Of interest...

[tmattimore]

One of the cable networks ran a video interview and showed them hand sewing plugs on moccasin toes. I was glad to see it is still done.
tmattimore

[dw]

On behalf of the moderators and administration of The Crispin Colloquy, I would like to thank every member of the Forum for your contributions and participation during the past year. You are what makes the Forum so great!

And I would also like to wish each each and every one of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year. "God bless us everyone..."

2657.jpg

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

frommer@bootmaker.com
http://www.bootmaker.com

[Mike Strong]

To All:

I would like to say Merry Christmas to all. And to say thank you to all who has posted ideas and help to all of us. My all your wishes come true this next year.

Mike

[lenboden]

Merry Christmas to all from West Texas...May God grant us the wisdom to put what life we have remaining in proper perspective, to make good boots and be a good friend to mankind. Here is to you and yours and may 2004 be the most meaningful year of our lives thus far.
God bless you all.
Len Boden

[jake]

Merry Christmas One and All!

[jake]

Have a safe and Happy New Year Everyone!

See ya next year!

Adios, Jake

[cmw]

Happy New Year everybody

CW

[dw]

For those who don't get enough "chat" about cowboy boots...there's a new "chat room" style list over at QuickTopics. The only link I have is:

www.quicktopic.com

[edited...link works now, kind of...need invite to participate]

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

[dw]

All,

I spoke to Colin Barnsley (Woodware Repetitions) on the phone today. He called with regard to an inquiry about toolsand a request for a catalogue.

I have good news and bad news. First, the bad...just to get it out of the way...it looks as if bulldog pincers from England are going to be a thing of the past. Mr. Barnsley was apologetic and even (if I am not reading too much into his words) a little embarrassed about the demise of George Barnsley and Sons and genuinely saddened by the loss to the shoemaking Trade.

So unless you're happy with the plastic handled USMs, the next best thing would be to keep your eyes open at trade shows and in antique stores...and if anyone comes up with another pair of Christianson's, I'll buy them from you at a decent profit.

I have heard that at one time the French were making bulldog pliers and I assume (hope) that there are probably a couple of small outfits on the order of Geo. Barsley that are still making tools in France. Does anyone have an address/contact?

Now the good news. Colin Barnsley's company, Woodware Repetions, Ltd., will still offer sewing awls and knives and London Pattern hammers and perhaps a few other items on that order. If the quality of the sewing awls comes up to the quality of the ones Barnsley was manufacturing at the end, they will at least be functional.

I am speculating that some of these tools will come (perhaps always did) from a source other than Geo. Barnsley and Sons...as there will not be much in the way of technology or inventory transferred.

Anyway...that's the last I have heard. If anyone...world travelers in particular (Al? Marquita?) know of a French company...or any English or German alternatives...speak up now, please!

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

[cwsaddler]

If anyone subscribes to or can find a copy of the January 2004 issue of Shop Talk, a Journal that also has boot & shoe news, there is an article that is of interest to us here on the forum. The article is "Handmade Business running a custom operation" by Sally Peterson. Three bootmakers are profiled. George Ziermann of George's Custom Boots in Oregon, Lisa Sorrell of Sorrell Custom Boots in Oklahoma, and Ed Rose of Silver Rose Saddle of Wyoming. The article is illustratied with pictures of five boots made by Lisa Sorrell.

Cheers to all of you and way to go Lisa.

Jim Kladder
Saddler and sometime shoemaker

[sorrell]

Jim,
Thanks! That was a fun interview to do with Shop Talk because it forced me to think about how I do business. It's easy to just get lost in making boots and not think about the business end of it. I enjoyed reading about how the other two guys do things too.

Lisa

[dw]

All,

Just a quick note...TechTV had a reveiw of PhotoPlus from Serif that was very interesting. Turns out PhotoPlus 5.5 is a free download (or get it on CD with 400 fonts...still free) and has many of the same features as Photoshop...including layers. Some of these features really handy for editing and sizing photos you've taken with your digital camera.

From what I can see the software has both advanced features and utilities that more or less hold your hand until you are more familiar with the processes.

