steveb leatherworks: the blather

I can find something to love with almost any two-wheel machine. I mean, I look at bicycles with the hairy eyeball for chrissakes, so when i come across any kind of motorcycle, i stop and scope it from stem to stern..just as i would if i were to judge it in a show – short of running my hands over the welds and looking under the tank and fenders. Street bikes are really interesting and fun, if you look at them through a different lens, try to figure out their story, look for the tiny little custom touches that make a bike “mine”.

So I was walking the west side one day and run across this road warrior – a Honda VT110 Shadow, well worn and with a few scars and special touches that warranted a quick go/see…it was hiding across the street, so i crossed over to introduce myself.

ya see, I owned a bike like McCheese here – I loved my Shadow 1100 back in the day – except for its 4speed paint-shaker vibes, it was a great bike for someone not having much money, wanting a “sit-in-it” framed bike that had a wee bit of the class craved. It wasn’t the “real deal”. but thats’ always been ok with my crew – as long as you were riding, you were in the club. I sold that beeotch for $500 more than i paid for it,  losing the Honda logos and painting the tank straight black was key.

Anyway – McCheese here has some custom touches: saddlebag supports, luggage rack, progressive shocks, crash bars and windshield, third generation JC Whitney mirrors, original seat and a lost cover or two. My kind of bike. I particularly dig the tin foil edging…Saeng, best pay attention.

This great bike, gets a Gold in this weeks street bike show. Now for all you Metric bike haters – there is rarely a sighting of a HD that is parked or left on the street in NYC, unless it is owned by a fierce individual who has slathered it with all sorts of scary and easily identified skull/wing iconography. A parked HD gets pinched in a heartbeat in NYC, so no one in their right minds leaves his pride n’ joy on the street.

Besides, we should have open minds, right?  LOL  

Digging back into the archive for this gem. This is one of those rare instances where a different and good idea snuck out and actually got done. Dan is a friend of Zeb, a good pal of mine and a riding partner. Zeb is also a paying customer, sporting a few bits and pieces of steveb leather garb, as does his lovely bride Sonia – friends and paying customers – it doesn’t get any better than this pair of motorcycle riding miscreants. I love them. You’ve met them in “blather” posts gone by or seen them in my friends and family photo gallery

So anyway, I don’t  know their pal Danny, but i am expecting his call as Zeb had called me and said “yea, Danny is gonna call you, he wants some junk”.  Ok then, a day or week later Danny calls me and I basically get nothing from him… “your the artist, you come up with something cool”… ha, yea – this is a set up. I know Dan is a fierce kind of character in appearance, actions, reputation and associations and hangs with some fierce characters – and i know these guys have strong opinions about everything. Rarely do i get “carte blanche” from a fierce guy. I usually try and avoid this kind of work, if it be known. I don’t need headaches or “hi-need” customers.

So I call Danny out on this “carte blanche stuff” and he says, no – this is for real, he has no clue what he wants, but  he likes all my stuff, he cant go wrong” – ok then, turnaround,  this is now, my favorite kind of job, totally dealers choice.

So I had this hi-contrast thing running in my head about this time: Black & white, good&evil, sinner&saint, vanilla&chocolate, etc  you get it …and so decided to take it to the bench on Danny’s wallet. I thought it came out wild, maybe too wild. I sent it to Danny and it definitely took him aback. WTF is this he asked me when he got it? I explained the concept and the thinking and then he dug it. Here, I thought i was going to be in for a beating, but wound up being a kind of hero….ha!

So, I recently saw Danny at surprise party Sonia threw for Zeb about 3 months ago, first thing he does is pull out this wallet to show me how its aged. Happy to say that after 4 years of daily wear, it looks better than it does in these pictures, the day i boxed it up in 2005 and sent it out, in part because I was too chicken shit to deliver it in person..ha..

I know what the worst job is:

hungry yet?

