TLC News Update
TLC News Letter Posting 19/3/07
This issue is not as far behind as I expected after the time lost due after the heart problems. I have a further appointment at Papworth to have Stents fitted in the second Artery on May the 3rd. That’s enough about me lets get back to some other events that are of importance.
This Blog is now being read by Search Big Daddy Friends & I would like to take this opportunity to welcome them all, especially all those that have chosen to be added to my list of Friends. I have not had an opportunity to answer the kind messages sent to me & would like to take advantage of this news letter to thank you all. My problem has been the success of my site & it’s growth, I started the site with the sole purpose of distributing my series of Leather Instruction Manuals which I am in the process of writing, I added some suppliers, (mostly UK based) that I had used in the past & could vouch for, along with some other leather information just to make the site more interesting. As the site gained popularity I received numerous requests from leather related companies to be added to my list. Over the years this has forced me to categorise this into more manageable lists, with the result that the site is now a massive research & reference facility.
To all the many customers & friends that I have made over the years through the purchase of my manuals, please watch the Postings over the next few weeks on my “Leather Trade, For Sale & Wanted” page. (Landing Page); http://www.theleatherconnection.com/id24.htm
I will be offering a selection of very old & valuable Leather Work & Saddlery Tools for sale in 13 lots. Some of them are rare others are just not unobtainable now. There is also a British United Heavy Duty Sewing Machine in excellent condition for sale from the same source. To avoid the Seller being approached by curious callers other than leather related customers will all interested parties please contact me at info@theleatherconnection.com For all Manual users please use the Google Mail email address you were given.
TlC News Update
New News Letter Post 1/3/09
For the benefit of site visitors & regular readers I have had a forced absence from my computer & site, this was brought about by a heart attack while working on the computer. (No I was not looking at obscene pictures). Once the Paramedics stabilised me & got me to hospital things settled down until I had an angiogram to find out what the problem was I then started to have the second heart attack, the surgeon put in two Stents in one artery as an emergency measure. I now await a visit to our nearest heart specialist hospital to have further Stents inserted in the other artery. This however is much less of a problem than a Bypass so I will soon be back to normal; however until then computer work is restricted.
A new development; or should I say an expansion of an existing provision?
An under used service offered by The Leather connection is my “Leather Trade For Sale & Wanted Page” This is another Free service to everyone to sell items, surplus stock, machinery, etc. I have been asked by a lady who has recently lost her father to help dispose of all his stock of Leather, Tools, Machinery & Fittings. This is going to be a mammoth task because there is a huge amount of top quality leather alone to catalogue. The lot will be advertised on my sit as soon in batches as she manages to work through it, so watch these News Letters for future posts on this one.
With regards to the tool list from Hale & Co. if you downloaded it you will have seen that some tools are unavailable at present The UK based Tool Manufacturer will be adding most of the metal tools like Crew Punches, etc. But for those of you that are having problems with making crew punch holes without the right size crew punch I have a work around way to do this. For full details email me on info@theleatherconnection.com For existing manual users & anyone on my contact list just use the G Mail email address you were given.
One important Item that is still missing is a Stitching Clamp, to help out I have designed a Temporary Stitching Clamp & that is also available as a download from the Landing Page given for the Tool List, but we are now in the process of developing traditional Stitching Clams like the very old ones I inherited from my Great Grandfather & have already produced some excellent proto type Loop Clamps.
Some Buck Fat (as we used to call it) has also been created, this is far superior for sealing & burnishing raw edges of leather after staining than the Dubbing & other hard Wax finishes that are now sold.
The Leather Connection News Letter
This journal is provided for the Site Members & visitors of my site. www.theleatherconnection.com but I am happy to make it available to anyone who might find it of interest. There are sign-up forms on my site & membership is Free to all leather Companies & Businesses. I also try to reply to emails & answer all questions; I will also from time to time post some of those questions & answers on this news letter.
Filling in the Contact Forms on my site; a few guidelines, attachments are never opened so please dont use them. Entries without contact details, no information, or lists of obscure URL addresses are automatically trashed.
Basic information regarding Tanners, Leather Suppliers, Manufacturers & all other leather users advertising or listed on the above site, provided for all readers unfamiliar with this industry. All Leather/Skins sold & used are the Waste Product of the World Wide Food Chain. If these skins were not used they would be incinerated or add to the waste in land fill sites. Not all skins are used or are suitable for use & these are disposed of. No Modern Tanneries now pollutes their local river as the modern systems in use ensure this does not happen.
The above is not true when it comes to what is termed Native Crafts. This is the type of Leather Goods purchased in mainly African Markets & parts of South America. & at times endangered species are the victims. I & none of my sites members condone this practice, like the Ivory Trade it is mainly illegal & should be condemned. The Fur Trade is another issue & there is no need for anyone to kill endangered animals to provide coats for Fashion Models, etc. However it is a different story when Eskimos & other Arctic Dwellers use the fur from animals killed to feed their family & to also keep them warm. Unfortunately Nylon fur is not efficient at keeping out extreme cold & vegetation does not grow in those regions.
Leather/Skins Available
Having got the above off my chest there are some excellent & perfectly tanned Exotic Leathers available through The Leather Connection Tanned in Thailand which includes Stingray, (Shagreen). The list including many other exotic skins can be found on my site but again all the creatures were either caught by Fishermen or Famed for their meat in the Far East. (They have far different culinary tastes in that region). But then the creatures are far different, take Stingray for instance it is eaten out there in much the same way as we in the Northern Hemisphere eat Skate, In fact prior to these beautiful skins being tanned they were discarded with local fishermen using a few as a substitute for sandpaper when building their Boats. Yes thats how incredibly tough it is, incidentally it is also difficult to work with. But it is becoming extremely popular with Interior & Fashion Designers as well as furniture designers.
