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THE POUNDER

MAY , 2006

VISIT OUR WEB PAGE pittpounders.org

WEBMASTER, JOHANNA SCHROER - PHONE 419 - 753 – 2612
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MAY MEETING - TERRY MOORE WILL CONTINUE HIS CLASS,

ON THE SMALL PURSE - SEE INSIDE ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

COMING EVENTS;

OCT 13 TO OCT 15, 2006 IFOLG SHOW

IFOLG IS THE “INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LEATHER GUILDS”

PITTPOUNDERS AND THE “IILG” ARE - COSPONSORING

“HARVEST OF LEATHER” – HELD IN BUTLER, PA.

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http://www.pittpounders.org - IS OUR GUILD’S WEB PAGE

CHRISTOPHER KEARNS, PRES. PITTPOUNDERS EMAIL ckearns109@yahoo.com

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LEATHER GUILDS, “IFOLG” WEB SITE http://www.ifolg.org

“IFOLG” IS THE PITTPOUNDERS (AND OTHER GUILDS) MOTHER ORGANIZATION

VISIT ALSO; INTERNATIONAL INTERNET LEATHER GUILD - WEB SITE http://www.iilg.org

“IILG” HAS “LINKS” TO THE ENTIRE LEATHER COMMUNITY

MORE LEATHER LINKS HERE

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PITTPOUNDER GUILD OFFICERS;

PRESIDENT - CHRISTOPHER KEARNS 724 - 368 – 9507 VICE PRESIDENT – KEVIN COHN 412 - 567 – 6664

SECRETARY - GARY DRAPER 412 – 714 - 4430 TREASURER - JOYCE WEDGE 724 – 538 - 5853
LIBRARIAN - LOIS SILVIS 724 – 256 – 4457

PITTPOUNDERS SUPPORTERS

TANDY LEATHER COMPANY DELMONT, PA. PHONE 724 – 468 – 5148 http://www.tandyleather.com DEBRA COLLINS – NEW MANAGER

REGULAR GUILD MEETINGS;
NORMALLY HELD THE THIRD SUNDAY OF EACH MONTH 1:00 PM TO 4:00 PM

SEE OUR WEB PAGE FOR DIRECTIONS, PITTPOUNDERS.ORG

THE BUTLER SHOW, OCTOBER 2006, “HARVEST OF LEATHER”

Greeting Folks,

It occurred to me the other day that there are a good many of you who have never been to an IFOLG Show before. And considering we are co-hosting one this fall, it may help you to understand how big the task is if I could try to describe what you might expect to experience this October at the Day’s Inn, Butler, PA.

Lets start with guilds and guild display’s. Our guild is not unlike most others, we have a wide range of talent and skill level as well as a lot of diversity in the projects we like to make and the styles we do them in. We have people who have been working with leather for over 40 years and folks who have started within the past year. Some folks like to do figure carving, others prefer the Sheridan or Traditional style. Some folks don’t even use tooling to decorate the items they make. And the variety of projects that people make with this beautiful medium is mind boggling. If you have ever seen our guild display, you know what I am talking about! Well imagine the quantity, quality and diversity you will see with over twenty other guild displays! (Right now there are 28 guilds that are members of the IFOLG.)

Besides just showing off there members work, there are many guilds who go all out with their display tables, working around a theme and/or making their entire display a show pieces in hopes of winning the coveted Traveling Trophy Award, for the best display table, for that year. The extra effort pays off with some truly outstanding displays.

If you think the quality & quantity of the leatherwork you will see on the guild displays is outstanding, you are right. But just wait until you see all the items entered in the competition! Last year, there were almost 250 pieces entered. We are

expecting to have at least that many this year as well. If you’ve ever entered this competition before, you know the time and effort you have put into your project to make it the best you could, right? Now imagine leather workers all across this country doing the same thing. In fact, imagine leather workers around the world doing the best they can on a project to be entered in this years show. This truly is an International show!

By the way, if you’ve never entered this competition before, this would be a great year to give it a try. There are three main Divisions: Open, Advanced and Masters, so that you can pick the one that corresponds with your skill level. And lot’s of different Categories so that your project will be judged against similar items. There are also some Special Divisions: Juniors, Seniors, Beginners, Handicapped and Partnership. If you aren’t sure which Division or Category is right for you, just ask! We’ll be happy to tell you where you belong.

One last thing about the competition. Each piece entered gets critiqued, or you could say gets some constructive criticism. And each critique is signed by all three Judges who looked at your work. This is a great time to find the Judges and talk to them about your work and the comments that were recorded. Some of these folks have a lot of knowledge and skills that they are willing to share freely. If you are serious about improving your work, you need to take the opportunity to talk with these folks.

The classes that are offered at these shows are another great opportunity for you to improve your work, and/or expand your skills, and/or learn from some of today’s Masters. And there are always numerous classes to choose from.

This year there are two great two-day, pre-show seminars scheduled:

Edd Lucas –

Box/Presentation Cases

Frank Zaharek, Jr. –

The 2-Shews Experience.

And here is a quick look at the mini-workshops that are being offered:

Paul Burnett –

Mastery of the Swivel Knife.

Steve Derricott – Four Strand Braided Bracelet with two different knots.

Dale Grabowski –

Leather Covered Picture Frame.

Jim Linnell –

Introduction to Leather Carving.

Jeff Mosby –

Fine Tune your Floral Carving.

Allan Scheiderer –

Creative Stamping.

Charles Crenshaw –

Make 12” Bowl with 6” Bottom. George Hurst –

Carving Oak Leaves.

Ron Ross –

Tally Book Folder.

These classes are on a first come, first serve basis, so get your applications in ASAP.

Okay, picture this: It’s Saturday afternoon, the weekend of the show. You‘ve taken a class or two, walked around the guild displays for the umpteenth time, spent hours taking pictures of all the competition pieces, sat in on a few of the continuous demonstrations that are going on and met and talked to leather workers from all

Over the country. The ideas, patterns, new techniques, and all the tools and supplies you need are just flying around in your brain. What to do??? Head for the Vendor Room! Although we have space for something like 24 vendors, people like our good friend George Hurst, from Hide Crafters, bring so many tools and supplies that they need multiple booths just to display everything. From handcrafted tools to tanneries, you should be able to find what you need at the show. Plus many of our Vendors will be selling a variety of finished goods as well. So even that non-leather working spouse could end up leaving with a treasured purchase. (Or if you’re smart, you might want to consider taking something home for them.)

And I haven’t even talked about the Awards Ceremony, the Hide Crafters Tooling Contest, the swap meet, all night tooling session, the chance to take home countless treasures from the raffle table, or even one of the best parts of the show: All the nice people you will meet & the great fellowship that goes on! But I need to leave you with one last thought. A show this big, with all of these activities, and hundreds of people involved doesn’t just happen all by itself. It takes A LOT of work, before, during and after the show to make it successful. If you would like to help, in any way, please get a hold of me and we’ll find the job that’s right for you. My phone # and email are both listed on the front page. I look forward to your involvement. (And a big THANK YOU to the many of you who are already helping out, especially to Ron Ross and Pat Hay who are doing a tremendous amount of work right now.) Together we can make it happen.

Your Friend,

Christopher

GREETINGS,

We all know there is no such thing as ‘scrap’ leather, right? Well if you have any pieces of tooling leather that are to small for any projects you have planned, please consider bringing them to this months meeting. The pieces will be used during our time at the

Three Rivers Arts Festival,

June 9-11.

Besides supplying pieces of leather, it would be great if you could come down and spend some time with us, demonstrating, working with the children and adults who will be stopping by, or just talking to folks about our guild and the upcoming show. There will be no meeting in June in hopes that all of you will come spend some time with us at the Festival. If you’ve never been to the Three Rivers Arts Festival, it is well worth the trip. For next months newsletter I will try to get a schedule of who will be performing on stage at Point State Park that weekend. So please look at your calendar and if at all possible, let us know at this months meeting what day and what time you can be there. The show is open from noon until 9:00pm each day, Friday through Sunday. We need to schedule folks to cover the booth for the whole weekend. Thanks for your participation!

YOUR FRIEND, Christopher

May Guild Class – Terry Moore

This month we will try and finish the small purse we have been working on for a couple months. We will dye, finish, punch the holes and start the lacing on the purse to finish the assembly.

For the dyeing, you will need to bring your practice stamped leather pieces for practice dyeing. You will also need a pair of latex or rubber gloves to keep from getting a “leatherworkers tan”, a small block of wood approximately 2”x 3”, and a strip of cloth like an old piece of bed sheet about 3” wide and 8” long to wrap around the block of wood. You want a cloth which will not hold a lot of dye. You will also need to bring some solvent based dye in the color you want to make the purse. Please bring some newspaper to protect the table surface from the dye and some paper towels to blot the dye block on before touching the leather.

I will bring some Krylon clear finish, and some Fiebings Aussie Leather conditioner for a finish on the project. If you want a different final finish, be certain to bring what you will need.

You will need to bring a 1/8” punch and proper equipment to punch all the holes for the assembly. It may seem like you have a lot of holes to punch in the project, but once you get started, it doesn’t take very long to complete the punching.

For final assembly, you will need 3-4 yards of 1/8” Latigo lace. I would recommend a life eye needle to fit the lace, a lacing fid or modeling tool with the stylus to slightly enlarge some of the holes, and to make things easier a pair of small pair of smooth jawed pliers to help in pulling the needle through some of the holes if necessary.

It may not be possible to finish the purse at the meeting, but you should be far enough along to allow you to finish at home without too much more time.

See you at the meeting. I hope you will consider putting the purse on display either at the guild display or in the competition at the International Show.

Terry L. Moore

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