Anyone interested in a photoeditor beyond the basic fluff that comes with your camera or scanner might want to check this out:

http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/serif/ph/ph5/index.asp

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[jake]

D.W.,

I had an earlier "free" version of that software. The only thing bad about it was you could only save your pics in a proprietary format....no .jpg! No .bmp! No .tif! How about this version?

[dw]

Jake,

That would be a problem!

I had an earlier version myself...of their desktop publishing program, PagePlus. Their whole suite of programs has come a long, long way. Their latest, version 9 looks pretty interesting...but it costs money.

That said I can't vouch for anything but PhotoPaint, CorelDraw, PaintShopPro, Photoshop, and Ventura Pubilsher. Those are the programs I've used.

PhotoShop costs approximately $600.00. And Illustrator (Adobe's draw program) costs another $4-600.00 smackers.

PhotoPaint/CorelDraw is probably around $300 dollars and although you get both the photo editor and a great draw program, their latest versions are a bit flakey. Version 9 was/is the best. But...no layers.

PaintShopPro is $129.00 now, I think, and a great program if you've got the bling-bling. It's strictly a photo editor but it would be my choice if I had a good drawing program already.

Ventura Publisher is a good desktop publishing program especially for long documents--books, etc. But is not the easiest to use. No photo editing or drawing...I mention it just because it is what I use to do all the guild brochures, books etc., and it integrates nicely with Corel.

After all that...this is what the reviewer of PhotoPlus said about save/export formats...

quote===============
"The program comes with a built-in "export optimizer." It lets you try out and preview your image at various quality settings and formats before you save it."
quote===============

I'm pretty sure (from a screenshot) that it will save in jpg but as far as gif, tif or bmp...I don't know. An adventuresome sort with a broadband connection could easily find out for the price of a few minutes download. The big thing is that it is a relatively powerful image editor that is free.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

[jake]

Dee-Dubb,

Ok....I get it! I'll be back!

[jake]

Dee-Dubb,

Well....as usual....The Master is right. Except, the newest version is 6.02.

You can use their built in "Export Optimizer" to transfer their proprietary format into JPG, BMP, PNG, TIF, and a lot more. That is tremendous!

Great tip D.W. Thanks for the reference and leading your pupil down the straight and narrow!

[dw]

Jake,

Thank you thank you...but frankly I've not heard from the "master" in a while and I just don't know one way or the other.

It sounds like you DL'd PhotoPlus. How do you like it so far?

Clear this business of the "newest version" up for me...is that the version number of the free download? Or the version number of their very latest iteration of PhotoPlus. I was sure that I saw a "paid" version 9 on their website.

Much of this has a bearing on how and what we post to the Forum. For instance that photo of the backseam of my hollywood style boot was cropped from a larger photo, blown up, sharpened, and adjusted for brightness, contrast, and intensity. And I'm a real amateur when it comes to "fixing" photos or even using all the power that a program like that can offer.

I've also had people rave over my drawings. But as I've said all it takes is a good drawing program. Well, it appears (flash bulletin!) that Serif also has a free version of their vector based draw programs DrawPlus v. 4. And a free version of their DP program. Try this link:

http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/

Also Mayura Draw 2.04 might be worth a look...again free:

http://www.mayura.com/

Of course there are numerous shareware programs like RealDraw that are dirt cheap--$49.00--which may even be more powerful and up-to-date.

I'm not recommending any of these. As I said I can only vouch for what I use. But the point is that nowadays, these tools are almost as much a part of any artist/craftsman's repertoire as a knife or a hammer. I sketch out many of my inlay patterns and them scan them into the computer where I clean them up and make them perfectly symmetrical. I really value that ability.


Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[jake]

D.W.,

The latest free version of PhotoPlus is 5.5. I tried to download it, but I had a newer version on my computer. Guess I got it free from my recent computer buildup. Sorry for the confusion.

I haven't had time to mess around with it, but since it will handle AND convert to different formats, it's one heck of a deal in my opinion. Their recent PAID version IS ver 9.

But I have to say, photo software is a crutch for bad photography. I say spend time with your camera. It's not hard. It's much easier than learning a complex software package, and software can't compete with a good, clear picture, unless you going after some type of special effects.

