Hello. I received an email this past week asking about work space and basic "getting started" questions. This led me to start thinking about, if I had unlimited resources and space, how would I set up my space.
First I would separate my space into three different sections. I would have a "measuring and cutting" area, a "tooling" area, and finally a "finishing and staining" area. This all seems pretty basic and self explanatory.
My "Staging" area would be where I work on patterns, measure and cut the leather, etc. Because of this it would have to be a bit larger than the other areas. This is especially helpful with larger projects and even belts as there is a need to spread out the leather. This also is the cheapest area to set up as I really only need one of those 6' x 3' craft tables from Wal-Mart.
The "Work Bench" is basically what I have right now. Which is 4' x 2' table with a peg board where I would do my tooling. This includes the marble slab to tool on and all the working tools I would need to make a project.
The "Finishing" area is where I would finish off the leather with dyes, stains, and other various chemicals. This area would ideally be set apart from other spaces to minimize any accidents. Notably spilling stain on another project or "overshooting" with the airbrush and hitting unrelated projects. This has happened to me more times than I would like to admit. I would have the airbrush set up here, blocking pieces to keep the stain contained and some sort of ventilation to keep me alive. That's important. This area can vary in size but my gut tells me the bigger the better.
It would also be nice to have various shelving to keep the unused leather and my finished projects organized. Obviously this would require two shelves, one for each, ideally separated, again to cut down on accidentally messing up the unused leather.
Well that about does it for my "dream workshop." I would set this up in a heartbeat but unfortunately I don't have the space right now. One day, when I have a garage I will be good to go. I have simple dreams.
That's all for today. Thanks again for stopping by and as always, drop me a line if you have any questions or comments. I love hearing from you. And a special thanks to John for giving me the idea for this post.
Happy Crafting!
Leather Banner
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Monday, July 22, 2013
A message about copyright
Hello all.
This post isn't directly about leathercraft but I do think it is a helpful thing to know about. Copyright law in the US (and I'll be speaking strictly in terms of the US as that is all I remotely familiar with) can seem a complicated thing. When you get right down to it, it is rather simple. If someone else came up with it, don't copy it. Where it gets complicated is in the details and interpretation.
Two quick notes here at the beginning.
1. I AM NOT A LAWYER. So please do not take any of this as direct legal advice. If you have questions seek professional help. Got it? Good. You may continue.
2. I'm speaking mostly in terms of if you are trying to sell your leather goods. If you are just a hobbyist making stuff for yourself, family, friends, or gifts then by all means go bananas. When you want to sell something though, then you are entering murky waters.
Sometimes copyright law is easy. Dave Matthews Band has a design called the "Firedancer" that has been the bands symbol almost since day one. Don't put that design on anything you make. Easy enough. Where it gets tricky is where the design isn't as recognizable or is basically just a doodle that is easy to unknowingly copy. Or if some came up with a bag design or wallet design then it is hard to know if you are infringing on their rights. Chances are, in that last example, you are fine as long as the bag is different enough. There is only so many ways you can stitch together a bag.
But to make it easier on yourself, if you know someone else came up with the design or the template, don't use it. Period. Now does that mean if you see a type of bracelet or wallet on Etsy or some other site and you want to make it for yourself that is fine. And if you make it and it gives you an idea on how to make a bracelet a different way then you have your own, new idea. (Here is where MY lawyer is requesting I add in again that you should NOT take any of this as legal advice. When in doubt, seek out a copyright lawyer and ask away.)
Why am I bringing this up? Well, two reasons. First I felt it something I should talk about and second it's because I'm a schmuck and didn't know this and almost got myself in deep water. Here is what happened:
I can't go into too much detail but basically a lot of what I was selling had logos of popular nerd culture icons. I was under the (FALSE) impression that if it is hand made, then you are not violating copyright law. (VERY FALSE) So I was knocking these leather goods out and making a (VERY) small amount of money in the process. Long story short, one of the companies that owned the copyright to one of the designs I was "borrowing" sent a cease and desist. Once I knew I was in the wrong I immediately halted all sale of copyrighted material and prayed that was the end of it. Apparently it was, as that was the last I heard of it. So lesson learned.
Now custom work is another story. If someone contacts you and wants you to put a design of copyrighted material on their custom item, that is territory I'm not familiar with. So again, if this happens, seek out a copyright lawyer. If I find out a definitive answer then I will update this post.
Well I wanted to get something on here since there has been such a long time since I have posted anything. I hope this was informative and as always, drop me a line.
Happy crafting!
This post isn't directly about leathercraft but I do think it is a helpful thing to know about. Copyright law in the US (and I'll be speaking strictly in terms of the US as that is all I remotely familiar with) can seem a complicated thing. When you get right down to it, it is rather simple. If someone else came up with it, don't copy it. Where it gets complicated is in the details and interpretation.
Two quick notes here at the beginning.
1. I AM NOT A LAWYER. So please do not take any of this as direct legal advice. If you have questions seek professional help. Got it? Good. You may continue.
2. I'm speaking mostly in terms of if you are trying to sell your leather goods. If you are just a hobbyist making stuff for yourself, family, friends, or gifts then by all means go bananas. When you want to sell something though, then you are entering murky waters.
Sometimes copyright law is easy. Dave Matthews Band has a design called the "Firedancer" that has been the bands symbol almost since day one. Don't put that design on anything you make. Easy enough. Where it gets tricky is where the design isn't as recognizable or is basically just a doodle that is easy to unknowingly copy. Or if some came up with a bag design or wallet design then it is hard to know if you are infringing on their rights. Chances are, in that last example, you are fine as long as the bag is different enough. There is only so many ways you can stitch together a bag.
