Shop Talk! February 2023

As I read through this month’s editorials, it seemed like there was a recurring theme. It goes a little something like this: A guy or gal gets into leatherwork, sometimes unexpectedly. They find they really enjoy the work and the community, then end up owning their own successful leather business. Earlier this month, in a conversation with my 18-year-old college girl, I was lamenting about the many things I was dealing with at the current moment. Our conversation went back and forth, then out of the blue she proceeded to tell me how sometimes life takes you down paths that you would never choose for yourself, and sometimes the experiences you have on those paths are really hard, but looking back, we wouldn’t change them because they mold us into who we…

LYNN ASCRIZZI Lynn Ascrizzi is a freelance writer, artist, poet and home gardener who lives in a home that she and her husband, Joe, built in the woods in Freedom, Maine. In the past five years, she has written extensively for ShopTalk! Early on, she taught art and English in public schools and was senior editor, illustrator and art director for Farmstead, a national magazine for small farming and home gardening. Later, she was lifestyle editor, feature writer and syndicated columnist for Central Maine Newspapers. Her poems have been published in several journals and in two anthologies by Down East Books: “Take Heart: Poems From Maine,” (2013) and “Take Heart: More Poems From Maine,” (2016). DAVID SPIEGEL David Spiegel is Partner and Managing Director of Leather Machine Co., LLC. NICK PERNOKAS Nick Pernokas was raised…

The artisan® model 246LK is a Cylinder Bed, Big “M” sized Bobbin, Medium/Heavy Duty Walking Foot, Compound Needle Feed, (Unison Feed) Lockstitch Sewing Machine with a Large Thread Capacity, Big Size, Rotating Hook Mechanism. artisan® model 246LK series sewing machines includes a stitch length mechanism dial and a reverse feed lever for back tacking and stitching in reverse. The machine sews thread from as small as size z-46 up to a large diameter size of z-138 in the needle with up to a maximum size of z-138 in the bobbin. artisan® model 246LK machines sew a beautiful equal distant stitch length on all types of leathers or fabrics as light as a sheet or two of paper and up to just over 3⁄8” thick of leather or fabrics. With Bench…

Hosted by Bowman Harness in Millersburg, Ohio The meeting was called to order at 11:00AM by Chairman Reuben Byler who thanked everyone for coming. Special thanks were given to the Bowmans for their hospitality and hosting the gathering, and to the school for serving the delicious meal. We had a good crowd and saw some new faces, which were all welcome to join us. “Thanks to Alan Burkholder for doing the sewing machine seminar. Allen had worked for Weaver Leather for over 30 years and is now starting out on his own still fixing sewing machines. Thanks to Noah Miller & Wayne Chupp for doing the hame and collar fitting demo. They did a great job.” The first harness gathering was held in 1970. It was held at J.H.Bowman & Sons. We were…

Michael Magnus is an advertising professional who supports the growth of the leather industry through his marketing agency, Magnus Opus. Among his client partnerships are Silver Creek Leather Co., manufacturers of Realeather® Crafts and Lace, and Jim Linnell's Elktracks Studio. Learn more at www.magnusopus.com or reach out at michael@magnusopus.com. When Hurricane Harvey hit Houston in 2017, our then four-year-old daughter told us, “I want to give away my pictures to help the little babies whose houses got hurt.” A sweet sentiment, we shared her story online and she quickly raised $600 in two days. Thus started her philanthropy, Pictures Helping People.* Now 10, Caragh continues to do a few fundraisers each year, having raised over $9,000 for different charities since she first started. Her artistic preferences and selling practices have evolved over…

Gruppo Dani scores Ecovadis Gold rating for 2022 Gruppo Dani’s green approach to tanning has once more earned the tannery the Ecovadis Gold rating for 2022. For the past four years, Dani has been awarded the gold medal, placing it in the top 5% of companies evaluated by Ecovadis. Ecovadis is a multi-stakeholder company that “aims to improve companies’ ESG practices by leveraging the influence of global supply chains. Thanks to a collaborative platform, it allows companies to monitor the sustainability performance of their suppliers as well.” The company assesses how various leather producers integrate sustainability/CSR principles into their business models and management systems based on 21 indicators in four areas: environment, human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement. For 2022, Dani scored 70 out of 100 on Ecovadis’ assessment, earning it the gold…