vgodley1 Report post Posted February 28, 2022 Hi all, Just made my 1st journal cover. it was really fun to make and although I am a hobbyist I was thinking I could make some of these to sell for fun on the side. any suggestions to improve and what kind of pricing I could ask for these? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tsunkasapa Report post Posted February 28, 2022 Very nice! Good job on your basketweave. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrmCa Report post Posted February 28, 2022 Nicely done! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AzShooter Report post Posted February 28, 2022 Exemplary!! You did a fantastic job. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bert03241 Report post Posted February 28, 2022 Very nice work Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PastorBob Report post Posted March 1, 2022 Tooling is awesome. I really like the pattern you put on the spine, incorporating a different pattern with the basket weave stamp. Stunning. As for price, double your material cost and add your labor rate. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chuck123wapati Report post Posted March 1, 2022 That is awesome work indeed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
battlemunky Report post Posted March 1, 2022 That looks great! Pricing is on you and your market; it's maybe even harder than getting good at the craft. As far as suggestions...I've grown to abhor sharp corners unless they NEED to be sharp. Even if you just nip the tips off of them to round them a little I think it'd soften the entire aesthetic. It's a personal choice though. Your stamping turned out really nice and the feather looks good too! If you want to improve on your feather even more, Don Gonzalez has a few videos on tooling feathers and his method makes them fly right off the surface of the leather. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vgodley1 Report post Posted March 1, 2022 Thanks so much for the comments All. I don't get time to do this often and it was a fun way to spend a rainy Saturday. lack of time on the bench shows in the tooling, I aspire to have finished work like some of the beautiful art you see on here. still have a lot to learn and need to put in the time. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
benfanman Report post Posted March 2, 2022 This looks amazing!!! How long did it take? If you’re a hobbyist and not looking to depend on it to support you, I’d actually price it higher (maybe somewhere between $100-$150?) since you’re not in a rush to sell. I could be way off on that though - just my 2c. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vgodley1 Report post Posted March 2, 2022 the longest part of the process was deciding what I wanted to do with it. The actual work took about 4 hrs to lay-out, cut tool and die after letting dry for a couple of hrs I put leather sheen on it and called it done. I did my pattern on the computer and printed it to transparency film. using PowerPoint I was able to set the size of the image to the size of the project. used this a a tracing for the front. just hand laid out the spine and back with what was visually appealing to me. I sewed it with my cowboy outlaw which I do think is a great machine by the way. I was thinking $149.99 as the perfect starting price LOL seriously though, I see lots of mistakes that I want to improve upon. Need a steep beveler or 3! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stetson912 Report post Posted March 2, 2022 I like the arrow basket stamp on the spine, I havent been able to get that right yet Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Selvune Report post Posted March 2, 2022 Looks great! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites