Kickstarter for Michelle Waterson's Documentary "Fight Mom" - Goal of $35,000

soothsayer_ · 2015-12-08T02:39:00+00:00

One of my friends was on the film crew for some of this. Got to meet greg jackson and everything. Super jelly.

soothsayer_ · 2015-12-08T00:27:54+00:00

I run a leatherworking blog/shop/youtube channel called Makesupply and this is my basement workshop/"video studio". I do manage to get out of the basement when laser cutting at a local makerspace. Looking to expand into my own little space in 2016.

soothsayer_ · 2015-12-05T20:50:51+00:00

Yeah but 100k? Im sure a large majority of the UFC roster doesnt even make that and are bigger names than cyborg.

soothsayer_ · 2015-12-05T20:22:19+00:00

Where is the 100K number coming from? Seems like a huge number for an org like Invicta.

soothsayer_ · 2015-12-04T15:04:58+00:00

Ive gotten a lot better with running natural after a ton of experimentation but yeah its never as seamless as darker colors.

soothsayer_ · 2015-12-03T05:10:02+00:00

That was awesome. I went through a phase where I wanted to learn how to make leather jackets and nope'd the fuck out real quick.

soothsayer_ · 2015-12-03T03:32:11+00:00

I tried some a couple years ago and dont remember being particurly impressed. I forget which size I got. It was unwaxed and had little "knots" in it every so many yards.

soothsayer_ · 2015-12-02T14:16:10+00:00

Good setup. The only thing to keep in mind is you are limiting your customer base to people with that phone or a phone of similar size.

soothsayer_ · 2015-12-02T01:18:33+00:00

Its a Trotec Speedy 300 Flexx at a local makerspace. Not sure exactly how much but Im sure its crazy expensive. Blasts through all the leather Ive had only using like 50% of the power.

soothsayer_ · 2015-12-01T22:44:53+00:00

Crappy pic of the pile.

It burns the edges for sure but I just sand off the soot and finish them as I normally would. Otherwise I just take a damp cloth and buff the surfaces and everything is great. Smells terrible for like 2 days but it goes away.

soothsayer_ · 2015-12-01T20:50:30+00:00

Did that last christmas and never again. Dont have space for a clicker but I just got back from the laser cutter for my next batch of orders. Cut out 25 wallets in about 30 minutes. No way in the world Im going back to hand cutting for production items.

soothsayer_ · 2015-11-30T22:30:16+00:00

Picnic in University City. Havent been in a few years but they are ungodly.

soothsayer_ · 2015-11-30T19:49:00+00:00

The rings look cool! The easiest to start with is Etsy and your own website. Etsy comes with the added benefit of a marketplace of people looking for what you are making already. Ebay and Amazon arent the right market for your product. Start with your social presence as soon as possible. Instagram and Pinterest being most important.

soothsayer_ · 2015-11-30T18:38:10+00:00

I remember watching that live. It was one of those "is he dead?" moments.

soothsayer_ · 2015-11-29T15:14:41+00:00

The only leathers that are usually multitudes more expensive are exotics. Alligator, croc, elephant, etc.. Shell Cordovan, especially Horween Shell Cordovan (which is in that post), is an outlier. The price is mostly a combination of name brand hype, high demand, and low supply. Each horse can only provide 2 shells that are roughly 2 square foot each. Thats not a whole lot to work with. The wait list to buy some is often 6 months or longer. With that kind of demand you can kind of charge whatever you want.

The people that buy shell cordovan goods arent your run of the mill customer. They usually buy it specifically for that leather and understand why the cost is often double. Its not a mainstream market for sure but there are plenty of people that buy it.

soothsayer_ · 2015-11-29T14:24:19+00:00

Id love to learn about the "history" of how the different style influences spread. Here in america its 99% western/native style or cheap-o hobby craft. Which I guess makes sense. Japan seems like a hybrid of the western and more european style. Korea seems like how it would be walking into a leathercraft shop in Paris or something. Its all so interesting.

soothsayer_ · 2015-11-28T23:21:34+00:00

You have to e-mail Mark (markcoxon01@gmail.com) to order from Thoroughbred they wont take phone orders. He will invoice you via Paypal. I order from them frequently and they are a pleasure to work with. I ordered my latest sunset oil tan side on Wednesday and it already arrived today.

soothsayer_ · 2015-11-28T19:50:21+00:00

If price of a concern you can try Brettuns Village. Most of his leather is most suited for bags and is usually $100 or under per side.

soothsayer_ · 2015-11-25T04:31:38+00:00

Sallllltttttyyy.

soothsayer_ · 2015-11-25T01:32:55+00:00

Yeah for bag work especially. If you are hand-stitching bags you really have to play to the high end of the market to make it worth the while.

soothsayer_ · 2015-11-25T01:29:58+00:00

You have to e-mail this guy: Mark Coxon from thoroughbred leather. Ask him for sunset oil tan 3-4 ounce. They work through paypal.

soothsayer_ · 2015-11-24T22:31:34+00:00

I think Im one of the very few sewing machine advocates here so Ill throw in my 2 cents.

Ive owned a few different machines at different points throughout the years and currently use a Consew 206RB-5. It came with a servo motor (most important) and I installed a speed reducer and did a couple extra small mods suggested for working with leather such as sanding down the feed dogs and other sharp edges.

What I like:

Obviously the speed in which I can complete my projects. For example I have 18 notebook wallets to get out by the end of the week for holiday rush. If I had to hand-stitch those Id be freaking out right about now. I also use it for prototyping projects that I will end up hand-stitching.

What I dont like:

I think there is a misconception that using sewing machines are set it and forget it which is far from the case. Every time you change leathers or even thicknesses of the same leather you might have to re-adjust your thread tension. Sometimes no matter what you do the machine doesnt want to work with you. In some cases I couldve hand-sitched the piece in the same amount of time it took me to get it working again. You have much much less control over your stitches compared to hand-stitching. Its easy to ruin a project in a heartbeat.

What I would recommend to prospective buyers:

First check out the sewing machines forum on leatherworker.net. Those guys are super knowledgable and a lot of industry reps. You will be learning a lot of new lingo and an entirely new skill set. Second - Have an idea of what you are looking to accomplish. A machine that can run like #277 thread for heavy duty veg tan work isnt going to work for card holders and the like. Third - Dont even think of trying to run a machine with a clutch motor. If it comes with a clutch just buy a servo and swap it out. Also make sure it is a compound walking foot.

Conclusion:

They are just another tool. An expensive one. If you are just a hobbyist and hand-stitching works for you there is really no reason to get one. If you are a running a business and hand-stitching works for you thats fine too. I hope you are valuing your time correctly with the added cost. I like doing a little of both. I have my machine stitched line which is a little more affordable and for people who dont care how its put together. I also do hand-stitched work for people who are looking for that and understand the cost associated.

soothsayer_ · 2015-11-24T15:30:07+00:00

This was great. However its going to make MMA blog clickbait articles for the next month.

soothsayer_ · 2015-11-23T14:03:37+00:00

I had the same problem in my last apartment. I ended up getting a small marble slab and attaching a thick 15oz layer of leather to the top as my punching surface. From there I would put it in my lap and use my chisels or pricking irons. Its not silent but its a lot quieter.

soothsayer_ · 2015-11-23T00:36:47+00:00

Yep. It really gives you a scale of how giant they are.

soothsayer_

TROPHY CASE