I also downloaded their free version of DrawPlus. I don't have a drawing program. I'll give it a try. Thanks for the info!

[dw]

Jake,

You're right as rain about good photography. But I'm a lousy photographer and sometimes I get a yellow tint, or things just turn out too dark. I can fix all of that with a good photo editor.

What's more I can put Roger Rabbit's head on your shoulders, and drop you onto a blanket next to Jessica on beach in Curacao--all the while you're still in AR feeding the horses.

You, on the other hand, are a good photographer. We've got virtually the same camera and yet I can't get the kinds of close ups you get...so clear and well lit.

Then too, I use PhotoPaint (equivalent to PhotoPlus) when I scan in illustrations or photos from books, etc.. That's especially critical when the illustrations are from old books. I clean them puppies up so they look better than they did coming direct from the lithographer.

Let us know how you like DrawPlus...one of the "must have" features for a vector draw program is the ability to export/save a drawing to gif format. That's the only way you'll get the transparent background. That's what lets me do a drawing and then upload it so that it looks as if I just made the drawing direct to the forum--no white background.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[jake]

D.W.,

I must say, I had myself a pretty good laugh. It's about 14 degrees on the front porch right now... could you fix that photo up and send it to me. I bet it might warm me up a little. Oh yeah, what does Jessica look like?

Very good points indeed concerning the photo editor! I see where you're coming from. Thanks for the compliments. I've fooled around with a camera quite a bit in my life. I guess I sometimes take things for granted.

I'll give DrawPlus a try.

As the old adage states, a picture is worth a thousand words. So many times I'm afraid people have pics to post, but they don't know how/what to do with them. Essentially, every pic needs to be downsized for posting on the Forum. And to do that, you need a photo editor. Here's one for free that, at first look, is a dandy. So many of our techniques are hard to convey with words. If most of us could use pics, it would help to get our points across. I hope people will try this product out. I believe if we spend some time with it, we'll all benefit.

[Anonymous]

Congratulations should go out to Dan Freeman, President of the HCC, for the great article about him in the March/April issue of Vermont Magazine. Besides being one of the nicest people you would ever meet, he also makes just beautiful shoes, and is a very skilled craftsman. The issue should be on the news stand any day now, and is worth picking up.

Carrlyn Miller

[jake]

Carrlyn,

First of all, Welcome!

Second, a big Thank You for bringing this to our attention.

Lastly, we couldn't agree with you more, on both accounts. He IS one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, and HE does make some of the nicest shoes around. I wish Dan didn't live so far away. He's a pleasure to be around.

Thanks once again! Take care!

[jake]

Dan,

Congratulations! Sure wish I could get my hands on a copy! (hint,hint)

You deserve the recognition!

P.S. All those nice words I said about ya....I meant every word!

[jake]

I would also like to take this time to Congratulate our illustrious janitor, D.W. Frommer II. Seems like there was a film crew in his shop all day Tuesday for a piece on Orgeon Public Television.

Congratulations Dee-Dubb! I'm sure there's people who would like to hear more about the occasion, and maybe when the segment might be aired.

We are extremely lucky to have such talented people on this Forum. We thank them for their unwavering desire to teach and share their years of experience with each and every one of us. We're darn lucky to have them!

[dw]

Jake,

Thanks for the mention. It was no big deal, really. I've had plenty of attention in my time...more than I deserve, certainly (this is the third time a television crew has come in).

You know, I was glad to do the TV thing, I enjoyed it. I got to wax philosophical to a greater extent than I do even here. And they ate it up. Whether they include all that hot air in the final cut, remains to be seen. But TV is a transient phenomenon...once you've seen a show that has been cut down from seven hours of tape to seven minutes of footage, it's gone. Out of sight, out of mind...and out of the public consciousness.

What's more, it's hard to imagine editing a day down to seven minutes and ending up with anything that is either memorable or meaningful. TV (even, maybe especially, public television) panders to people with short attention spans, and low intellectual ceilings. Dan's piece in the magazine will be of much higher quality and of more lasting significance. And my congratulations go out to him. He deserves it as much as anyone.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC
http://www.bootmaker.com

"Little Jack Dandiprat, in a white petticoat,
The longer he lives the shorter he grows."