SHOP NEWS! PLEASE READ!

I have a couple of announcements to make.  I was going to wait until after the holidays but we have reached the final deadline for orders for Christmas so I feel the sooner the better.  First: In about five months I'm going to be a dad.  I'm extremely excited/terrified which I understand to be normal.  My wife is doing well and we can't wait to meet the little one.

Now onto my second announcement that is related and not as joyous.  I am shutting down the store for a little while.  I'm not sure when it's going to be back up again but for right now it can't be helped.  The main reason for this is that my workshop is being turned into a nursery.  We live in a small house with very little space so I'm a little out of options.  I have a couple of ideas but for right now, with the little one on the way, me trying to get my voice acting career off the ground, and the kookiness of life something needs to give.

If you have orders placed I will fulfill those on the normal schedule and nothing will change with that.  I plan on officially shutting down the store on December 24th.  So you have until then to order anything you have been thinking about.  That being said, if you would like to have something made AFTER I shut down the store, message me and we may be able to work something out.

I also will still be running the blog and the Facebook site so you will have a way to talk to me about leather if you are so inclined.  I WILL STILL BE OFFERING LESSONS!  Just so you are aware.

I want to take this opportunity before I close to thank everyone who has visited the blog or the store, like the Facebook page, and any who have bought something from me in the past.  Your support means a lot to me.  I'm not going away, just taking a little break until we can figure out a better set up.  Thank you again and Take Care!

Another Way to Learn Leather Craft! -->

LESSONS!

So over there on the right you may notice a new little section there.  It is where you can order private leather crafting lessons!  I can do these lessons via Skype or Facetime, whatever is easier for you.

You just need to select the length of the lesson, either a half an hour ($25) or an hour ($50).  Then I just need to know what you would prefer, Skype or Facetime.

One quick note, please contact me first before ordering so we can work out a time and what we are going to go over so I can be sure to be ready.

I really hope you like this, and if you are looking for a new way to learn leather, you have come to the right place.  Thanks again for stopping by.  As always, drop me a line.  

Happy Crafting!

Psst...We Are Having a Sale

Hey everyone.  Real quick, I just wanted to drop a line and let you know that we are running a sale for the month of October over on our Etsy Store!  Type in FALLFEST and get 20% off of your order!  On top of that we have a lot of great new stuff on the store.  So come check us out!

Thanks again for stopping by and as always drop me a line!

Happy Crafting!

We Have Entered the Terrible Two's and Shop News

Hello everyone.  I just realized the other day that this blog has been going for just over two years.  I had hoped it would last at least that long but I wasn't sure it would.  I know it sounds cliched but if it wasn't for you guys checking out the site I would have given up awhile ago.  Thank you for that.

In other, less sappy, news we have fired up the store again.  Currently we are doing custom items, specifically the custom cuff, wallet, journal, or bible cover.  I'm going to be getting more stuff up on the store soon.  Along with that I will be getting more stuff up here about actually making leather.  Novel concept don't you think?  Putting stuff about leather up on the leather blog.  It's revolutionary.

I'm working on some new ideas for projects as well speak.  I plan on having my time free up significantly in just about a month from now.  What that means for this blog and my leather, I will have more time to work on it.

Well, that's all for today.  As always, drop me a line if you have any questions or comments.  Thanks again and Happy Crafting!

A Perfect Workspace

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!

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!  

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!