steveb’s leatherworks: daily blather

I put this together rather than do my homework. Hope you like!

Made this new sheath for MYSELF out of Manta Ray scraps gifted to me by Paul Cox, leather-craftsman of great repute. I really haven’t ever done much with skins, other than using them as a decorative inlay at odd times, but Paul gave me a bag of scraps and so i thought i’d play.

The skins came to me in this weird pale yellow, natural color, so i went to town and came up with this as a first experiment. The sheath is fully lined with cow and the binding along the edge is deerskin.

The blade was made by none other than “Halecky”, bladesmith of note, as payment for a barter deal. I make the sheaths for him when he gets a “fancy” order.

Something different for me, for sure.
Hope you all like.

So, the last time I checked in - I was pissed. Well, I got this missive from Tempur-Pedic based on their seeing my post…

Dear Steve,  My name is Margaret and I work for Tempur-Pedic.  Part of my job entails working through social media; Facebook, online submissions, etc.  This morning, I was made aware of your Customer No Service rant.

First, allow me to apologize for the service you received.  Please know that it is not the service we strive to provide to each and every customer. Our pillows have a 3 year warranty, and as such we should have investigated every avenue to replace your pillow because of the faulty bag.

It would be my pleasure to send you a new travel pillow, free of charge, if you would be so kind as to email me your mailing address.  Once I enter it into the system, you should receive the replacement in 5-7 days.

Again, I apologize for the lack of service you experienced previously and hope that I can, in some small way, restore your faith in Tempur-Pedic.

Thank you,  Margaret

to which I responded:

Hi Margaret: Thanks for following up.

Really, I don’t need a new pillow, simply sending me a case (or 2..lol) will suffice. I am not looking for freebies or glad handing, but I appreciate the gesture and will certainly get good use of it if sent.

In closing, I am a fan of the product, it has always delivered.

regards:

to which Margaret responded:

Good morning Stephen,

Thank you so much for responding to my email.  I appreciate the fact that you weren’t really looking for anything, but the truth is, you were entitled to a replacement.  However, for some crazy reason that I cannot fathom, we do not make or sell the bags separately.  I am very happy to send you a replacement and in the future, if the zipper breaks again, please do not hesitate to contact me.

I have entered an order for your replacement pillow under the number <snip>.  In addition, I am sending you our Travel Comfort pillow, a travel sized version of my personal favorite.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Again, I apologize for the lack of service you received earlier, and hope you have a terrific day. Thank you, Margaret

So there ya go, Customer-no-service turned around into Customer-Good Service!  Well, it is a shame that we’ve got to go through all kind of machinations to get a Company’s attention - but it is also real nice to see that there are people, thinking people no less,  behind the office park glass. Thanks Margaret, Thanks Tempur-Pedic, in the end you acted stand-up!

Customer-no-service from Tempur-Pedic…

OK, here is a rant for ya!

So, its like this see….I purchased a Tempur-Pedic travel pillow a year or so ago. Having a screwed up neck combined with regular travel, meant I had to do something as most pillows would leave me feeling “not-so-good” the next morning and to tell the truth, I am not crazy about using another persons’s drool-sponge.

So I bit the bullet, spent the $80+ for the pillow and found that it worked well. It did exactly what I needed it to and it was worth the investment. It saw lots of road time and was always part of my travel kit.

You’ll notice I said “was”. You see, the cheap, flimsy bag the pillow rolls into and transported in broke - the POS zipper gave out. One must remember that the pillow is compressed into its travel bag, and expands into the bag, giving it a very packable profile. Well with the bag out of commission, the pillow takes up 5x the room in the bag, making it “not roadworthy”.

So I thought, easy – a call to Tempur-Pedic will make it all right again. Not so. I diligently went to the site, downloaded the forms and sent them in BY MAIL as requested. Well, Tempur-Pedic customer-no-service, returned my form saying I needed to attach the original receipt. Well who the hell saves the receipt for a pillow? Not me, that’s for sure, my life is already swimming in pieces of paper and of course, Tempur Pedic doesn’t email you a receipt so you can save it electronically (like Apple does). I thought – this is silly, in this day and age – who doesn’t offer options or recourse.

crappy bag construction

I gave it further thought  …..OK, let me contact the good folks in Kentucky, they’ll make it right…. Well a call to Customer-no –service got me a zip, “you get nothing without a receipt and NO we wont even sell you a bag ala carte if you’d care to pay for one”. Huh? No only do you tell me I have no recourse without a receipt, but you wont even sell me a damn new bag so I can use this $80 POS as it was intended?

