Leathercraft Hobby to Business

Is it time to take this Leathercraft hobby up a notch? Let's spill some tea and talk about going from hobby to a Leather side hussle. Thoughts and considerations. Please comment with your thoughts.

[@brillonleather]

Have you transitioned a hobby to a business? If so, what type of hobby was it and how did you make out?

[@jamesw.3491]

I'll be honest... Unless you are making very small goods, you'll never be able to make money without sewing machines and skive machines. You won't get people to pay enough for the items to pay yourself a fair wage/profit. If you have 10 hours into the dopp bag, how many people will pay you 300+ dollars for it? Hardly any. You need to produce goods fairly quickly.

[@brillonleather]

@@jamesw.3491 Your on point with this comment. I agree with you. Putting a stopwatch on my stitching time was a real eye opener. Thanks for your input. Appreciated.

[@jasonanthonywilper]

The fight against meat and the vegan/vegetarian/weatherclima propaganda will make acquiring leather more and more expensive. There will be less tool manufacturers making those more expensive too if the demand drops. That even though leather is fantastic for the environment and can last decades if not centuries. Love your channel! Leathercraftibg is exciting and fun.

[@brillonleather]

@@jasonanthonywilper True. I didn’t realize how large the meat industry currently is. I do feel I’m doing a small part to repurpose hides that otherwise would end up in the landfill. It’s very cool to think that leather working has been around way before us for many purposes. Thanks for the feedback and watching the channel. I appreciate you. Take care.

[@pepleatherlab3872]

I make a lot of the same selections. The Conceria market in Tuscan leathers is just outstanding. Never been disappointed in their varieties. If you're looking for some equally outstanding quality leather I can't recommend *District Leather Supply* enough. Especially their MPG Tannery (also a Conceria member.) The hand on the leather is a bit more oiled than the Buttero, Badalassi or Pueblo and the color richness is superb. I purchase a lot of the MPG Graffiti, MPG Apollo and MPG Aragona series'. The character on the MPG Aragona will stun you. Perhaps start with a few panels. Impossible to be disappointed. (The shop is in Georgia and ships from there.) Regarding the edge paint, I usually avoid it unless I'm working with cheaper chrome tannages. The liquoring process makes burnishing them difficult due to excess fat, oil and wax infusion. With veg tan I always prefer edge dye markers then wax burnishing. It just finishes with greater appeal. Transforming the hobby into a paying side hustle can be a challenge. My recommendations: 1) Create a Sole Proprietorship and have your business registered (for tax deductions.) 2) Shop for a book keeper and deliver them your expenditure receipts monthly (leather and supplies become tax deductible.) 3) Open an account at ULINE or other suppliers for items like gift boxes, mail shippers, latex gloves and cotton, satin or felt bags (for the products.) It's also good to get various cards made (inserts, business cards, Thank you cards, etc.) 4) Open an ETSY account and/or a business website (costs can also be deductible if done by another business.) 5) Lastly, it's also possible to lease a private vehicle to your own business and make maintenance/fuel tax deductible. Your crafting space, internet and electricity can also be deducted as a business espense. Regarding photography, I also struggle with it quite a bit as it's not even remotely interesting to me. What I've done is create a shadow box area where I can insert products depicted with various decor to give them scale. Wooden items work quite well next to leather. Bowls, old coins, metal ink pens, bird feathers, marbles, baseballs, you name it. It all photographs nicely. Just be sure not to place trade marked labels in the images. I think a lot of us come to leather craft from a variety of backgrounds but arrive at a place where making sales to support our passion becomes necessary. When I started making leather repairs at sea for shipmates then collecting cash for it, I was struck by the simplicity of it. Here I am 34 years later crafting 80+ hrs/week and can say that I've never regretted my time as a maker. Thanks for the content. Cheers Brillon.🥃

[@brillonleather]

@@pepleatherlab3872 Thank you so much for all the information. I’ll refer to this comment as I move forward. I have used District Leather and always received nice panels. I will check out Uline also. Thanks for taking the time to respond. Nice to meet you!

[@edwardbella3871]

Try selling products at farmer markets or craft sale markets. A sewing machine will help to drop your costs to create a product. Hand sewing is nice but the product will be just to high for the public to pay. The choice is yours to make but enjoy the craft ,there is a lot to learn.

[@brillonleather]

@@edwardbella3871 I can see you would never stop learning. I wish I would have started many years earlier but no looking in the rear view mirror! Definitely would be difficult to make a fair hourly wage hand stitching. Thanks your suggestions and commenting. Nice to meet you.

