What leather products would you buy? (new work with sketchbook satchel)

[Sepulverture]

Tooling is expensive? If you're just using stamps it's pretty quick and easy to decorate a whole belt or other panel of leather. I made a stamped belt for my father, and a keychain for myself. How would you be doing it that would make it expensive?

It's custom work. Why are paintings expensive? Or drawings? A drawing may possibly be done quickly and easily by a skilled artist, but may still fetch a high price.

What you're saying would also imply that everything is already there in terms of stamps. Stamps take time to make, it takes time to prep everything to be done, it takes time to do the pressing. All this time needs to be paid for. Also that's assuming that it's all just a simple wet pressed stamp with no hand tooling involved. It's not rocket science, but that's like asking why said painting is expensive. After all we are just pushing colorful wet stuff across a semi-rough surface.

I like to think of myself as being an honest person, so I feel perfectly justified in saying that if I'm selling a product to a consumer it's not for my health, I'm doing it for profit and therefore I want my time and work to get a fair price.

I may not charge 90 dollars for a simple stamped sketchbook cover, but I would charge a price that is competitive and that I feel pays for the time and materials and labor that I put into a product. If it takes me a day to make an item then I need to be able to charge a good enough price to justify that time. Same reason any other skilled laborer or artist charges premium prices for their work.

[Sepulverture]

I'm working on a pair of bracers now, hope to have them finished in a couple of days. Also a couple of odds and ends that I made as gifts for family members of my girlfriend.

The first is a cigarette case, since her dad smokes like a freight train, and a pair of fur lined pig/sheep skin slippers for her mom (first pair I ever made)








And the bracers

[NanoBlack]

Your work is beautiful! I'm considering saving up for a sketchbook cover like you showed earlier- a nice robust cover with a pencil holder that will take a splash or two from my favourite river. And that bracer design is stunning- so much craftsmanship! How much would it be for a leather wristband with that sort of design on it? Something that, like a sketchbook cover, would take some wear and tear.

Oh- just a thought, but a really rough pricelist would be appreciated. I scrape for every cent (using Library nets at the moment XD ) and though id love to purchase some of your handiwork, i'd need a figure to work towards.

You have truly fount your natural medium here, stick with it cause it seems like you are supplying most of conceptart's leather working needs XD

[Sepulverture]

NanoBlack - Thanks for the compliments and interest. Prices would vary a lot depending on just what needs to be done, but for a small wrist band I can't imagine charging you too much for it.

As for sketchbook covers, again depending on just what you want to go into it will determine the price. I could definitely make something water resistant and whatnot though. And tough is not a problem. Everything I've made so far has been made from 2-2.5 mm full grain cow hide, or from pig skin (which is stronger than cow hide), very tough stuff, same as what goes into a quality pair of u.s. army combat boots.

With regards to a price list. To be quite honest I wasn't expecting to come here and have this post turn into cooperative or business opportunities, so I haven't really thought about prices. More importantly though I'd really like to clear it with site administration before publicly advertising merchandise prices and whatnot. I am however composing an email to send to the admins to ask permission to do so.

I totally dig your signature by the way. Morrowind is easily my favorite game of all time.

[daestwen]

Toooo cooool

I would love a leather garter-corset... the kind that just goes in like a band around your waist! Super hot!

[NanoBlack]

XD thank yee Sepulverture! Morrowind was awesome.

If you get a list up, and some admin approval, send us the link. I'd be really interested, and I'm sure others would be too. Plus, a good outline of exactly what you can create with leather would be great. A list of products! It would bring a lot of people in.

[Sepulverture]

Daestwen - Leather garters ARE super hot. One of my female friends suggested to me I ought to get into naughty nightwear design. Hmm...

Nanoblack - I will definitely post up that information once everything is ok'd. More than likely in it's own thread in a more appropriate section than the lounge. Thanks for the support mate!

Here's a little progress on those bracers for those of you who are interested in seeing how they are turning out. The guy I'm doing the work for insisted on silver for the inlays, and originally wanted real gold. I talked him out of it though to save costs since it was nearly 200usd for a package of gold leaf. Instead I am using copper (which was a tiny fraction of the price of the gold... that goes without saying though).

There is still much to be done before these are ready for him to show off in the streets, but it's getting there.

[OldJake666]

Surprisingly, I don't actually already own any black leather pants...

[cem]

I posted this a couple of days ago but it didn't go through for some reason might be because I haven't posted before even though I have been a member for awhile. Anyhow I do leatherwork as well and I found this site helped me out alot www.leatherworker.net you will learn everything there is possibly to know about working with leather. Also if you after some inspiration check these two out www.xianleather.com and www.petermain.com pure eye candy in the leather working world.

Cheers,

cem

[Hookswords]

I could use one of these

[Sepulverture]

I could use one of these

Is that an axe backpack? Sweet!

[Black Sun]

Man, I would LOVE to have a custom made leather art bag/sketchbook cover/pencil case matching set.

[sanya]

Pretty rad stuff~ super impressive! I know this sounds weird, but if you could do purses (like, really stylish, creative purses) you could make a killing. Unique, hand made purses are the kind of thing that some women will pay an arm and a leg for.

That, or an iphone belt clip. I can think of a lot of iphone owners who would go for that.

[HunterKiller_]

I could use one of these

That's a real man's backpack.


Custom pencil cases would be ace. I always thought it would be nice to have bracers/straps with slots on them for holding pen/cils that you would wear around the wrist or even thighs.

[Sepulverture]

Here are a few photos of some recently completed work.

I'm happy to say that the bag is a sketchbook bag that I made for one of the members of our little community here. Work on this bag was completed this week and I'm currently working out shipping options. The other thing is the finished product of the bracers that I was making as shown above. Woo!

I'm currently working on a pair of boots for a customer and a leg bag for myself.








and the bracers

[Costau]

Wow, great work Nick. I think I'm going to want you to make me a bag too, the quality looks perfect. Maybe a custom roll up pencil case as well if you'd be willing too . Keep this thread going I want to see more progress think you found a little niche here.

[brianvds]

This poses the question. What leather products interest you all? What leather products would you buy?

I have a wallet made of seal leather, that I got in Namibia. It is ten years old and after daily use still in perfect condition. All my friends also want one, but alas, for some reason they have become impossible to get hold of.

If you start making seal leather products, you might well find a market for ANYTHING you make, simply because the leather is of such high quality.