For this installment of the blather, I will dig up a few old ghosts from days gone by. Max & Molle, my Grandparents met back in the roaring 20’s. Molle was a local long distance swimming celebrity and a ticket taker in an Australian Outback movie theatre in her town, Max was a fancy European Vaudevillian entertainer whose act was coming through town playing at this theatre, by a twist of fate they met., The rest as the say.. is a matter of record. They spent their life together from that point forward, thereby splitting the family between Australia and the USA, their new and chosen home

Max always had a suit on, amazing

the crack steveb editorial team saw this little tasty chunk o’ video content and thought – holy molasses batman – How cool is this? How crazy is this? Well in our book, this is pretty cool and this is pretty crazy. [vimeo]http://vimeo.com/1778399[/vimeo]

I see the old city disappear…right in front of my eyes.. every day. 
It stopped existing at street level years ago, with “for sale” signage and cleared, gutted street level space, with Plywood roofs above – if your looking for the old “hood” you need to look up to catch the last bits of what was…like this shred of signage.

I believe this was about where the old “Hotalings” newsstand and magazine store used to be. Hotaling’s was the best. They were the best, because, besides having every single magazine and paper from around the world they had the coolest folks hanging out  and stopping in – super global, really felt like you were at the crossroads of the world, even if you might get mugged right outside the door – ha!@  This was a sketchy spot of street when it got dark, back in the day…as there was nothing open on either side of Hotalings store for years

It was a real, if not expensive thrill to buy all the European biker mags from them. I had them special order me stuff all the time. They are long gone, wiped out by a mediocre “I’d rather support Borders” mentality. Hooya in memory of Hotalings! They rocked! 

lost history

Staying on the NYC natives getting screwed by the price of wood theme – I have for your perusal – the not so good wood vendor. You can get a plastic wrapped bundle worth 1.75 in my neck of the woods, for about $20 NYC dollars or you can get a couple of log fakies for a bit less. I can see where those goofy VHS video tapes of “logs burning and chestnuts roasting” gets play at these prices

NYC is the last stop on the train for alot of stuff. Alot of this stuff gets sold by the ounce, gram or dollar. These 6-8″ diameter, 6-8″ tall Aspen/Birch chunks of whatever you want to call it wood is pretty pricey at this rate. $7.50 for a chunk…a branch is $55… amazing what city folks will pay for country folks trash thats “a headin’ to the chippa”. This is “floral arrangement fauna & flora“..stuff..got it?  yeah!!

I found this display of tasty woody bits in the “floral center” another seedy, weird area on the cusp of midtown, that hides in the winter, but in the summer…lives on the street…you’ll see it better then…

Geez, a 50 ft. junk tree is worth a lot of cake at this rate.
From now on I am going to think twice before i chuck junk like this onto the dead stuff pile

this tree is worth $10,000, at this rate

I am ending this series on NYC Hot Doggery with a shot of the one and only – Nathan’s Famous.

Still the best, and if you’ve never caught a parking ticket trying to get one of their dogs – you’ve not lived a large and “durty” life.  Shame on you!  Let me know next time your in town and we’ll connect for “one with” at Nathan’s Famous.  Aight?

I got started on this hot dog thing, now i can seem to let it go..ha!… finding out that my obsession with all things NYC and hot dog, is well settled in my DNA as a NYC native. I came acrosss this shot of Ebbets Field (Brooklyn, you knew that right?), during a game of some sort, (baseball perhaps?) on Shorpy’s.  Unfortunately as we found out in books like The Jungle, much of the food, medicine and beverage of that era and location was tainted with all manner of filler, snake oil and danger. Amazing anyone survived those early days of the Industrial Revolution, it truly was a dangerous time.

Ebbets Field Brooklyn - 1920

Saw this BMW, parked in the garment center under one of those “overhead” plywood deals. Chained up, ridden regularly – but treated well, this is a prime example of an NYC warrior.  Enough dings and dents to ward off the trophy spoilers, enough class to warrant a second look. Good stuff!

Now we all have our guilty pleasures when it comes to “forbidden food”.  As a NYC native, I’ve got a few “best of breed” forbidden foods:pizza, fried dumplings, Cuban & pastrami/corned beef sandwiches, Challah french toast, Sopressata sausage, Eggplant/Chicken parmigiana, all kinds of crazy stinky cheeses..you know – stuff you just know is bad for you, and most of the time is going to cost you dearly cake-wise.

