ZeeBee Leather
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The site is looking great. If I have any critique, it's that you don't speak at all as to the quality of materials used or where you source from. These are areas where your attention to detail shines as much as anywhere, and it's a nice selling point. Otherwise the quality photos, back story, and offerings on display are great examples of what you do.
Great advice. I lost sight of that side of things. I'll definitely get on that. Thanks J!
The "father in law" looks awesome dude. Has a snakeskin like appearance but with leather. Good job
Thanks, I'm really smitten with it. I just take to my father-in-law, and he's so excited about getting it in the mail this week.
The Etsy shop looks good, and of course your work is on point, as always. Something that I've learned from being pretty active on etsy at one time, is that it definitely helps expand your reach and exposure to have as many listings as possible, with as many different tags describing them as possible. There's a ton of blogs you can read on the subject, but essentially it boils down to as etsy has grown exponentially, there are so many listings on the site, it's very hard to get discovered through simple searches like "leather belt". That search would produce thousands upon thousands of items for someone to sort through. If you diversify your tags and match them to the names of your listings, you will also generate more search hits. It's also better to have as many listings as you can take the time to create, so that your shop seems established, and there's even greater chance of being found.
I'm rambling a bit. Good luck on that site, though–it's gotten very big. The upcoming public offering of their stock should be interesting.
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This is such good advice. Thank you. I know, it's time to start making some more listings. I have a few diverse tags, and I've been working on that a little, but you're right, I need to read up on it and expand my horizons a little.
Thank you all so much! And thanks for the wonderful comments.
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A big thank you to @Megatron1505 @jdl1279 and @mclaincausey for their generous contributions to my Testimonials page!! You guys are too kind, and I really appreciate the support. See them here! http://zeebeeleather.com/testimonials/
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So pleased with how this wallet came out. This wallet is for a customer in MO, but the real credit for the design goes to @elclintor !! It's interesting to see how different it looks with the black thread vice the turquoise on Clint's wallet.
Also, if you haven't checked out my website this week, I'd like to please ask that you pop on over to www.zeeleather.com I've done a bunch of work to the site, and it' really something I'm proud of. Thanks for all of the suggestions to make it better. I've tried to take them all to heart and run with them.
I'll throw some pics up below of the wallet I just completed, and a couple of Clint's for comparison. Hope you like!
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Evo update.
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Hello! I posted this on Facebook on the ZeeBee Leather page https://www.facebook.com/zbleather but I wanted to share it in here as well.
I wanted to take a minute to answer a couple of the most common questions people ask me about leather working.
- "Where do you get your leather?"
Most of my leather comes from Horween Leather company in Chicago, Illinois. It's Chicago's last tannery and they're still tanning leather the old-fashioned way. It comes in rolled-up pieces ranging from about 12-26 sq. ft. They supply leather for many things you may already be familiar with. Allen Edmonds shoes, NFL footballs, and Aero Leather jackets to name a few. Read more about the famed tannery here! https://thedistance.com/horween/ - "How do you poke holes in the leather (for stitching)?"
I have an awl with a very sharp diamond shaped blade. The diamond shape gives the stitching the angled and stacked look. I have to hold the awl haft at a certain consistent angle every time I pierce the piece so that the stitching is straight, and has a consistent appearance. Every stitch is carefully placed, one at a time with a technique called Saddle Stiching. When I begin stitching a piece, the first thing I do is thread a needle onto each end of a length of 100% waxed polyester thread*. For a belt, I start with a single 30 foot length of thread, and a wallet requires about 15 feet. A tool that really helps make this process a little easier is a Stitching Pony. It's a long wooden clamp with the tips wrapped in leather, that holds the piece steady so I can use both of my hands for stitching. The next thing I do is make my first hole with the awl and thread the first needle through. I pull the needle through so that both needles have the same amount of thread on each side. Once both sides are even, I being the Saddle Stitching. I do this the old-fashioned way with a classic Saddle Stitching grip. I keep a needle between each of my fore and middle fingers, and the awl in my rights palm. I make a hole in the leather with my right hand, use my left hand to pass the first needle through, use my right hand to pass the second needle through, and use both hands to simultaneously draw all of the thread through the hole, making sure to pull it tight, meanwhile never putting the awl down. When I get to a stress-point in the piece, I'll backstitch a few times to add strength.
I've added some pictures below to illustrate the process a little. There's also a diagram that shows the difference between a machine made Lock Stitch and a handmade Saddle Stitch. I really believe that if you're going to invest in one of my products, you need to confident that it's going to last forever, which is why I have no interest in getting a machine for stitching. It's faster, easier, and more economical to use a machine, but I won't compromise on quality, ever.
*Why 100% Polyester thread? Polyester thread is very strong and won't ever rot and it won't wear away easily. I expect my products to last a lifetime and linen or cotton thread will break down over time. I get all of my thread from Maine Thread Company and use it with pride!
- "Where do you get your leather?"
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Trying to use photo bucket to embed this video but it's not working. Click the link to watch!
http://vid135.photobucket.com/albums/q142/zepicurean/Belt time lapse_zpszxsixgl4.mp4
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Really pleased with the way my new belt came out. @madmonday said once that craftsmen always make nice stuff for others but never for themselves, and I thought it was time to make myself a nice belt. This is tooled Veg-tanned leather saddle-stitched to Horween Essex in Teak with olive thread. I'm absolutely smitten.
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Nice work! Be careful now that someone doesnt buy it off you
