|
|
Post by Chelsea on Nov 21, 2009 18:23:07 GMT -5
Im making Bailey a leather collar  I love doing art & crafts stuff, drawing and leather are my favs. Im not the best at it but I think its coming out pretty good. Its pretty basic right now... All ive done so far is cut in his name, and beveled it a little. I still have to stain it, round the end of it, and add a buckle and D ring. Im thinking about putting some sort of design on each side of his name, but I havent found anything i like yet. I'll post more pics as i work on it more     I made him pose with it...  I was boring him lol  |
|
|
|
Post by ferretdroogies on Nov 21, 2009 23:31:22 GMT -5
OMG! So, why haven't you started selling collars on ETSY yet?!?!  That's amazing! You could seriously make money doing that! If I had a dog, I would pay you to make me one!  |
|
|
|
Post by Chelsea on Nov 22, 2009 9:44:27 GMT -5
OMG! So, why haven't you started selling collars on ETSY yet?!?! That's amazing! You could seriously make money doing that! If I had a dog, I would pay you to make me one! Because this is the first dog collar ive ever made...  You really think anyone would want to buy something like these? They arnt THAT good... I wish i could make them for ferrets, but i dont think i could make on that small (like they would keep it on anyways  ) |
|
|
|
Post by rarnold18 on Nov 22, 2009 14:09:11 GMT -5
We have a Bayleigh in our fur family too! I love the collar is looks great!
|
|
|
|
Post by maddiesmom on Nov 22, 2009 15:18:35 GMT -5
Very cool! I love that last picture, too funny |
|
|
|
Post by sherrylynne on Nov 22, 2009 21:26:40 GMT -5
It does look really good. Why not make a few, and set up a shop on Etsy? Might be worth your while!
|
|
|
|
Post by ferretdroogies on Nov 23, 2009 1:06:16 GMT -5
This might be your brake to make money to be a little more independent from your parents!  I would go for it! People love this kind of stuff! Not to mention Christmas is coming up! You are good! Leather isn't easy to work with! Etsy (just incase you don't know) is only for vendors that sell handmade stuff. It's actually become a very popular site and have heard vendors having great success selling stuff here! Here's someones store that makes leather collars for dogs to give you some ideas on styles you can do, and ideas on pricing (leather goods sell for a LOT!). www.etsy.com/shop/rolloverleatherworks People especially love custom stuff! Forgot to say the first time, Bailey is so cute, especially the last picture! I can't wait to see the finished product! |
|
|
|
Post by Chelsea on Nov 25, 2009 21:49:28 GMT -5
That does sound like a good idea, as hopfully ill be getting a bunch of new leather tools for x mas (they are expencive so i dont have any fancy stuff) Im not sure if i really could do it though, id have to be sure that they would sell, because leather isnt cheap to buy. Also, on that link you gave to the leather collar maker on etsy, they, like many others ive seen, do stamping for the names on leather. I dont have any stamps. With stamping, its really easy and fast, you just get the leather wet, line up the stamps, and hammer it. I dont use stamps, the way i do it is, i find a style of letter i like, trace it (skip those steps if im just doing it free-hand) wet the leather, copy the design onto the leather, cut it out, and bevel it. It takes, quite a bit longer then stamping. And those letter stamps are NOT cheap. For just one stamp, one letter of one design, can be $10+. So, if i got some good buisness going im sure someday i could afford to get a bunch of them, but there is no way i could afford to get letter stamps right now. The point im trying to make is that, the collars arnt "perfect". Like, its %100 hand made, no special stamps for letter and bevel all the edges, and any extra designs are hand-carved, so there are going to be human errors. I measure out everything many times before i put any mark on the leather, to make sure everything is set right, but still... they will never be "perfect" like the stamped designs are. Also, not sure how i would sell them. All of the collars will have to be made to order. I can only do designs that can be carved into the collar, i dont have any of those fancy conchos to put on there(once again, because they are expencive). So its not like i can make a collar then put it up for sale, unless i just make collars with random dog names on them and hope someone buys them. Otherwise id have to wait for someone to order to put the dogs name on it. You really think it would be worth it? I guess i could give it a try in a while, who knows, it could work... It would be so awesome if i could make money off of this. |
|
|
|
Post by ferretdroogies on Nov 26, 2009 1:54:43 GMT -5
That makes it even more amazing! I will always appreciate people who do things by hand. It's far more impressive and worth the money On Etsy, quite a bit of people on there (especially for custom stuff) ask for you to allow a certain amount of time to make it. If people want it, they will wait Doing custom might be more time consuming, but what you can do it put it up on Etsy, take in as many as you think you can handle making at a time, then take it down until you are ready. You can also make premade stuff with cool designs, random phrases or words, stuff like that. You can also add things like studs or spikes in cool designs, if you can do this (or if you even have stuff like this). I think it would be awesome! |
|
|
|
Post by sherrylynne on Nov 26, 2009 20:28:13 GMT -5
I'd check it out, anyway. I know of some people with etsy shops that only have a few things on their site, but they make it to demand.
