New year, new work

2012 is off to a productive start, and even though only a little of this work has been from the waiting list I think the benefit of trying new things will only do me good. First up are a couple of projects that take advantage of some of my new leather that was recently added to the stash. This bifold is constructed from a mustard yellow cowhide belly:

One of my Xmas gifts was a Kindle, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to put that fake alligator to use:

As someone who builds and repairs books during the course of my day job, I wasn't sure if I'd like an electronic reader, but I've come to really enjoy the portability of the device. I have to say that, to me, it still can't compare to having a beautiful, well-bound book in my hands.
Up next - knife sheaths. My girlfriend got tired of having to hunt for knives at her job and bought herself a few good paring knives to keep with her. They didn't come with any kind of sheath, aside from a sleeve of stiff plastic, so I made her a couple of sheaths. This first one is much more interesting to me but isn't particularly practical, due to how easily it would snag on clothing or other things:

 Also, tooling this sheath in the round didn't yield the best results. This next version is much more practical and I was able to do a clean job with the tooling:

                                                                                   
I don't know how this happening as it's not something I've ever advertised, but word is spreading that I'm able to repair leather goods and there are more and more requests for repair/modifications. A coworker recently wanted to add a handle to his guitar case. The original one broke, and he'd been using a "fits-all" version that he picked up at a local saddlery. Here's what he was using:

And here's what I made for him. Please forgive the terrible photos: