Holiday Hangover (and SALE!!!)

 

The holidays this year were HARD.  I’m not going to lie.  I had so many reflections I wanted to share on my blog and honestly, I’ve forgotten all of them.  In the midst of the normal holiday madness, I took a week away from both kids, and my husband, and went to Chicago for the One of a Kind Show.  It was great.  I’ll go back next year.

Being there, by myself, made me realize how seldom I am actually alone. I haven’t traveled by myself in the last eleven years and my literal stance has changed.  I no longer carry myself with a “don’t f*** with me” attitude.  I’m somehow softer. I smile, I talk to strangers.  I make friends with the person next to me on the airplane, the cab driver, or the electrician who adjusts my lights at the show.

Leaving my family for a week on a “business” trip was new.  I was totally alone in Chicago, staying in a condo and cooking myself simple, paleo, meals.  All I honestly did was eat, sleep, work, and exercise.  For five days.  It made me wonder a little bit if that was what my life was before I had a husband and kids.  Before I had a family.

Needless to say, I was glad to return to the love and commotion of my home and family. I missed my people, and my pets, while I was gone.  And when I got back it seemed everyone was in full-fledged holiday mode.   There was a decorated tree, the kids were making ornaments, Christmas music was playing and within hours of my return, we were doing Christmas shopping. 

We were busy fulfilling custom orders right up until the end of the day on the 19th – we shipped everything a day early this year per the USPS guidelines, but somehow they still managed to deliver about 10% of my packages after Christmas. I don’t understand what was going on, but it was frustrating.  I planned ahead, I didn’t overload myself, I gave everything an extra day in transit.  Apparently, it wasn’t me.

Now that the holidays are over I’m ready to say GOODBYE to all this stock – see all this stuff?  I made it for you.  We need to clear the shelves to start our 2015 line, so for some incentive – 45% off moxieandoliver.etsy.com through midnight on December 31, 2014 with code “MOREMOXIE45”  

And this is me.  The holidays made me tired.  Family drama. Travel. Post Office drama. Employee drama.  Kid drama.  I’m pooped, but enjoying a few days “off” of work – still answering emails and working on computer related Moxie & Oliver things, but in my PJs, all day. 

xo

c

100 Reasons to Shop Early

The day after Halloween, my husband had Christmas music playing by 9am.  Fair enough, since the stores already have Christmas décor lining the shelves.  Why not extend the holiday spirit, I say, and relieve a little bit of the stress of shopping by getting it out of the way in November!  That way you can enjoy family, friends, good food, booze, and warm fires.

And, of course, you can get some decorating done, too. Each year we make 100 limited edition stocking ornaments and give them away starting November 1.  The ornaments are free with every purchase of $100 or more (before tax and shipping) through www.MOXIEandOLIVER.com and we’ll give ‘em away until they are gone – that’s what they are for!

Our bee patterns have been so well loved that this year we decided on the “One Bee” pattern. Each stocking has a bee and a little line of honeycomb.  They’re all the same pattern, but since they are all made by hand they are all a little different.  Each actually opens like a stocking so you can put a small candy cane or gift (engagement ring!? How awesome would that be???) inside.

I’ll post an update here when they’re gone.  As of 11/3/2014 at 4:17 PST they’re still available!

xo

c

U-Kew-Lele Strap

 

From across the pond, our Sugar Skull Guitar Strap makes its way onto a ukulele and into the recording session of U-Kew-Lele’s first album! Thanks to Michael for sending along the photo.  Looking – and sounding – great!

xo

c

Support your favorite leathercrafter!

 

And by that, I mean – support Moxie & Oliver as we navigate the finals in the Martha Stewart American Made competition.  To say thanks, we’re giving away some Moxie & Oliver gift certificates.  Because giveaways are fun, but when you get exactly what you wanted, it’s even better!

You have 32 chances left to win a $200 gift certificate!

Thanks to your amazing support we have advanced to the finals in the  Martha Stewart American Made competition! Now we need your vote! 

You can vote for us up to six times a day - and each vote enters you to win a FREE $200 gift certificate from Moxie & Oliver: 

Here's how it works: 

1. Click here, and then click the "VOTE" button to vote for us (you can vote up to six times per day - for us!).
2. Visit our Facebook page, and COMMENT on the top post to let us know you voted.  Comment on this post each day you vote for us. Each comment is a separate entry. So, if you start voting today and vote every day through October 13, you get 32 chances to win!
3. On October 15th, I'll pick a gift certificate winner from the people who comment on the Facebook post.

The more votes that we have the better our chances of winning one of the grand prize spots. This would be an amazing opportunity for us, and we can't thank you enough for all the support you've given so far.  Keep it coming! 

Fine print: You must vote for us on Martha Stewart American Made nomination AND comment on the Moxie & Oliver Facebook page to fully enter in the giveaway. Limit six entries per person per day.  Voting ends October 13, 2014. 

But wait, there's more!

Martha Stewart is giving away prizes each week to the most active voter - so there's extra incentive to vote every day!

AND we'll give away an additional $50 gift certificate to the most active voter for Moxie & Oliver, as determined by the comments on our Facebook post.  What are you waiting for?  GO VOTE!

Thank you all for your support. It means the world to me!  Getting in as a wildcard finalist – as in, you all “liked” my entry enough times that Moxie & Oliver advanced to the finals – is truly, truly amazing.  You’re amazing.

xo

c

Call it what you want

 

It’s been a crazy week. My daughter went back to school (last year of her immersion Preschool!) and my son started spending full days with my mother and step-mother.  It’s wild to be in my studio without him, but I have to admit that I get a lot more done.  Oh yeah, also, Moxie & Oliver is a Martha Stewart American Made Finalist! I honestly almost cried when I saw the email.  We made it on the wildcard which means, and this may be even more incredible than being chosen by Martha, that my friends, family and fans shared the page enough to get us there.  Amazing.

Something else happened, too, that I don’t want to overlook.  I started calling myself an “artist”.  I have been up to my ears in applications and the more I write about my own work, the more I think about it, and the more I realize that what sets my work apart from other leather goods is that it has art on it.  How’d that art get there?  Well, I guess an artist must have… oh wait, yeah. I guess I’m an artist.

This may seem completely obvious to everyone else, but it wasn’t to me.  For as long as I have been working with leather I have been creating goods that are functional – bags, wallets, belts, mailboxes, pillows -  and for that reason alone I put myself in the category of “crafter.”  The division of “arts’' and “crafts” came about in the Renaissance, and in addition to industrialization of crafts, this was something that the Arts & Crafts Movement sought to undo. As a lover of the arts and virtues of the Arts & Crafts Movement, I’m not sure how I wandered so far from their teachings when it came to my own work.

So today, at a party, someone asked what I do and I said “I’m an artist.”  My husband says that this always makes people think I don’t make any money, which is fine. The other thing I’ve been asking myself recently is whether I would rather make a lot of money or make a difference in the world.  I’d rather make a difference, and by making leathergoods that have my original art on them for people to enjoy, I believe I do.  And that they will last for years and years to come helps everyone – your pocket, the resources of the world, you know, small stuff.  And I hope to further this world betterment by teaching others my craft, but that’s news for another day. 

xo

c 

What’s the Difference Between Chrome- and Vegetable-Tanned Leather?

Most people love the rich, earthy smell of leather – every time I do a show, almost everyone who comes into the booth starts with "I love the smell of leather!" But what most people don’t know is that many leather products creating that alluring aroma are chrome-tanned. Unless you’re an avid reader of the Moxie & Oliver blog, you might not know what that means for your health.

Both tanning processes give unprocessed hides the color, texture, and suppleness we expect from finished leather, but the materials and techniques used to accomplish this result are different. To enlighten a little bit further, I’d like to explain the key difference between chrome-tanned leather and vegetable-tanned leather…

MATERIALS

Elements used in the vegetable tanning solution are completely natural – such as chestnut tree bark. Vegetable tanned leather typically comes from the tannery undyed and is a light flesh color.  This is what allows me to add color and pattern to it (using water based and safe paint and dyes).

On the other hand, chrome-tanning solution is mixed from various chemicals, acids and salts. One of the primary ingredients of chrome-tanned leather solution is chromium sulphate. This chemical helps to prep the leather to accept dyes (these are also typically artificial). The color that you see in chromium tanned leather - and this is the standard leather for almost all garments and accessories - is added in the factory. It may contain lead, and sometimes it's sprayed on with spray paint, a notoriously eco-unfriendly substance. 

EXPEDIENCY

The vegetable tanning process has been used for thousands of years and takes up to 60 days to complete for a single piece of dyed leather. Chrome-tanning was invented in the 1800s and these hides are done in about a day. The invention of chrome-tanning allowed leather handbags, shoes, and other goods to be mass-manufactured, but it yields an inferior product. As any leatherworker will tell you; vegetable tanned leather is the finest you can buy.

CONTROL
Okay, I'll say it - I'm a control freak, at least when it comes to my leather. As mentioned above, chromium tanned leather is soaked in huge vats of chemicals, softened artificially, and colors are added to the leather in the tannery. This means that when the leather reaches the artist or consumer, the color the tannery added is the last color it will be. No adding colors, no adding patterns... you get what you get. Veg-tanned leather, on the other hand, comes as a light fleshy color. No color has been added, so the artist/craftsperson gets to control the colors, and add pattern (which has long been the signature of my work). Because the veg-tanned leather is closer to the leather's natural state, the colors and patterns are permanent.

