Reegesc Posted February 14, 2020 Report Posted February 14, 2020 (edited) Yes, it's a salacious title but how else can one get eyeballs diverted from the ass grabbing "Show Off" section? Be that as it may, if you have made it this far then perhaps you're a thinking person. Welcome. The following is a rant about the state of the leather working craft industry. In my opinion, it's an appalling state of affairs. Please weigh in with your thoughts. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The other thing that I seem to be the only one who gets this, which means the only one to think about and be pissed off about, concerned about it, would like to do something about it. And that my fellow leatherwokring compadres is that our industry is the red headed step child of all the crafts and it's shrinking . It pains me that the craft I love so much is represented by a company as clueless and as incompetent as Tandy is. I'm specifically referring to their abdication of responsibility as the defacto industry leader. Self interest alone should be motivation enough to take a leadership position in our micro market. But honestly, in the fourteen years I've been working with leather, I cannot think of one single innovative anything that has come out of the Tandy camp. They are the industry leader, but they do nothing to advance the craft. Just the same old boring crap, frozen in time....1964. By my estimates, our micro craft market here in the US is around $300M year in revenue. That includes all the retailers and the micro tanneries who cater to us and all the handmade goods we make and some of us sell. You may not know this since Tandy looms large in our minds as the largest retailer in our micro industry, but Tandy is a tiny company at $83M in revenue. To put that in perspective, the average new car dealership in the United States does about $40M in sales per year. A car lot, for Pete's sakes, is half the size of Tandy. Wrap your mind around that for a moment. In contrast, The total US crafting industry which we are a part of is...drum roll... a whopping $50 BILLION industry. F I F T Y B I L L I O N U N I T E D S T A T E S D O L L A R S. Are you familiar with the Scrapbooking craft, that frivolous fluffy stationary craft that glues various items to stationary to decorate scrapbooks? That goofy craft is a $1.5 Billion market and that is down from its height of $2.5 Billion a decade ago. But leathercraft can only command $250M? Our craft is a useful craft. We actually make stuff that is useful and has purpose, and yet we weigh in at just one sixth the size of a useless, whimsical craft like Scrapbooking? How in the hell is that even remotely possible? And while the US crafting industry is growing and forecasted to continue growing, leathercraft is forecasted to contract 5-10% in the mid- term. Who, I ask you, is minding the ship here? Edited February 14, 2020 by cseeger Quote
Members sinpac Posted February 14, 2020 Members Report Posted February 14, 2020 Meanwhile back at the Show Off section........LOL.............I rarely buy from tandy. the occasional clutch liner now and again. I feel they are geared more to people coming into the craft. I also believe tandy is losing traction in the market place. We lost the Fort Wayne store last year. Which only leaves one store in Indiana. I buy most of my leather needs from Landwerlin's in Indianapolis. They are a forth generation shop catering to shoe cobblers and leather craftsmen. I can buy a better hide from them then the gravel dragged hides tandy is selling at a higher cost. So until they change their attitude about the needs and costs for people like me, I can not change my attitude about them. Quote "It ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward." - Rocky Balboa
CFM chuck123wapati Posted February 14, 2020 CFM Report Posted February 14, 2020 Thank modern gubment education! Young folks just aren't being taught to use their brains, pretty much anything they can buy in a box and stick to a page is about it for them. An that's what they call crafts! If they cant google it or YouTube it then its far to hard to learn. Sorry to the young folk here, you are the exceptions, and i'm sure i'll hear about it but the facts don't lie, the US was number 1 in education just 30 year ago now lower than 17th globally. Tie that in with the lil black brain tumor causing box they are addicted to in their hand and there you have it. Quote Worked in a prison for 30 years if I aint shiny every time I comment its no big deal, I just don't wave pompoms. “I won’t be wronged, I won’t be insulted, and I won’t be laid a hand on. I don’t do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.” THE DUKE!
