Table of contents for September 2023 in Illume

Dear ShopTalk! Family, As we bid a fond farewell to the sun-soaked days of summer, we find ourselves marveling at how swiftly the season has woven its way into the fabric of our memories. Just as leather craftsmen skillfully intertwine threads of creativity and technique, so too have our summer months been interwoven with vibrant stories of dedication, innovation, and tradition. Join me as we explore the captivating narratives from our editorials, each reflecting the spirit of change and craftsmanship that resonates in the leatherwork community. Youthful Ambition and Social Media’s Influence In a world where innovation and tradition dance hand in hand, our first editorial shines a spotlight on the ever-evolving landscape of leathercraft. A remarkable testament to this fusion is the story of Korban Coy Gibbs, a name…

BOSTON – July 19, 2023 – The Society of Arts + Crafts (the Society) announced today a second round of awards in its Craft Innovation Jumpstarter Grant program to two artists: Laura Petrovich-Cheney from Marblehead, Mass., whose work with salvaged wood aims to encourage playfulness in craft; and Sarah Madeleine T. Guerin from Wakefield Mass., who practices and reimagines the art of leather bookmaking. The mini-grants, made possible by the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation, support artists looking to pursue new directions and ideas, and are part of the Society’s larger efforts to meet the needs of modern craft artists. The Society received more than 100 applications for the grants according to Trustee Katina Leodas, who served as one of four jurors alongside former Trustee and fiber artist Lois Russell, mixed-media artist Jessica…

WSJ: No peak shipping season in 2023  Freight operators appear to be bracing for a second straight year without a peak shipping season, writes the Wall Street Journal Logistics Report. Forwarding giant Kuehne + Nagel International says it’s focused on holding down costs and rival DSV has also pared its workforce during the run-up to the shipping period heading into the fall. Kuehne + Nagel CEO Stefan Paul put it bluntly in an earnings conference call, saying, “There’s no peak season to be expected in 2023.” That’s a tough outlook for operators that saw demand fizzle out midway through last year when consumer spending pivoted away from goods and retailers launched a de-stocking drive. Both Kuehne + Nagel and DSV saw revenue tumble at a steep rate in the second…

You may have seen a trend in our articles lately. Our subjects are getting younger, they’re successful and they’re turning out a high level of work. Social media seems to have sped up both the learning curve and the cultivation of customers. It also has done away with the long apprenticeships that used to be common in the leather trade. A case in point is Korban Coy Gibbs. When Korban was 12 years old in Austin, Texas, he wanted to be a team roper. His grandfather, Jack Sheldon, invited him to come to Wyoming for the summer to team rope with him. There were other factors involved in this offer though. “I was just needing some guidance at the time,” remembers Korban. Jack Sheldon roped, but he also had a…

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). ZACHERY HOLYOAK Zachery Holyoak has been around the leather industry since the day he was…

Tex Tan announces the sale of the Abetta brand trademarks and designs to Mesace, LLC. Mesace is the leading world manufacturer of synthetic saddles with a capacity of over 1200 saddles per month. It has a production line that ensures great manufaturing quality using innovative raw materials, producing their own poly-solid saddle trees, that guarantees constant supply. We feel there is going to be a great synergy between our two companies. James Cox will continue as the brand ambassador and consultant for years to come as well as Tex Tan continuing as a distributor of Abetta saddles. Some models will be exclusive to Tex Tan. Abettas will be sold through participating retailers and distributors. If you want to become a retailer, or have any question about the brand or products,…

If I had to provide information I thought could be of the most help to someone that was either running a business, or trying to start one, it would be stressing the importance of business relationships. There are two sides to those relationships: those with your customers and those with your vendors. As you might imagine, customer relations are vital to any business. Think of the interactions between you and your customers as putting pennies in a bank. It might not seem to be much at first, but over time those pennies translate into dollars. The normal “Hi, how are you?” isn’t really what I’m talking about here, but it’s important for sure. It’s the way that you handle misunderstandings or mistakes, or perceived mistakes, that really count with your…

Jeff Hedge vividly recalled the time when his successful business, Laying J Leather, was launched two decades ago. “It kind of spread out as a hobby,” he said, suggesting that his new venture seemed to grow easily, in a recreational sort of way. However, his creative leap into leatherwork also took a lot of hands-on effort, natural talent and a strong, independent streak. At the time, Hedge was a professional herdsman in South West Virginia, working with Brangus beef cattle — a Brahman-Angus cross. Born and raised in Virginia, he had earned a degree in agriculture from Virginia Tech, a four-year university based in Blacksburg, Virginia. But what finally sparked the change that he was aiming for was a moment of honest exasperation. “In 2003, I was out on a…

In past articles, I’ve mentioned how you can get some general marketing value while supporting causes by donating a knife sheath to an American Legion auction or selling a piece of your leatherwork to raise money for a cause. These are great things, and I still encourage you to do them, however, what if I told you there was a way to do good in a more meaningful and ongoing way, while growing your business exponentially in the process? There’s a concept that I recently discovered that has me more invigorated about my business(es) than I have been in years, so I thought I’d share that enthusiasm in case it resonates with any of you as well. Former financial advisor Derrick Kinney recently released a best-selling book called Good Money…

WANTED  NEW SUBSCRIBERS WANTED. Now is the time to renew and see what you have been missing! Give us a call at (435) 565-6052, e-mail: savannah@burns1876.com or visit www.shoptalk-magazine.com. GREAT OPPORTUNITY. Burns 1876 is now hiring saddlemakers, bootmakers, silversmiths, hat makers, and leather craftsman/woman in their manufacturing facilities in Salina, Utah. In-house training provided. Please send your resume and a cover letter to careers@burns1876.com. Classified ad rates are $26.50 for the first 20 words and $.65 cents for each additional word. Words (or groups of letters) fewer than three characters are not counted when calculating the cost of the ad. Street addresses are counted as one word. City, state, country, and zip or postal code are combined and counted as one word. Enclose payment when submitting ads. Ads received without…