I often have customers ask if my leather is "buttery soft" as though a mark of a high-quality leather is thinness and softness, when in fact, the opposite is true. Vegetable tanned leather has a smooth surface but it's far from what anyone would consider "buttery soft". The softening takes time, and you have to break it in, but it will last for a lifetime of use. And, it won't give you or your kids lead poisoning (like some chrome-tanned leathers will).  Now, isn't that the mark of a high quality product?

xo
c

The Duomo Duffel Bag

I think these pictures say it all. This bag is the ultimate luxury travel companion.  It’s a handmade leather duffel bag in the Duomo pattern, my old-world inspired architectural pattern, in sage, burgundy and antique black.

The Duomo Duffel Bag is cut from my original pattern, and the first one was made for Craig Forget of CarpenterCraig.  The dimensions are 10” by 10” by 20” and it has a zip closure and detachable handles and shoulder strap.

This bag is a wonderful size for a small travel – say, a weekend away? I need a weekend away, so I think one of my next projects will be to make myself one of these…

xo

c

Bee Flask Friday!

 

This week I chose the One Bee Flask.  I spend a lot of time drawing little bees, and this past week was no exception.

On Monday I had a videographer come in and shoot a video of me making a little bee pouch – so exciting!  Soon you’ll actually be able to see me making a leather good, all in the span of 90 seconds (which is, admittedly, much quicker than it took me to actually make it).

Anyway, on to the giveaway.  Thanks to all of you who entered last week, and congratulations to Lucy H. who entered on twitter and won!  Last week’s flask seems to be headed across the ocean.

This week the rules are the same, but the hash tag is different, so here it is – you can enter to win this flask three times, once on each platform.  Winner will be chosen 7/31.  Good luck!

1.  Follow us on Instagram (@moxieandoliver) and re-post the picture of this flask with tag #BestFlask

2.  Follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/moxieandoliver) and share the picture of the flask with tag #BestFlask

3.  Follow us on Twitter (@moxieandoliver) and re-tweet our give-away tweet, with tag #BestFlask

Happy Friday,

C

Free Flask Friday!

 

Today is an exciting day – it’s the first “Free Flask Friday” at the Moxie & Oliver studio.  For the last ten years I’ve been making hundreds, maybe thousands, of handmade leather and stainless steel flasks.  And because drinking is always better with friends, what better thing do do with these little beauties than to give some away?

The flask above was inspired by Cool Material’s month of beer quotes. Many of my flasks over the years have been personalized by customers with quotes of their choosing, but seeing a great collection of beer quotes inspired me to pick some of my own.  Oscar Wilde has some great drinking quotes, but this one from Bruce Tomlinson appealed to my hippy sensibilities as well.  There are a lot of spiritual people up here in the Northwest – no wonder we have so many craft distilleries!

This 4oz flask is the first we’ll give away. It is the Friday Flask with one of our favorite drinking quotes on it, in a beautiful blue color:

“Your body is a temple, you should keep some spirits in you.” – Bruce Tomlinson

To enter to win, just do the following:

1.  Follow us on Instagram (@moxieandoliver) and re-post the picture of this flask with tag #FFFmoxieandoliver

2.  Follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/moxieandoliver) and share the picture of the flask with tag #FFFmoxieandoliver

3.  Follow us on Twitter (@moxieandoliver) and re-tweet our give-away tweet, with tag #FFFmoxieandoliver

Each # 1-3 above is good for one entry, and you can enter once on each platform (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) each week. Winner will be announced on all three on 7-24-14.  Good luck. 

In good spirits!
C

Forget the Wedding Registry

You know that thing the bride and groom spent so much time on? Forget it.  Throw it out.  Totally ignore every wedding wish they had.  Get them something handmade instead.  Why? Because unlike a cup, a fork, or a towel that will blend in with a sea  of sameness, every time they see the handmade gift you picked out for them, they will think of you.  And they will smile. Doesn’t a smile sound better than being forgotten?

So, now that we’ve ditched the registry, what to get? I advocate for something that they will use every day, preferably together.  That is why these little leather valet trays are such a splendid gift.  You can personalize them – add initials or a custom inscription – and every day when the bride and groom come home and put their keys, cell phones, and other odds and ends in the tray they will think of you.

Smaller trays are also available, for just the wedding rings.

Happy Summer!
-c

 

www.moxieandoliver.com

caitlin@moxieandoliver.com for custom requests

Benefits of Vegetable-Tanned Leather

At Moxie & Oliver, all of our products are made with the utmost quality and precision. You can be sure your item will last and only get better with age and wear. Every product is made from vegetable-tanned leather—a traditional and natural method of tanning hides.