Tempur Pedic – I got this to say about your customer-no-service –IT SUCKS EGGS. I will also say this, making a good product is not enough these days, you need to back it up with accountability and service – two things you seem to lack. Thinking isn’t a bad thing to add to the mix also…

Pfeh, I am going to buy a Bob-O-Pedic when I go mattress shopping later this year.

Holy Shit - this is what I got in my inbox yesterday…talk about ending the week on a sweet note!!  Thanks Mike a great, repeat customer…. 

Steve,  This is an outstanding piece of wearable art.  First of all, let me apologize for the blade being so sharp that you cut yourself. (I do with nearly every sheath..lol..steveb) In every piece of art you create, you impart a little piece of yourself, and in this case you literally did so.  If you are considering commissioning Steve B to create art, you cannot comprehend the exemplary quality of his detailed art unless you are holding any of his other works in your hands.  His art is functional, practical, yet overall, there is a simplicity to the design that is elegant and purposeful yet executed flawlessly.  While this may be an overstatement, Steve’s work is a refinement beyond what others make, and this refinement makes his work stand out immediately from anything you have ever seen before, or frankly will see again, unless you decide like I have to commission further functional art from him.

The closest explanation is that a artist begins his career emulating the designs and techniques of others whose work he respects in hope to discover their own “Style.”  He pays his props to those that have gone before him, and in time the artist begins to get a sense of “Self” that he imparts to his work.  Later, this style often gets progressively more complicated as he increases his skill and wants to justifiably show it off.  Finally, in time, when he masters his art with over 10,000 hours of work in his area of endeavour, he distils his work into art that is devoid of useless ornamentation and excess fringe.  He creates a object that, at its core, is a truly beautiful work that is simple, yet is expertly crafted with the highest of technical expertise.  Steve, You have truly outdone yourself.     Vr, Mike

Wow - where to start - well, I couldn’t even begin to tell this story or where, why and what… but suffice it to say my friend Scott is in Russia and is trying to help this guy who has been his driver. This guy needs some BMW specific parts assistance and help. Now keep in mind I know crap about BMW’s ,less than crap actually - i think what i know might even qualify as “knowing shit” - but if anyone out there has half a clue or has a friend who is knowledgeable  - let me know at steveb*at*steveb.biz  and I will forward your info to Scott, in Russia and get Ivanovo Edgar all hooked up nice with some fresh North American Beemer parts, cuz, everyone deserves to ride, even Russian cab drivers.

This is what I got…… from Scott-ski:

Stephen,
Greetings from the Russian front.

Our driver here in Ivanovo (Edgar) owns an almost rebuilt BMW 350 but he has little problem. From what i can understand it Looks like this gear which must drive the rear wheel is stripped.

Wondering if it would be possible for you to ask your friends if they could help locate these two parts or someone who might know someone who could.

Thanks Buddy,
Scott

Nice iPhone on left, pulse drive framastan, on the right, right!!

Hello all: well, where to begin?

Spring is zinging by - unreal. I feel like as fast as i move, and i move pretty fast,  that I still, only get half of the stuff done that is in my head. Like a CNC, i wish i could program a machine to run overnight to get it done while i get my solid 6. Working 2-shifts is tough, 3 is not in the cards.

Leatherwork has been busy and steady. I feel fortunate to have great customers who come back to me to time and time again and new customers who have been referred or saw my ad. Flattering and cool, it feels good to know that you can satisfy folks in this day and age AND get your price. I have always prided myself on being fair and it’s paid off. I will not give my work away (unless it is a special occasion) and I am really happy that folks feel they are getting something special and something that in the end, really is a value not only from the pleasure they will get from wearing it, but also from the durability and utility it offers.

