One of the most common questions that I get asked from younger craftsmen is, “When should I turn my hobby into a full time business and quit my job?”
This is a question that I do not feel qualified to answer. Outside of college, I have never had a job.
This usually gets a chuckle in response… but it is the truth.
After I graduated from college I began doing contract work for the man I did my apprenticeship with.
I use the word apprenticeship without a complete understanding as to what a true “apprenticeship” might look like to others in the craft. But more on that in the future.
After some time he offered to sell me the shop and I began my dance with banks to make it happen.
Fifteen years later, years of trial and error, and piles of debt taken and paid off, here we set.
So when someone asks me if they should walk away from a secure career? Walk away from a steady paycheck? Maybe even walk away from health insurance, dental, not to mention their own parking spot… I say maybe not.
I once heard an ole boy say, closing his business and getting a job was like “coming in out of the cold.” Continue reading
You bought a mess of leather stamping tools for tooling leather tooling patterns.
Introduction into February Tooling Floral Theme
In this video, I show you how to cut parts from a leather hide for many types of different projects.
In this video I show you how to install the Stirrup Plate on a Cobra Class 4 Sewing Machine from Leather Machine Co. The process in this video can also be used for other sewing machines that have a similar stirrup plate option. This is also the process for installing the Holster Plate as well.
In this video, I show you how to make a leather Moleskin Journal Cover. I am a HUGE fan of journals and notebooks… to the point that I probably have way too many in the shop. I have to write everything down or I won’t remember it.
When it comes to getting the best possible edges in your work, sanding tools are one of the most important areas to focus on. Without a well sanded edge on your leather project, you won’t be able to get the smooth finish you are looking for. Even the best possible cut piece of leather still needs sanding on the edge to prepare the leather to be burnished.
Last year around this time we created a project video for a shave kit. That video was for what I call a “bear trap” style shave kit. In this video I show how to make a new style shave kit. I wanted a shave kit that wasn’t so big and bulky. I also wanted one that could hang and this is what I came up with.