New Leather Skill

 For Joshua's 30th birthday I wanted to give him something special. I knew he's love a tool roll to fit in Walter for our trip but I was daunted by the size of the project I would be undertaking. After a friend let me know he thought he'd really like one though I decided to go for it. I was afraid of the project because of the size, cost of the leather if I screwed up, and that I'd have to obtain a new skill- leather sewing. The sewing required that I buy quite a few new leather tools and invest some money in the project.

Once we got to the leather store I found the most amazing piece of leather. I can't wait to see it wear and stain and leave ghost shapes of the tools stored in each sleeve. Then the man working there took the time to sit down with me and show me the best technique for sewing. It was so kind of him and I felt so much more confident after that!

The pattern took me the longest, I wanted to customize it to fit his tool needs and make it so it fit in a very specific place in Walter to store. I also wanted to make some pockets to store small items, I love how those turned out.

Luckily I ran into no big hurdles and my fly by the seat of my pants pattern worked out great. He was really excited about it and I love seeing him carry it off when he goes to play with Walter.

Jay Leathergoods

I had the honor of setting up a booth of my leathergoods a few weeks ago. I was in a space with about 15 other makers, free wine and appetizers, and lots of lovely people. It was the first time I've shown off my stuff so I was super excited. Also extraordinarily nervous. I wore the apron my mom made me with pockets to stow money and ordered a credit card payment method, but had no idea if anyone would buy anything. Mostly I was excited to see what people thought and to have a reason to finish all my projects.

The night though went SUPER well! I had lots of customers, coworkers came down, friends came down and took me to drinks after to celebrate. There were tons of people milling about and they said such kind things about my work. It was so cool to see them showing off what they'd bought to other people as the night went on and hearing their comments. I couldn't have asked for it to go better.

Lots of people have asked if I sell online, I haven't quite gotten that fancy yet. I do however have an Instagram @jayleathergoods and an email jayleathergoods@gmail.com that I accept orders through!

Plus my friend's shop, Urban Earth, sells a small selection of my creations :)

Homeade Bike Bag

 

 

I really like riding my bike places, most of the time, but don't really enjoy slinging a bag over my shoulder while I ride. The bag always swings in front of me or gets my back sweaty, which isn't always a problem but it is more so when I'm going out for the night. So I made myself a bike bag that hangs from the frame and then can unbuckle and be carried around like a purse with via a strap inside!

"I hope you take me where I can only go in song"

 

I'm kind of in love with it!

I kind of love it and of course I had to hammer some letters into it for fun! They're lyrics from a song Joshua keeps playing me- It's Hanging Road by Joseph Huber. If you want new music his lyrics are beyond stunning!