Members sinpac Posted February 14, 2020 Members Report Posted February 14, 2020 7 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said: Thank modern gubment education! Young folks just aren't being taught to use their brains, pretty much anything they can buy in a box and stick to a page is about it for them. An that's what they call crafts! If they cant google it or YouTube it then its far to hard to learn. Sorry to the young folk here, you are the exceptions, and i'm sure i'll hear about it but the facts don't lie, the US was number 1 in education just 30 year ago now lower than 17th globally. Tie that in with the lil black brain tumor causing box they are addicted to in their hand and there you have it. Yes Chuck I think your are going to get some push back on it. Chris Quote "It ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward." - Rocky Balboa
MikeRock Posted February 14, 2020 Report Posted February 14, 2020 Chuck, you are 110% correct. I watched a Univ of Wisconsin student walk in front of a bus, against the 'walk' light......driver shuffled a lot of people around on that bus but didn't hit the idiot. Quote
Members akguy59 Posted February 14, 2020 Members Report Posted February 14, 2020 You have to admit that to most of the younger generation (several exceptions on this forum) it is so much "COOLER" to program a 3D printer to "craft" something. We as leather enthusiasts are responsible for bringing new practitioners into our craft. There are probably many youngsters who would love to learn, but have no one to teach them. We need to take it upon ourselves to mentor interested young people. As far as Tandy goes I avoid them unless they have something that nobody else stocks or has in stock. The best way to end Tandy's so called leadership in the marketplace is to take your money elsewhere. It didn't take but one order to convince me that I could buy better leather elsewhere for the same price. Quote
Members klutes Posted February 14, 2020 Members Report Posted February 14, 2020 I am on the opposite end being a youngster. It seems to me that they are very few places or people to learn the craft of the trade. At least in east central US it is. Quote Machines: Adler 69 , Adler 30-7, Adler 467, Cowboy bell skiver, Beilers embossing machine
CFM chuck123wapati Posted February 14, 2020 CFM Report Posted February 14, 2020 15 minutes ago, akguy59 said: There are probably many youngsters who would love to learn, but have no one to teach them. We need to take it upon ourselves to mentor interested young people. Yes we do!!!!! The educational system has focused so much on disregarding parental knowledge that now only an "Expert" can teach them no longer do they learn from their parents. And the only way to become an expert is through gubment school and buying a college degree. sad but also true. There are exceptions only my opinion folks but the rural areas and ranch kids have the best chance to learn from their folks. Quote Worked in a prison for 30 years if I aint shiny every time I comment its no big deal, I just don't wave pompoms. “I won’t be wronged, I won’t be insulted, and I won’t be laid a hand on. I don’t do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.” THE DUKE!
CFM chuck123wapati Posted February 14, 2020 CFM Report Posted February 14, 2020 1 hour ago, sinpac said: Yes Chuck I think your are going to get some push back on it. Chris sadly so friend but the stats don't lie. Quote Worked in a prison for 30 years if I aint shiny every time I comment its no big deal, I just don't wave pompoms. “I won’t be wronged, I won’t be insulted, and I won’t be laid a hand on. I don’t do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.” THE DUKE!
CFM chuck123wapati Posted February 14, 2020 CFM Report Posted February 14, 2020 10 minutes ago, klutes said: I am on the opposite end being a youngster. It seems to me that they are very few places or people to learn the craft of the trade. At least in east central US it is. I grew up in Wyoming a state with less than 500,000 people, what I couldn't learn from my folks or grand parents, I learned at the public library, or by trial and error. I now have an extensive library on almost every subject from rug making to welding. My only suggestion is to search out people that do it , like this awesome forum, or grab a book learn from your mistakes and figure it out. The one good thing about the internet is the ability to talk to people of like minds from all over the world. An education is bought , knowledge is learned IMO. I wish you well. Quote Worked in a prison for 30 years if I aint shiny every time I comment its no big deal, I just don't wave pompoms. “I won’t be wronged, I won’t be insulted, and I won’t be laid a hand on. I don’t do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.” THE DUKE!
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