But to make it easier on yourself, if you know someone else came up with the design or the template, don't use it. Period. Now does that mean if you see a type of bracelet or wallet on Etsy or some other site and you want to make it for yourself that is fine. And if you make it and it gives you an idea on how to make a bracelet a different way then you have your own, new idea. (Here is where MY lawyer is requesting I add in again that you should NOT take any of this as legal advice. When in doubt, seek out a copyright lawyer and ask away.)
Why am I bringing this up? Well, two reasons. First I felt it something I should talk about and second it's because I'm a schmuck and didn't know this and almost got myself in deep water. Here is what happened:
I can't go into too much detail but basically a lot of what I was selling had logos of popular nerd culture icons. I was under the (FALSE) impression that if it is hand made, then you are not violating copyright law. (VERY FALSE) So I was knocking these leather goods out and making a (VERY) small amount of money in the process. Long story short, one of the companies that owned the copyright to one of the designs I was "borrowing" sent a cease and desist. Once I knew I was in the wrong I immediately halted all sale of copyrighted material and prayed that was the end of it. Apparently it was, as that was the last I heard of it. So lesson learned.
Now custom work is another story. If someone contacts you and wants you to put a design of copyrighted material on their custom item, that is territory I'm not familiar with. So again, if this happens, seek out a copyright lawyer. If I find out a definitive answer then I will update this post.
Well I wanted to get something on here since there has been such a long time since I have posted anything. I hope this was informative and as always, drop me a line.
Happy crafting!
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Time Flies . . .
. . . while everything else goes crazy. I'm still here. I haven't fallen off the Earth. Not yet anyway. I just wanted to check in and let you know that I'm working on getting some things in here soon. How soon, well if you go by my current timeline, sometime around the tricentennial.
Kidding aside, I do have plans, they are coming, and I wanted to let you know what's up. The long and the short of it, I lost my "day" job. I was laid off and I had to scramble for another job. So I did thankfully. During all of this I also decided to pursue a passion of mine, voice acting. So all of this has been taking up my time and I haven't had time to break down and work with leather. But I haven't forgotten about you. I plan to try and post something once a month. And for those of you who are a fan of the Etsy shop, we aren't going away. I plan on putting some stuff up there too. I will keep everyone posted as things come up.
As always, thank you for sticking with me and drop me a line. Take Care!
Kidding aside, I do have plans, they are coming, and I wanted to let you know what's up. The long and the short of it, I lost my "day" job. I was laid off and I had to scramble for another job. So I did thankfully. During all of this I also decided to pursue a passion of mine, voice acting. So all of this has been taking up my time and I haven't had time to break down and work with leather. But I haven't forgotten about you. I plan to try and post something once a month. And for those of you who are a fan of the Etsy shop, we aren't going away. I plan on putting some stuff up there too. I will keep everyone posted as things come up.
As always, thank you for sticking with me and drop me a line. Take Care!
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
I promise I will get back to projects soon . . .
With everything going on I haven't been working on leather as much as I would like. But we have put the store back together and we are having a Summer Sale to celebrate!
When you purchase anything from our store in the next two weeks you can type either:
SUMMERFUN to get 25% off your entire order
or
SUMMERSAVINGS to get FREE SHIPPING
You just need to type those in the coupon code field.
Thanks for sticking with me and as always let me know if you have any questions.
Happy Crafting!
When you purchase anything from our store in the next two weeks you can type either:
SUMMERFUN to get 25% off your entire order
or
SUMMERSAVINGS to get FREE SHIPPING
You just need to type those in the coupon code field.
Thanks for sticking with me and as always let me know if you have any questions.
Happy Crafting!
Monday, July 23, 2012
New Items on The Store
Just wanted to let you all know that we have put some new stuff on the store. As always, more to come. Thanks for reading!
Friday, June 29, 2012
When will Then be Now . . . .
. . . .now actually.
The store is open! Currently there are only a few items on the store but that is going to change in the coming days. I also am working on a project that will be featured here and . . .elsewhere. More details to come. Thanks for sticking with me and I'm really excited about what's to come!
Our Store!
As always, drop me a line if you have any questions.
Happy Crafting!
The store is open! Currently there are only a few items on the store but that is going to change in the coming days. I also am working on a project that will be featured here and . . .elsewhere. More details to come. Thanks for sticking with me and I'm really excited about what's to come!
Our Store!
As always, drop me a line if you have any questions.
Happy Crafting!
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Coming Soon!
Hello everyone! We are back from our vacation and settling back into normality. Well, relative normality, as my wife is still diligently looking for a job. She has a few nibbles at the line and we are waiting to hear if anything comes of them. In the mean time I'm working to start back up with this blog and the store. I'm not ready just yet to open the store back up but I'm working on it. I'm guessing we will be back open in a few weeks.
(NOTE: If there is a development in regards to a potential move or what have you this obviously will change the timeline. In any case I will make sure to keep everyone posted as to what is happening.)
One more thing before I let you go. I have something in the works that I'm really excited about. I still have to work out some kinks in the formula but if it works I think you all will really like it. Basically I came up with an idea that I really think could work. I may even get a "Kickstarter" going to help build some capital.
As always, let me know if you have any questions or comments. Thanks again for sticking with me. You guys are awesome!
(NOTE: If there is a development in regards to a potential move or what have you this obviously will change the timeline. In any case I will make sure to keep everyone posted as to what is happening.)
One more thing before I let you go. I have something in the works that I'm really excited about. I still have to work out some kinks in the formula but if it works I think you all will really like it. Basically I came up with an idea that I really think could work. I may even get a "Kickstarter" going to help build some capital.
As always, let me know if you have any questions or comments. Thanks again for sticking with me. You guys are awesome!
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