Leather Craftsmans Tools
A new service offered by the leather connection, I have teemed up with an American tool distributor & a UK Tool Manufacturer to provide some top quality tools for the serious Leather Workers. This venture will offer a vast improvement on the poor quality tools that are available from some suppliers. Of cause they are not cheap, but when you consider the fact that you may well have to renew some tools if you settle for cheaper brands purchasing the best is not expensive in the long run.
It is early days yet & the tool list is not yet up on the site as there are some details still to sort out. There is also the prospect or reintroducing some missing tools & equipment as well as old traditional style equipment that has been missing since the Last World War. The Saddlers Stitching Clamps for example are still available, but the two clamp sections are cut out of a solid block of wood. I have two of my Great Grandfathers Clamps that are thinner, lighter & the wood used has been soaked, bent to shape & dried in a kiln. This provides a stronger & tighter grip on the work as well as being more comfortable to hold. We are very excited about this project & I am particularly flattered as the Tool Kit will bear my name. Top Quality Hides are also available from this company & will be featured on my site.
Leather Treatment
I get a lot of emails from the general Public asking about treatment & care of Leather & in particular the care of Leather Furniture I can offer advice on this subject but I have some Associated companies that will supply the treatments, & some that will actually carry out the treatment as well as give advice on maintenance & care. There are two tips however I will offer to avoid problems if you go down the road of DIY: Dont start treating the surface of any article with any preservative, polish, etc. on any part that is visible. Treatments can alter the colour of leather especially light coloured leather. Leather Bags have bases try it there first, Leather Sofas, if you turn them upside down there is a narrow edge of leather turned onto the base of the frame try your treatment out on the back edge of that rim first. Check that any treatment you use will not stain or rub off on clothing especially light coloured clothing. Dont just rely on using a white cloth to rub over the surface but remember that body heat can draw out any grease from within the leather fibres that you assumed had dried out.
The treatment providers that I recommend & can be found on my site are; Furniture Clinic For Furniture Care Listed at the top of my home page & UK based.
Obenauf's Leather Preservatives Again, listed at the top of my home page & based in America. (This product is best suited to leather goods & boots & shoes it is a Bees Wax & Propolis compound & ideal for restoring leather).
Franco Franelli Franco@franelli.com UK based He will advise & visit.
Please remember to mention my site as the source of your information as all site owner & businesses like to know where the recommendation came from.
My Blogs
I have a couple of blogs that could be of general interest, not specifically to the leather fans but to the general public as well. I lectured on the History of Leather Goods whilst HOD at a London Leather College & you can read my interpretation of this period of history on my site. The first Blog is written on Googles Blogger which touches on the use of leather from early times as well as recording events & additions to my site. Google have been changing this software around a bit & it is not as intuitive as it once was & I have not updated it for some while, however it is still a good informative read.
My latest Blog is on my Search Big Daddys Blog Landing Page & can be accessed Through Yahoo. Go to;
http://e.my.yahoo.com/config/cstore?.opt=content&.url=http%3A%2F%2Fburhide%2Ebloglanding%2Ecom%2F%3Fmethod%3Drss A dreadfully long URL but I havent worked out how to set it up as an Atom RSS Feed yet. However copy & past it in you title bar & it will offer all the entries to the Blog Landing entry. This one traces the use of leather from early Homo Sapiens up to & beyond Stone Age Man. This version does not necessarily agree with that proposed or offered by historians. But they are academics & know nothing about the subject of leather I being an expert on that subject can take the evidence produced by Archaeologists & put a more feasible interpretation on the involvement of leather in the gradual development of the human species.
Search Big Daddy
This is a new Search Engine & On-line Service which has been on line for less than a year but it is growing fast & will eventually rival the big three of Google, Yahoo & MSN. Why should I believe this? Well apart from all the new services they offer there is one major difference, Search Big Daddy pay you to search the Internet using their search engine. No one else does that; you can build up points which are convertible into cash. If you have a web site you can also purchase Key Words which give you top places in your chosen area of expertise. You can also purchase key words or key Phrases which are displayed on Splash Pages, I have got some & they are producing more visitors & some customers. To sign up click the following link. http://www.bigdaddypays.com/burhide
Search Big Daddys list of benefits you can take advantage of when you sign up;
Blog Landing Page, free service with an account, this is easy to use & gives similar features to Googles Blogger.
Big Daddy Friends, This is a closed environment only available to Search Big Daddy members. You create a profile & can pick & choose who you accept on your list. It is an opportunity to correspond with like minded members.
Support Desk, this one gets answered quickly & is easy to use.
Members Forum, Good & lots of topics.
Search Big Daddys answer to YouTube Yes you can load you own videos there providing you are a signed up member.
A City Key Word Manager, This is waiting to be launched, sign up & get your own local city, recruit local Businesses & sell them key Words on your local Splash Page (like a bulletin board or the Adds section of a Local Paper or Local Yellow Pages). Someone clicks the link & that business advert is displayed.
Can you visualise the business opportunities joining this Search Engine as a Member will provide over the coming years & it is not expensive to start Especially as you get paid to search, hey you even get to use your earnings to pay for Key Words & Splash Page Key Words. What are you waiting for go here & sign up now; http://www.bigdaddypays.com/burhide