But, I have been so damn busy, i have been breaking my cardinal rule of shooting everything before it leaves the shop, so I have a record and can share - but i have been slack - and that effort has been suffering a bit. Something has to give, know what I mean?

Even thought the 2-wheel season is young, I have been on the bikes a good bit, annoying the ever living shit out of the 4-wheel texters, determined to make my wife a widow before her time. F*cking Assholes is all I have to say about that. DONT TEXT WHEN DRIVING< GOT IT? What the fuck is with people that think they are so goddamn talented they can drive and mess with their shit?    ok…Damn….ok, breathe…..

Anyway, I can think of no better way to “blow the stink off” than a good ride. Cheaper and healthier than booze or drugs, it is sure to please… and it does. Pupkin and i have been busting further East in our chosen state, new territory - and that has been good. I like getting lost. All is good when it comes to riding, and I have quite a schedule for the summer: Americade, Laconia, the Smokeout, Sturgis and the Gypsy Run. I’d say that is a whole lot of two wheel time I got lined up. Tough stuff, but i feel qualified..ha!

Oil. Oh man, i look at what we’ve done to our environment and it makes me sick. Where I come from, you dont make a mess that you cant clean up. The balls our government has in not protecting our country! Assholes! It makes me fucking mad that they dont take care of our precious environment, i mean if we fuck it up- what are we going to do?

Well let me tell you what we are going to do…. we are going to live in our own shit… and as much as we deserve it, I dont want to see my family grow up in a world like that.

I am pissed. I feel sold out by a media that would rather talk about some crap on TV or some useless bag of shit like Jesse James - than focus on this crisis, or even the truth about our involvement in these “war/police actions/takeovers” that has our military spread all over the world for no real good reason from what i can see.

How about this… we start doing what is right… acting with a goddamn conscience for a change, stop being scammers, freeloaders, bully tough guys and slippy-sliders. Lets take care of our own business right here…and from I can see we got a ton of stuff on the docket….

Damn, I didn’t plan on going there at all…lol.. lookee that steveb went off…lol

So..that’s the short story - overall life is good, the boxcars of time move ahead and I just try to keep a firm grip on the handle as I jump on everyday, hoping my arms dont get torn from their sockets….

have a great day, you want leather work?  let me know>     steveb@steveb.biz

peace

steveb

stay safe everyone!

Jeb wanted another belt, I dont know, i think his others shrank or some such shit like that. Either way, he wanted a new belt,  a black belt. I have made it known to my friends beacuse they dont pay me crap, that the least I want is to make the shit that I want when they come a calling. Well you can guess how that works out, heh, not in my favor. I get to work for peanuts AND i get to do their bidding. nice, lucky me.

Anyway - I dont like working in black, it soaks up detail, it fades to funky colors and in general, leather looks a frig load better when it is in the browns/reds palette. So as it runs out, Jeb wants a triple black belt, black thread, leather and lining. Nice. So that’s what i did.

Customer first, yea

So Jeb writes me:

First let me say that the belt is a fine piece of leather crafting
and it even fits! Your attention to detail is impeccable, truely looks
nice. So even if the job at hand is not one you would prefer to do,
the craftsman inside aspires to do a quality job. So stop being a
whiney bastard.
BTW how’s the dagger? cut anything with it yet?
love and respect

JEB

Two time customer and French Canadian locomotive engineer- Danny,  wanted another belt.
This is what he asked for, a smoking hot-shit stamped burgundy colored belt made of the finest USA domestic tanned vegtan leather I could get my hands on.

I’ve been pretty busy, leatherwork, shooting bikes, writing cretinous blather, traveling and basically running myself ragged in service to the greater good. Time in the shop, at the bench, has been at a premium, but just today i had a chance to spend a full day standing on concrete- it was excellent, and I had a chance to shoot two pieces of craft before they flew out the door.

The first unit I want to share is a document holder/passport travel thing that I have found to be very handy when you have plane tickets, receipts and all sorts of crap you need to hold on your person to make it happen - all fighting for a place to live in your pockets.

I stuff a passport, plane tickets, itinerary,car rental paperwork,  a few index cards and a pen in mine - and it fits in a back pocket or in a jacket inside pocket. Very cool, very handy to be pulling this little gem out when you are in the airport.