[@MrNof55]

I retired and started doing leather about 5 years ago. I kept upgrading tools and buying better quality leathers. I started to sell on Facebook locally. Started to attend markets. Went to a bunch of markets to see what other sellers are selling and for how much. I started a website and sold some stuff. My wife and three daughters gave me input on what is in style etc.. This is my best advice. See what buyers want. For me it was a variety of cross body bags and smaller hip bags. I make a few of these and have them on hand for online sales or markets. I have a full line of wallets that I only have 1 or two of each made at any time. This way I don’t end up with a lot of products that sit around and don’t sell. If something takes forever to sell I only keep one or I stop making it after that one sells. As for pricing I could not justify adding my labour. I priced everything at material cost x 2. This covered the cost of materials and a bit of tools etc.. As I progressed and improved my quality I slowly increased my prices to match the competition around me. I just recently bought a Techsew sewing machine. Don’t look at it as a total cost. Yes you need the initial cost but you can sell it down the road and it only cost you from what you paid to what you sell it for. Better yet if you can find a good used one you won’t lose that much over time. A bag that would take me 8 hours to hand stitch I can do in less than a hour now so I use it for the bags etc.. I still hand stitch a lot of the exposed stitch’s on a lot of items but machine sew most turned big items. By no means am I profitable yet but I am covering my material costs and a bit more. I don’t buy many tools anymore so most of my markup goes to cover materials. I love making leather products so I can cover the costs of all those hides and a bit more I am happy. If that grows then bonus. If I ever decide to stop I can sell off my tools and try to recoup some of my investments. People my age golf or have other expensive hobbies. If over 10 years I invested 10g in equipment and never got anything back it isn’t too bad compared to all those golf memberships and clubs etc

[@rcppop3090]

Do you do western tooling as well? I have an old friend that was an amazing saddle maker but got out of the business after a decade of struggling. He’s been a carpenter ever since that was maybe 20 years ago.

[@Ruteger100]

Holsters and range bags would be a nice addition. Big three-gun community out there. cowboy action shooters too. (Old style revolvers) how about fishing tubes to protect and carry your fly fishing rods. Don't give up.

[@brillonleather]

@@Ruteger100 good ideas! I’m heading up north soon for a few days. I’ll have to notice them guys on the river and see what they are using for their gear 👀. Can’t give up. It’s in the blood now! Thanks for the comment too.

[@BurninatorTheTrogdor]

I have an elk hide I shot 20 years ago. It's really thick and very soft. It's been rolled and packed away because I never knew what to do with it. Maybe I'll finally do something with it.

[@brillonleather]

@@BurninatorTheTrogdor That would be something! You would be at the start of the process. Have you watched the tanning videos? The work those guys put in is amazing. It must be rewarding to take it from the raw hide and end up with a beautiful piece of leather that will last for years.

[@ericdekeersmaeker5780]

I just found your channel. I use the same leathers. I can’t agree more. Also recently retired. I’m on a hobby that is expanding bit by bit. Around here (local), I’m about the only leathercrafter that still uses the old methodes (except for the introducing of a laser to make up for bad eyesight). So people start to get to know me and love the veg tan choice (alltough it is more expensive). I love your personal touch in your video. I will be following you.

[@brillonleather]

@@ericdekeersmaeker5780 Thank you very much for the kind words. Congrats on the retirement life and on your thriving hobby! Glad to hear it. Thank you for the sub and comment. Stay in touch.

[@hocinechalal8398]

I'm at the same stage. Retired. Keeping busy. Once you decide your course go all in until it is not fun anymore. Cheers

[@brillonleather]

@@hocinechalal8398 Yes, I agree 100%. Thank you!

[@karinmacdonald6607]

My favorite too but I can’t afford it unless I can sell something 😔

[@brillonleather]

@@karinmacdonald6607 Same here. I better make something nice from these hides that someone thinks is nice enough to purchase! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment 😊

[@ElroyBeezley]

I get where you’re coming from, 100%. I haven’t figured it out yet.

[@brillonleather]

@@ElroyBeezley yep, a lot to consider. Once you jump in, then you’re IN! Next is the follow through.

[@ashleyanderson2859]

Know your market! Indepth research into your customers. I send sample work to trusted individuals for honest criticism. At no cost to them. Always open to suggestions on desired design changes. Multiple points of sales can also be a benefit. Just a few thoughts, hope this helps.

[@brillonleather]

Thank you for the comment. Good suggestions.

[@DubTuck002]

I'm using my hobby of leather craft to raise money for a nonprofit I'm involved with

[@brillonleather]

Wow, that's a great way to use your talent. Kudos.

[@enots814]

Go to craft fairs and see what they are making and what their costs are. Then start to attend them to show off your wares. Start small to test the waters.

[@brillonleather]

That's probably a great idea. In my area there aren't many craft fairs and I never see leathercrafters at the fairs I have attended. I always get the feeling people at fairs treat everything like a yardsale and want to knock prices. I guess I won't know unlit I try it!

[@CocoaMan]

Do you have any patterns? of your bags

[@johnalexion]

Just buy the sewing machine!😉

[@brillonleather]

Lol, when you start making sails we'll buy two together for that discount! Start saving your pennies 🙂

[@geraldlanning4310]

Buy a sewing machine but buy a good one a cobra class 26 don't waste your money on a used or crap one .

[@brillonleather]

@@geraldlanning4310 Funny you say that. That’s the exact one I have my eye on. The freight charge makes me cringe but I get it.

[@geraldlanning4310]

I have both class3 and class 26 I like both of them . I have the table for both its awesome good luck