New wallet in progress. Stay tuned for further details.

This cuff is a collaboration between myself (leather) and Jen (http://www.etsy.com/shop/CherryFire), who made the lovely chainmail piece. This is to be a not-so-secret present for a certain someone. This project was a bit challenging, as I've never really worked with chainmail, but ultimately very satisfying to solve the logistical problems this request presented.

Fun and excitement continues with the brass carving, which has been mostly for myself up until this point. However, I've got some ideas for incorporating these little carvings into more practical applications, such as closure hardware for braided leather bracelets and cuffs. The bone was created just for this purpose, and the skull and pug head were for me:




I've also been experimenting with another wallet design. A discussion with a potential Etsy customer made me realize that there may be more interest in tooled leather chain wallets if they weren't all so big and bulky. He was interested in a design that was about halfway between the two main wallets I've been making so far - slim enough to be comfortable, would fit completely in a back pocket but with a snap enclosure and an attachment for a wallet chain. So, I came up with this:



This is of course a rough prototype, but I think with a little refining this will be a great bifold design. Plenty of room for tooling and customization, plus enough room to carry currency and a few cards.

Wallets are complete, and now on to the next project - a small carved brass bead of an early hominid skull. Here's an in-progress shot:

Three day weekend - productive

Lots of progress over the long weekend. I had plenty of time and very few distractions, so the latest wallet is ready to be sealed, have the hardware attached and sew it together. A bout of serious web surfing revealed a new source for chain, and a very unique solid brass chain has been ordered to adorn both this and the possum wallet.

Here's a progress shot of the possum/skull wallet, with all tooling and dyeing complete and ready for sewing:

And here's where things are now. The wallet and belt loop are both complete, now I just need to order an appropriate chain to connect the two.

One of the projects that's been on the back burner for a long time is making myself an awl. I've had the awl haft for a few months now, and have had the ebony blank for a number of years, but never made the time to put the two together...until today. Finally, I dragged out the belt sander and made an appropriate handle, inserted the awl haft and voila:

Also started the next wallet today. This one will be of Baphomet, and here's a shot of the design with the interior pieces transferred to the hide:

Both of these wallets have yet to be claimed....

Measuring tape case

As promised, here is the measuring tape case. Simple, effective, and possibly useful only to me. Also in progress is another biker/trucker wallet, and this one isn't promised to anyone as of yet.

Working, working

My last post referred to a new case for a dressmakers tape measure, and I seem to remember promising photos of its completion. Well, forget about that, because the first version was terrible. Too small, which made it too hard to snap shut and distorted the shape. So I made another, better one, that will allow me to place my signature stamp in a better location. Once again, pictures will be arriving later.

I did finally get off my lazy rear end and post some of my inventory to my Etsy store. The two front pocket wallets with the racing stripes are new, and were just finished the other day, but the tampon cases have been laying around for months. The idea was to create a new page in my 'proper' website, just for these, but that never did happen. So, let's see how they fare amongst the Etsy crowd:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/orfeet

I've made custom versions of these, but want to see how the plain ones sell before offering the option for customizing.

Latest project

Last night was spent working on a new project for myself, that could be useful to other creative types as well. Ever since the belts that I make became somewhat popular I've found myself with the need to carry around a dressmakers tape measure. I just rolled it up, placed it in a small plastic bag and thought nothing of it, and would be prepared to take someones measurement if they expressed interest in ordering a belt. However, while browsing for wallet inspiration recently I came across a Japanese leather brand that made a small case strictly for the purpose of carrying just such an item. Their product is lovely, but is a two-piece affair, and I thought the design could be simplified and still be useful. So I created my own version....which isn't pictured here, as I forgot to photograph it. It's also a prototype, and not really a finished version, but pictures will be posted as soon as a nicer version is complete.

Changing things around

It's time to resurrect this blog, as there's a lot of information I'd like to share that doesn't necessarily need to clutter up my official site. Officially this will be where I can keep clients up to date on my progress, what projects I'm working on, who is next in line for their commission, etc., but also where I can post photos of works in progress or of things that don't really fit into a leatherwork or painting category. So, onward to the updates.

Projects that are complete and are waiting on the client:

Paul C. - bottle opener belt.

Mark H. - robot wallet. Also, let's talk soon about your bookbinding tool project.

Sandra Z. - tentacle bracelet.

Who's next in line:

David A. - belt(s) and bar mats (let me know when you've got time to meet.)

Ongoing:

Still creating some inventory, to stock my Etsy store and to keep busy while I'm in between commissions. What I'm working on is mostly wallets, but will probably expand that to include bracelets and cuffs. Recently I finished a batch of brass teeth, and there are seven of these available:


These would make excellent necklace pendants, key fobs, decorations for wallet chains, or whatever else you can think of.

Complete!

It's done, finished on Tuesday night. Now it just needs a frame, wire, a finishing coat, a print made of the digital pic, some glue to keep the canvas edges from fraying.......maybe it really isn't done yet.

I decided to go for it and added some details to the background, hopefully this will tighten up the composition and keep the painting from looking like a drawing plopped into the middle of a bland expanse of background.

If all goes to plan and my ceiling doesn't cave in, this painting should be complete as of tomorrow night. Keeping fingers crossed....

I've been painting every day lately, with the exception of Wednesday, and as I haven't been posting each time a photo was taken I lost track of the time spent each day painting. Although I know for sure an hour was spent working Thursday, and about six hours today. So, here are the pics:


The obligatory studio shot:


Here is where things stand currently, and where I'm stuck. I'm tempted to push things and add some detail to the background, but would that be overkill? It doesn't really look like an underwater scene yet, but maybe that's not really necessary. Time for a break, and I'll come back to it tomorrow.

Bomb Scare=Productive

So someone called in a bomb threat to the University Teaching Center today, which led to the (not quite so) immediate evacuation of that building and the PCL Library, which is where I work. After only working for one and a half hours we were told to go home and not come back till tomorrow. Hah! Turns out it was an empty threat, but who am I to complain? Especially when there's more time to paint:


After allowing for some serious goofing off I worked for five solid hours today, strictly on the crab body. Onwards to the detail shots....

The weekend

Lots of painting this weekend, starting with making a royal mess out of the background:


And then fixing it. Turns out that after all this work on the background the earlier layers aren't really visible, except in one or two small spots. I'll just chalk those wasted hours up to experimentation.


A few base colors are added to the crab woman's lower anatomy and claws, and the shading is loosely worked out. Then, it's time to start playing colors against one another.