Also- explain there what you just said here, about the painstaking hand method you use. What have you got to lose?
How long does it take to make one, anyway?
|
|
|
|
Post by Chelsea on Nov 26, 2009 21:21:27 GMT -5
How long does it take to make one, anyway? Well, this is the first dog collar ive made, but heres my guess... First off, is the carving. If you want a specific letter style, i trace the name out in the letter style on tracing paper. If not, then i just draw it out by hand onto tracing paper. Then, wet the leather, with the paper over the leather, trace over the words so it dents the leather, so when you remove the paper you have a guide. Then, carve out the letters with a swivel knife. And after the letters (and/or designs) are carved in, you bevel them. For Baileys name, it took 1-2 hours? Obviously it would be more if you want a design on it. Then i put all the holes in, where the screws that hold the buckle and D ring on and on the end, and put some leather oil/conditioner on it. Then, it has to dry overnight. After it is dry, I stain it. This can take anywhere from 1 day, to maybe 2 or 3 days, depending on how many layers of stain i use. I usually do 2 layers of stain, so lets say 2 days for that (it has to try 24 hours before another layer of stain is put on) After the stain is dry, you either paint it, or leave it natural. I like the way they look with just the stain, but painting the name/design would probably take an hour or 2, depending on how complex the design and how many layers of paint is needed. After that has dried, i put on the finnish. Its a glossy paint that makes the leather shiny and helps keep it from getting really scratched. So, waiting time for it to be made would be about a week. Im not sure how this one is going to come out. Since this is the first one ive made, its kind of experimental lol. I might end up having to put more layers of conditioner on in between staining. And i might use a thicker leather, or mayber a thinner one but double layered... |
|
|
|
Post by sherrylynne on Nov 27, 2009 20:12:16 GMT -5
So aobut 4 hours of actually working on it, and a day to three for drying time? That would likely work well for a small business. Work on a couple a day(weekends and evenings, I understand!)
Any way you could prep 4-5, including the holes, Dring, etc, and put the name on afterward? That way, you'd be a little bit ahead for putting them on Etsy. AND...you could use money made from the to start getting stamps.
|
|
|
|
Post by Chelsea on Dec 5, 2009 22:20:20 GMT -5
So aobut 4 hours of actually working on it, and a day to three for drying time? That would likely work well for a small business. Work on a couple a day(weekends and evenings, I understand!) Any way you could prep 4-5, including the holes, Dring, etc, and put the name on afterward? That way, you'd be a little bit ahead for putting them on Etsy. AND...you could use money made from the to start getting stamps. Well, i could sort of prep some, but i cant do much without exact measurements. I could put the holes in for the screws that hold the buckle and Dee ring, but i cant put the holes on the end because i need the exact size for that. And, i cant cut the leather until i know the exact size... otherwise i'd end up wasting a ton of leather. I havent been able to work on them much, have been busy. I just started another one, without finishing Baileys, for my sisters dogs (2 sisters, each with 1 dog, i want to make them both collars with their names on it for x mas) But i put all the holes in Baileys collar, and tried it on him. This is what it is basicly going to look like, just with more color. I havent dyed it yet, i will on monday probably. I put oil on it today so i have to wait for it to dry. The other collar in the pics is for my sisters dog, Bella a Bullmastif. You can kind of see her name, i just started carving it into the leather.         |
|
|
|
Post by sherrylynne on Dec 6, 2009 11:21:23 GMT -5
You really do some good work with these. I can also see you care about the quality of them  |
|
|
|
Post by Chelsea on Dec 9, 2009 17:17:34 GMT -5
|
|