But then i also have a real love for grit, for action  – for the NYC of yore..a little crazy, a little dangerous…the kind of place you really dont want to be wearing a fine suit of clothes. There isn’t a whole lot of this left in Manhattan anymore, other than the lower East side,  – but even then, it is for the most part, gentrified. It’s great when you can mix up your food and your danger…without having to eat “dangerous” food.

And  then ya got the West Side . The area from 23rd to 42nd street on 8th Avenue is just a bit off. There is something decidedly crazy in the air in this part of town, the dark heart of the garment center – and for me – the epicenter of this weirdness is one block from where i used to rent space..36th Street and 8th Avenue..the corner where Grays Papaya  lives.

Within minutes @ Grays@  this location – you will see the servers take care of Princes and paupers. murderers, mongrels and Doctors, messengers and millionaires –  all eating ass to elbow standing in front of the stainless strips of metal they call countertops – no one sharing eye contact or the acknowledgement of one another. During the summer months the garage door walls roll up so the smell of 8th Avenue can join the scent of sauerkraut, mustard and your papaya smoothie. The recession special is two hot dogs, trimmings, a big smoothie for 3.99. It is a deal and the food is..in a word…excellent.. i shit thee not.

Within blocks you’ve Midtown South, the busiest Police precinct in North America, 3 methadone clinics, Madison Square Garden, Penn Station, the Port Authority, half a dozen big tourist Hotels…no wonder this areas is a freak show – it is filled with freaks! I love Grays, I love the nuttiness of the area, I love the danger in the air. It is a must see if you are ever in NYC. 

Got a quick video rundown of some of the work that been going on, and a reason to honor lux interior, singer of the Cramps, a man who died just recently.

The Cramps, mmm….saw them a few times, and Lux always put on a show. Only guy that ever looked good in plastic..lol. The soundtrack for this is courtesy of the Cramps, so…turn it up! [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCFO1acmASg[/youtube]

Mark, a serial repeat customer and owner of the black pocket wallet pictured below confimed delivery of his unit with this nice note:

Hey Steve, I got my pocket wallet today. On the money!! Great work as usual. I ve got to think of something else for you to make, a man can’t have enough custom leather stuff.  

I’ve never really been much of a car chat guy. I could never really talk the  “dropped a-frame 357 hemi, with the  44 magnum, topped off a dually quadratic SU hydra dive slap stick gear box…, but only in 1967”    kind of gear head jive talk. That stuff almost smells like Sports talk to me, another lingo laden sub-language I’ve got no interest in learning. I just nod my head like a bobble-doll and hope there is a beer in my hand when that shit starts. 

But that’s not to say I don’t like cars. I do. I like to drive cars that have spunk to ’em – but at the end of the day – a car is an appliance, more than anything else. Bikes is what I love .  Coming from the “1967 Impala 2-door, Cragar Trash cans on the back with Gabriel air shocks” era. I always have favored cars  that are kind of boxy, set up with big meats, and clean sexy, simple lines. The box GTO is another classic in my mind, as was the Z28 Camaro. Those are my early influences.   Pathetically, I drive an import, a small turbo powered over-square motor, torquey as hell car – that is super tight and is a hoot. I’d like  a GT500, if I had some money and an extra (ha) garage to park it in. or maybe an early 60’s box Nova with a big V8 stuffed in it.

But I digress. Freddy and I were lamenting the state of the economy over a pizza at Pepe’s today. Me, having a medium size cheese with 1/2 sausage – and he having a small white clam. I also ordered a plain cheese small to go, for the Boss at home. So we scarfed our pies, boxed up our Bones  and headed out the door and saw this beauty sitting in the middle of the parking lot. Slabs of carbon fiber, gorgeous interior leather, a color matched roll cage, magnesium wheels with super sticky tires, hot-shit brakes and rotors..all done in perfect top shelf style.

I totally dig when cars like this appear in a restaurant parking lot in the sandy, crappy dirty road winter. This tough guy is beautifully detailed and friends, it gets used..making it even more valuable and  attractive in my book.

please forgive the crappy pics, i didnt have my real camera

 The Flatiron Building is without a doubt one of my favorite landmarks, beautiful architecture and a cool location. When the lighting is right (as it was today) it is a dramatic sight to behold and since they cleaned it up some few years ago -it is a snarky hi-tone beautiful son-of a beeotch.

