tile after 8 years, I did so with urgency and a smile.

I started leatherwork as a hobby and was quickly pushed into business because friends had needs and needed someone they culd trust to do it for them. I ride about 40,000 miles a year and ride with some of the largest motorcycle clubs in the western states. I appreciate the comments about a niche market and the value of custom products to the consumer. Unfortunately, I cannot post pictures of most of my work. I have not been granted permission from any of these clubs to post or photograph their products because it contains trademarked slogans, logos, and symbols that are sacred to the clubs. I work full time and am always backed up a 2-3 months, even still I do not make enough to live off. I am also in a fairy tale scenario because I deal with the clubs leaders who in turn sell the goods to the members for fixed prices so I do not need to haggle or wheel and deal. These clubs pay cash up front and pick things up in person or I deliver to them personally.

What's my point, find a niche where you have credibility and where you participate actively and fully. Even then, it is hard to make a living of leather alone.

[JLSleather]

I went to Etsy yesterday and just typed "tooled leather" in the search from the main page. 1100-something listings of some of the most hideous "crafting" you'll ever see.

Of over 1100 listings, I saw about a handful of items that didn't cause a gag reflex. They weren't especially nice, they just didn't make you sick. Then, I didn't view all 1100 .... just maybe a dozen pages, and into some of the "shops" where these were sold. I was surprised to see some of the stuff people will spend their money on.

Guess that's never gonna be my thing. Reading through the "stuff", Etsy recommends talking up your items on facebook, youtube, myspace, yerspace, whatever ... which I don't do, and I'm not going to. Apparently, the concensus is that if you talk about your pathetic, hideous, and often unnecessary item enough then someone will buy it (I've seen spongebob, so there is apparently some truth to this).

One thing they said I agreed with, though ... if you're going to make stuff, it should be a product you like. But then, it's no longer about the money at that point.

[gaelicknife]

Interesting comments...and I respect the accumulated wisdom of so many contributors. I understand the difficulties of "trying to make a living" from fabricating leather items. Being retired....as are quite a few here I suspect....I do not feel the pressure to perform a great deal of marketing chores. I don't remember who's signature had the great quote from Heinlein, but there is quite a bit of wisdom there too! Who the hell wants to make the same thing day after day? You don't have to. Develop a repertoire involving different mediums....steel, wood, synthetics, fabrics, leather... and then learn to combine them for some trully unique objects. Also, don't try so hard to set the world on fire with your work. Make something of high quality....very high quality....and it will sell itself. If the quality isn't appreciated to your audience, then you have the wrong audience. I had a friend several years ago who was an aspiring knife maker. He could not sell enough of his beautiful knives to make ends meet, but when someone suggested a small ad in the Smithsonian magazine things turned completely around for him. He changed his audience. Your audience must have the knowledge to appreciate your work! You cannot sell a beautifully crafted bridle to the dude at the corner convenience store, but the outfit that boards horses may just bite.....or know someone who will. Take it from a geezer....start small, make quality and build slow and you may have something to hand off to your children. In the meantime you will be working for yourself....priceless.

[Myriam]

Just finished reading this thread and my head is spinning! Lots of good information though.

[Bar C Leather]

If you want to spend your time as a leatherworker, i.e. turn your hobby into a business, just so you can do leather work, go to work for someone else. You will spend a lot of your time as bookkeeper, marketing exec, purchasing agent, shipping clerk, customer service rep, psychologist, quality control supervisor, chief engineer.... I think you need to by slightly skitzophrenic to run a small business. If you can handle these additional pressures, and have the drive to be good at what you do, go for it.

OMG... couldn't have said it better! Thank you for a good, honest laugh of truth!

I think confidence and a business plan are extremely important. Of course marketing yourself is crucial too. Unfortunately I don't have the liberty of putting 100% into my leather business as I home school our children, run the office end of my husband's business and we also have a small cow-calf operation. The plans and ideas I have developed over the years are overflowing from notepads, files and my mind but you've really got to have the time devoted because of that "half + half +half" stuff. Totally true. I run my business part time and I'm NON STOP working in my mind.

I've seen a guy who appears successful making $500 saddles out of a shop at his home in (literally) the middle of nowhere, FL. No website, no ebay etc... but he's making a living. I don't know what he puts in those saddles and wouldn't recommend them as it costs me (wholesale) over $700 for quality materials to build a saddle... but he's been at it for many years and EVERYONE in central FL has heard of him and those who are backyard horsemen, swear by that little shop. Of course there's the other end of the spectrum ... just go to the TCAA website (http://tcowboyarts.org/members) if you haven't yet and see people selling western 'art' leather... saddles for $37,000 + Finding the niche is definitely priority and geographic location plays a role. Things that I know I could sell all day in CA don't do well here in FL.

Good luck to you in your choice and God bless.

[Samuel]

This is a good thread. Although new and starting out, I would like to add and reiterate some remarks here.

I work full-time as a federal police officer, and part-time as a private firearms instructor. I make leather and kydex gun holsters and accessories. I would not want to quit being a full-time police officer or part-time firearms instructor to make holsters and acessories full-time. The reason is I believe all three jobs compliment each other. Being a federal police officer lends credibility to my part-time training, and that lends credibility to my holster & accessories making business.

Where I've lived and instructed, there are lots of people who want to take $50 firearm courses. Instead of jumping on the bandwagon, I decided to charge a lot more because I believed there was a group of individuals who felt there was little value in a short cheap class. I found out that more people wanted to take my courses due to my background and because of the smaller classroom size, and more hours. I wasn't competing with any of the other instructors, even though they would call me up and ask, "How are you getting more students than me?" I believe that there are a few groups of people within the firearm community that are willing to spend more money, and are not necessarily influenced by price, even if the economy shifts. Case in point, I see it a lot with cowboy holsters.

I used my teaching opportunity to market and get feedback on my products. I have a classroom portion dedicated to concealment of firearms, and I show my holsters and accessories during this portion. I've been using it for researching and developing my products but students say, "I don't care if you're not selling, I want one. How much?" I've also got requests for other law enforcement that I've became friends with, because they know I've very knowledgeable in concealing firearms.

I've travelled to gun local shows and some really big gun shows. Fortunately for me, most of the holsters are the cheap nylon constructed kind. Something I've noticed is that people get drawn into a demonstration of some kind at gun shows. Case in point, I saw 30+ people drawn in to a booth selling gun cleaning supplies by putting on a simple 5 minute show on how to clean your gun, and half of those people would buy something after the demonstration.

I figure I'm going to set up my booth with my sewing machine (when I get one), would setup a kydex press but with the fumes it's a no-no, and make some holsters. I'll also have a small class on concealment and what to look for in a concealment gear. I'll have someone to model my products and answer questions in case I'm busy sewing. I think I would be the only one with this setup, and would be able to get my name out, product feedback, and be able to sell lots of holsters.

When it comes to making money, I'm starting out with the business mentality. I'm going to sink in around several thousands of dollars for everything, and plan on making that money back with interest in a certain amount of time. I've also factored in paying myself a minimum of what I'm making per hour as a police officer, plus business taxes, insurance, gas, marketing and other costs. This all goes into my bottom line. I'm not going to do this for free, and don't want this to be a hobby because I feel I will probably destroy this hobby going the route I am. I have metrics I have to hit every month, and if I don't see it I'll have to make up for it the next month. With that being said, I'm going to invest a lot of time in researching and developing and not compromise.

I've talked to some really nice holster makers, and I know two of them that do it full-time. They love their job, but feel it's important to ease yourself in. Start small, find a niche, do a great job, follow through, and market your products the most effective way you can (generally through word of mouth). One of these holster makers admitted to me he doesn't make a lot of money, but is making more than when he was a truck driver and can be home with his family more.

The original poster is a dog trainer and I believe this would be an excellent way to compliment the leather business. You could use each business to promote each other. For instance in your dog training classes, allow students to get 25% off your leather products, and allow people who spend more than $100 to get 50% off your dog training classes. Turn the multiple businesses into a symbiotic relationship.

Edited February 24, 2011 by Samuel

[KAYAK45]

LApat

The answer to your original Question? Wheres the money in leatherwork.?

Raise cows. LOL

[Scott Leger]

Nice Topic , this can be helpful

[mrdabeetle]

LApat

The answer to your original Question? Wheres the money in leatherwork.?

Raise cows. LOL

I was going to say "sell hides".

Seriously, find a niche then as your customer base grows, you can introduce new items, possibly hire part timers to do all the work that you don't like to do. I suggest either getting into re-enactment leathers like renaissance festivals, civil war era, etc. or try fetish "supplies". There is a small demand for leathercrafters in the replica movie props field, but you can't make a living off of it. Unfortunately, having a job doing what I love is still a dream, but it occasionally comes true for a short time when someone who knows the value of handmade products asks me to make something.

I haven't had a steady job since 2003, but leatherwork, costuming, propmaking, graphic design, 3d modeling, fine art, and web design have kept me from becoming homeless.

I suggest finding a wealthy celebrity and become their best friend. Have them tell their friends what you do, and allow them to wear/use your products in movies and tv.