ZeeBee Leather

[seawolf]

[jdl1279]

Thanks for scratching the itch Really popping out the wallets aren't you?

[seawolf]

No prob. More pics this weekend for sure.

Just practicing. I keep thinking of slight adjustments to the design and construction. I won't stop until I'm completely happy with it or I run out of leather!

[madmonday]

yeah, you'll run out of leather first 

[bagley920]

If anyone wants a wabash wallet, him him up, he's got plenty coming haha

[jdl1279]

Just keep doing it, they look great! Really not trying to rush you, just love seeing the progress. Given I have to wait for you to receive parts anyway, now wouldn't be the time to get impatient, I can reserve that for once it ships

[seawolf]

I made that basketweave wallet for jdl1279 but the more I learned about making wallets and tooling leather, the less happy I was with it. So, I decided to make it again. This time I took Into account all of the lessons learned from the first version. It took me most of the day yesterday, and a little of this morning but it's all done and I'm very happy with it. I took a couple pictures of both versions side by side so you can see the differences (or maybe you can't, and I'm just neurotic).

[seawolf]

[seawolf]

[seawolf]

Much better. Ahhh…..

[Finn666]

i definitely can…nice work right there!

[Chris]

Yep, I can see distinct improvement in the second one.  Nice work, dude.

[Giles]

Which one is which?..

[seawolf]

There's that dry British sense of humo(u)r we all love so much!

Thanks guys

[jdl1279]

Wow, I assumed you would tighten up your technique, but looking at them side by side and seeing how crisp the second looks next to the first kinda has me at a loss for words. Super glad you wanted to do that, I love it. The added rivets were a perfect touch.

[seawolf]

The  burnishing from the tooling is a lot more apparent in the new wallet. The leather needs to be damp for tooling, but when I was first starting out, the leather was too wet and that nice brown burnishing wasn't achieved. You can really see it in the second one. The new wallet is indeed crisper, more balanced, and feels a lot better too. The first wallet wasn't fully lined because I thought I would save some weight, but it made the wallet feel and fold kind of funny and I didn't like that. The new wallet is full lined and feels great. I love it.

[4c]

Seawolf, you are neurotic, but much much more than just neurotic, you’re also an artist and an excellent craftsman. I respect your devotion to your craft. Nice work!

Reminds me of a teacher that I had who would use "OCD" as a supreme complement to students who became totally obsessed with their work. Love that teacher, she gets it.

[seawolf]

I'll take that. I am pretty OCD when it comes to this stuff. I literally just finished a wallet and thought almost immediately about changes I'll make on the next one.

Behold:

[jdl1279]

The stamped pocket was a nice addition. So far all variations have been uniquely appealing, good stuff Zach.

[seawolf]

Thanks jdl -  It's all part of the design process. I have to build it to try it, and see if it works. I try to make things as ergonomic as possible for myself, and when my natural motions of opening a wallet and grabbing a card are inhibited by a design feature, it needs to be adjusted. Being that I regularly grab my ID card and pull it out of my wallet to show to gate guards at various military bases, the orientation of the ID slot had to be easy for me to use without thinking about it. That's why in my latest wallet has the ID slot on the right, with the opening oriented to the right.

I've just ordered a Golden Mean Caliper from this guy: http://www.goldenmeancalipers.com  It'll be a useful tool for proportioning various aspects of my visual design elements.

I've updated the web shop to include the new wallet designs. Check it out! www.zeebeeleather.com