Furthering my trek west, I stopped by the world famous (well, not really) cheep leather belt table and took a look at the wares. Interestingly, there was no one minding the “table display” and yet no one even bothered to walk off with one of these gems …hmmm.

And then, just for all you out of towners, I  stopped to check  on the signage at my fave corner – turty tird & tird,  The corner is still there, happy to report. 

Been behind the 8ball lately. Busy here, busy there…the proverbial chicken with no head….I passed myself coming while I was going…and didn’t recognize myself…hey now!

Been knocking ’em down in the shop..finally got a handle on what needed to get done and one of the first things to get done was this belt for Customer Ken. He was very patient, so patient that I rewarded him with a freebie – one of the rare as hens teeth SteveB t-shits. I don’t sell many of these shits, I wind up giving them away because I am not so much into selling schwag…where i come from, schwag is for those that are deserving…Ken showed huge class by not hounding me like a date gone bad…one little email..and that was it. I got the message and beat feet into the shop to make good…

Ken got his belt and shared this with me:
Hey Steve, just wanted to let you know that my package showed up today. The belt is bad ass. I’m looking forward to wearing it and showing it off. I imagine you’ll be getting a few more orders after my friends check it out. Thanks for the shirt and stickers too. Already slapped some stickers on my workbench and work truck. Looking forward to placing another order with you down the road.

So – as a matter of fact today – I went to the POB and shipped out a few packages to those special customers who’ve also been waiting. MarkG, CaseyO and ScottF – your stuff went out today…so everyone…just keep cool! I am back, focused and on it. I have to admit – this year has been a bitch so far…not so easy for a whole buncha reasons.

But – it’s looking better and better, with every day that passes.

To that point, I’d like to shout out to my friends Kirk & Lisa @ Custom Design Studio in Cali.
Stay strong friends, it’s all up from here…honest…. 

Yea Yea, enough rantin’ and ravin’ about the grave injustices of the world I say, back to Leather!!

So, I dont make alot of Squire wallets. Seems most folks want the Fin or the Super Squire. The poor Squire is kind of the neglected kid in the steveb leatherwork fam damily.  For this unit I was asked to go to town  and so..i mixed up the interior pretty nicely, found a tasty western font to use, applied some judicious flamage and we were off to the races. I used a stainless chain mail chain with a fancy nautical pelican hook spring snap for this cool unit.

I used a stamp I don’t use too often, a “motorcycle chain” border stamp and created an impossible to reproduce antique look for the letterforms, using some antiquing, atom wax and neatlac. This work gave the wallet a really old look right off the bat, all through using finishes. A few copper rivets turn this into a work of wearable  piece of art. I bet this piece has aged into a beauty.

I read  every motorcycle magazine I can get my hands on (Hot Bike, Cycle Source, American Iron, American Cycle, Ironworks, Barnetts, Koptieri, Hardcore Choppers, etc). I don’t read Easyriders as it is crap, a bad blend of Playboy and a played out biker mag. I’ve been reading like this since I was in my 20’s. My first subscription was to Cycle Magazine in 1974 when i was a kid. I lived for the day it arrived in the mailbox and would memorize and devour it.  

For the past few years most of the moto mags have been OK, not particularly inspiring or informative…most of them regurgitate the same crap over and over…templated, boring, blah blah, same photo angles, same writing, same lack of story line….they lack edge, grit and any of the great stuff that I associate with being a biker. Dog food for dogs, I’ve heard it described. Personally, I am not big on Dog Food .The only exception to this pathetic state of affairs is Cycle Source, and they skew a bit young for my tastes…I kinda outgrew the skating influence .. about 25 years ago..but can still in most instances..relate to the culture. I get it, even if I don’t play in that sandbox anymore.

who asked for this shite?

Been seeing lots of scooters lately. I am rethinking my position on them due to the fact that you can pretty much park them anywhere (yank the license plate when you do, an old NYC trick) and they let you stay above ground to get around, thereby avoiding the subway and other odious methods of NYC travel. They are good on gas, they have storage and maintenance is minimal. No one frigs with a scooter… no fun in vandalizing a weenie vehicle I guess.

So – who are the folks who use Scooters? Well they used to exclusively be the vehicle of choice for NYC’s messenger community…. to that point, check out the enterprising fellow blasting through an intersection. More and more-so i have been seeing fancy little units like the two below being used by the prep/ yup community.. I think they are kind of a fashion accessory for these folks. Albeit a dangerous as hell accessory – because you have none of the drama danger of a real bike, yet they mix it up in traffic as if they did. I have seen some pretty hairy close calls between pissed off motorists (all NYC folks are pissed off when they are in their cages) and clueless, untrained unaware scooterists (?). I don’t see these vehicles being good for a person life expectancy , messing with the actuarial side of things…lol.

But I ‘spose they do have their place and if I spent my life in NYC, I’d consider one of these wankery things if for no other reason, it’d keep me above ground, on 2-wheels and in control of my own destiny.

Come to think of it…what the hell am I thinking?  
Ya know, I would’nt be caught dead on one of these things.

I’d rather walk.

Wandering around the city (with eyes open) causes me to reflect on the hard life everything in the city experieinces. This is no place for pussies, or pussy bikes. If you ride in NYC, you’d best be bullet proof, cause this place can put a hurtin’ on ya if your not up for it. Bikes that aren’t baubles and get ridden and parked upon the street are particularly vulnerable to getting hammered by dumbshit motorists who’ve not learned to parallel park properly and don’t know about that thing called a rear-view mirror – are some of the worst offenders of vehicle abuse. Since the auto industry gave up on bumpers (what the frig is up with that stupid move, eh?) cars see a shite load of hurt. They even have “bras” that hang over these weak excuses for a bumper, keeping dumbassses from backing into their 20k+ road barge.

So, i dig bikes that get used, that have a life beyond the jewelry box. I like dings and dents, i like dirt  – because they indicate to me the bike gets used, has stories to tell and has an intimate connection to it’s owner. Look at my FXR and you’ll see what i mean.

So – this Aprilla, has had a life…man, if it could talk – what would it say? How many cabs have sideswiped it? How many ass-wipes have knocked it over due to poor parking skills (no parking skills?) How many kids have pushed it over for grins and giggles? How many miles has it see outside of NYC (not many i bet). The Givi trunk is probably worth as much as the bike is. Note –  the owner has it rigged for foul wedder…blanky, windshield, hand mitts…this is a cool bike in my book. I’d wager it runs like a freaking champ, never missing a beat. I bet I could talk to the owner for hours, I probably have more in common with him ,than I do most Harley owners….. and hey now – c’mon kids, dig the milk crate!!

The BMW, although it is as ugly as ass – still has my respect, dirty, ridden, parked on the street, getting ridden in February..that too is cool. 

So anyone who thinks these rides are junk – just doesnt get it. It aint about appearances kids, its about heart and soul – its about what lies under the surface. You only get to the good stuff if you have an open mind and keep yer peepers peeled.

More in the continuing series of NYC street food…  I dont know why it has me fascinated..but it do!
I love the Big Shitty, there is absolutely a million things to see everywhere you look.

If you take the time to look…  

Round these parts – getting your winter wood can be a hit or miss proposition. It can go wrong in a few places: the wood can be green and burn “hissy”, not good for the chimney, the wood can be cut to the wrong size for your application, ever try and get a manly man log into a small condo kinda fireplace? It can be crap wood, like pine – again covering your chimney insides in tar and flammable pitch…see where I am going with this….it is kinda tough to get the good wood..and when you do get it, it can be a one shot deal…cause the good wood guys are like gypsies…they dry up and blow away just when ya need them (about Thanksgiving time).

I got a good wood guy, my pal John. John’s bro in law is a tree surgeon – so he is the direct connection for good wood. Only problem is, all the wood he gets is green and needs a year to season..thats where John comes in…he stacks this stuff in monster piles in his yard (glad your not his neighbor, eh?) and lets it season to the “just right” condition..and then he brings it over to my house…coolio!

Freddy hooked up with an older wood dude near his secret location who dropped off a pretty green pile of suspect wood while I was there…right in the driveway…didnt stack it… and charged him a pittance..ha! Now Fredddy needs to relocate the wood for a years worth of seasoning…..  I want no part of that miserable chore…

Wanna bet this shit lays here until summer when the “landscaper” has to deal with it?