REGULAR GUILD MEETINGS;NORMALLY HELD THE THIRD SUNDAY OF
EACH MONTH, 1:00 - 4:00PM
SEE OUR WEB PAGE FOR
DIRECTIONS
Greetings
Folks!
Lets
talk about
PURPOSE and OPPORTUNITY.(Again!)
The stated purpose
for our guild is this:To promote
leathercraft awareness, and to share skills, experience and knowledge.
Now this may sound
like a broken record to some of you, but I have been an active member of this
guild since it was restarted back in June of 1990, and in all of that time we
have never had a year with as many opportunities to fulfill our purpose as we
have this year. Yes we have been at a few craft shows in the past. We have even
hosted a number of Midwest Federation Of Leather Guilds Shows. But to be part
of the Three Rivers Arts Festival AND to co-host the International Federation
Of Leather Guilds Annual Show right here in Butler, do you realize that we have the
potential to interact with thousands of people?!Whether you are new to the craft and/or the
guild, or whether you are a seasoned veteran, I hope that you help us make the
most of these opportunities.
There will be no meeting this month in hopes that you
will come to the Arts Festival instead. Here are the details for the Arts
Festival:
We will be demonstrating
FridayJune9 th
SaturdayJune 10 th
SundayJune 11 th
12:00 noon until 9:00pm daily.
We will be in booths 70 & 71, close
to Gateway Plaza 3 and the Hilton Hotel.
There are parking garages within a few minutes walk.
And for those of you who live a distance away, I would like to offer
the futon we have in our spare room or our very comfortable couch, if you would
like to come and take part for a day or more. Just give me a call and we can
work
out the details. I will be setting up our guild display and bringing
extra tools, mallets & leather. You can come empty handed or you can bring
something to work on as a demonstration and/or items for the display. Whatever
is easiest for you. If there is something specific you would like me to have
there for you, let me know. My cell
phone number is: 724-816-3901. Please call me if you have any questions or
concerns. (For more information about the Three
Rivers Arts Festival and all that is being offered, visit their web site: www.artsfestival.net )
Next month well talk more about the IFOLG Show
and what still needs to be taken care of. But for now, let me just share a
little taste of what is going on. We all know that to keep this craft alive and
growing we need to be bringing in younger folks. And to this end we have let
the local 4H group know about the IFOLG Show. And thanks to contacts made by
Kevin Cohn, we will be sending out 900 show fliers to the three area Boy Scout
Councils to distribute to their troops. Also, Al Runser is talking with a lady
who is part of Kidz n Communities
Magazine, a magazine for todays family. Perhaps we may end up with an
article in there as well. All of this goes hand in hand with Jim Linnells FREE
class for beginners this yearsshow. I
would love it if Jim had to have two classes because of all the interest. Not
that there wouldnt be logistical challenges to that, but it would be great!
Folks, you dont have to be a Master leather
worker to share what you know, just a love for the craft and a willingness to
give of your time and your talents. I hope you will join me in doing just that.
Your friend,
One of the glues that holds
leather guilds together is consistent communication, and Draper makes sure that
we get a newsletter every month, packed with interesting information and guild
business.People who are not a part of
the guild and have never been to Pittsburgh
are now reading the newsletter, at their convenience, on their computers.Guess what?They enjoy knowing what the guild is working on, what the members are
doing, and what is new in the PPLG.
Every day people use search
engines like Google to satisfy their curiosity.Most of the hits on the site come from random keywords.Sometimes strangers stay on the site for
long periods of time, as their interest is piqued, and they find the
newsletters.The newsletters show this
is a dynamic active guild, not a stagnant organization.However, the only real content Ive been able
to post are the newsletters.
The website gives us a chance
to introduce ourselves to the world.If
we could get pictures of leatherwork for the site, people would look.If any member wanted their business URL
featured, they might get more sales.If
people would share their talents and treasures by
adding content to the
website, local people will be encouraged to participate- because something
already familiar is not intimidating.That is where you, the loyal members of the PPLG come in I need your
contributions: pictures, patterns, profiles, links, ANYTHING that can help
capture the readers attention and (with luck!) get them to want to participate
in the guild, or keep on checking on the site.With the Big Show coming up in October, and all leather eyes turned to Pittsburgh, now is the
time to let the PPLG light shine.I can
spiff up the website with your ideas and your submissions.Show off your work.Dont worry about what format you send it to
me- I can convert anything for use on the site.Just send it!Today, before you
forget!If it merited your attention,
other leatherworkers will be interested, too. Right now we are only giving the
visitor a glimpse of what we do- lets let the folks out there see our skills
and accomplishments.The PPLG has a
solid history of dedicated instructors, fellowship and sharing, and the website
needs to proudly shout to the world, This is the PPLG, and this is what we do,
and how we do it!My email address is
Johanna@nktelco.net and I would be
grateful for your help to make the website represent what the PPLG is about,
how to get involved, and why leatherwork is so much fun!
Johanna SchroerJune 2006 PPLG
Hi
Everyone:
At the May meeting Dave Briggs brought three new faces from the
Buckeye Guild located in Ohio.The great news is that they have all decided
to join our guild and seem very excited about assisting with the Butler show.Lets all take a moment to welcome Fred,
Maryann and Bill to our Pitt Pounders Guild.This is the type of new blood Chris and I were talking about.
Terry Moores class on Block Dying on Leather was very creative and
interesting.He never ceases to amaze me
how he can teach these techniques with so much ease.However, now with the help of this Block
dying technique, those that have started the purse project can now finish their
purses with confidence.
Also, Hope has given me a book on leather stamping called Just
Tooling Around.If anyone is interested
in viewing the book let me know and I will get it to you.I will bring the book to the Three Rivers Art
Festival on June 9 through the 11th.Dont forget there will be no meeting in June and hopefully we will see
a lot of you guys at the festival.