Vegetable tanning is one of the oldest methods used by leather designers for thousands of years. This traditional craft process uses tannins and other natural ingredients found in wood, bark, and plants to convert the animal skin to leather. The raw hide’s transformation into leather occurs slowly, generally over one month, within tanning pits or wooden drums. The final product is a warm, rich brown color that is durable and susceptible to carving or stamping.

These are some of the many benefits of vegetable-tanned as opposed to other forms of leather tanning:

Natural. The process of vegetable tanning showcases leather in its most natural state because it involves only organic ingredients from plant materials and vegetable matter. It’s the only form of tanning that retains the natural markings of the animal hide, giving the leather unique characteristics.

Environmentally friendly. There is no use of chemicals in this process, only natural ingredients. Because of this, any leather products that have been vegetable tanned can be recycled.

Color. The tone of leather that has been vegetable-tanned is rich, warm, and vibrant. These blends of brown come from the natural materials such as bark and plant materials. One of the most unique aspects of this type of leather is that the color changes after being exposed to different elements such as light and oils, giving it a life that gets better with wear.

Value. Because of the time consuming process, vegetable-tanned leather is more valuable than chrome-tanned or other types of leather. It is usually sold at a higher price because of its intricate craft process, natural qualities and ability to age well.

All Moxie & Oliver products are made from vegetable-tanned leather, which is only the best type.

Start shopping and get your quality vegetable-tanned leather product at Moxie & Oliver!

How do you repair a scratch in leather?

 

A customer asked recently how you repair a scratch in leather.  If you want to skip all the detailed explanation and complicated analogies, the short answer is that you don’t.  The best you can do for a scratch in leather is to try to dye it so it will blend in.

Now, here’s the extended version:  Leather has a rough “flesh” side and a smooth “grain” side.  Recently when I was doing some research in my book I came across a very detailed illustration of the layers of leather.  It’s a much better picture than I would draw for you, so here it is -

And here is the book it came from -

So the outside of your leather what-not (handbag, couch, belt, shoes, etc.) is the grain side.  It is smooth and probably a little shiny.  It’s the pretty side, that’s why they put it on the outside.  Well, right under that nice finished “grain” side of the leather, the texture starts to change very rapidly.  If you remove, ever so carefully, the very tip top layer of the leather as a paper-thin sheet, what is left is rough.  Not as rough as the flesh side (the rough underside), but still pretty rough.

When you scratch leather, you’re disrupting the smooth finish on the flesh side and exposing the rough portion.  Or, even if you don’t make it all the way down to the rough part, you’ve at least disturbed the smooth finish of the grain side.

How could you fix this?  Well, you can’t “fix” it but you can do a few things to minimize the appearance of a scratch.

1.  Try a bit of oil.  Sometimes rubbing a little oil on the surface, or dabbing it on with a Q-Tip, is all it takes.  Anyone will tell you to both test on a hidden part of the piece, and also to use whatever oil your manufacturer recommends.  Lexol Neatsfoot oil has always been a favorite of mine, but yes, it really does depend on the leather that you are working with.

2.  Dye it.  So usually a scratch will show up as a lighter color than the rest of the leather and this is because the top portion, the dyed portion, of the leather has been removed.  Think of it like a veneer on wood, where the veneer has been scratched off. You can’t sand it because the veneer is so thin, so you take one of those funny little touch-up pens and just color it in.  It’s not fixed, but it’s not as noticeable.

It’s the same principle with leather.  You’re not going to repair the scratch, strictly speaking, but you can color it so it doesn’t look so bad.  If you’re dealing with chrome tanned leather, you can probably use shoe polish (yeah, all those little scratches on your shoes, it takes care of them.  Suddenly it all makes sense…) but be very careful to buff it really well, especially if you’re doing it to a couch. Any residual dye or polish could deposit on your bum!

Some leathers may require a special dye, and your local leather shop will be able to give you more direction.  Or you can try to color-match it online and then, of course, test a spot first.

For veg tan, you can usually just use the original dye color (if it is a Moxie & Oliver piece, I can make you a leather repair kit!) and either a Q-tip if it is a alcohol or water based dye or a paper towel for a gel antique dye to touch up the scratched spot.  You’ll always want to use a topcoat in this case to seal the dye in.

3.  Spray paint it.  No, I’m not kidding.  If you had someone or something really do a number on your couch, the consensus seems to be that you sand it down, fill it in, and then spray paint it with a leather paint to make it look like new.  Here’s a tutorial showing how to repair cat scratches on leather.  But again, think of it more like a veneer on wood than like a solid piece of wood – once you sand it down, you’re going to have to put on a faux finish to get the couch, purse, etc. to look like new again.

In any of these scenarios the texture of the scratch, or scratched patch, will be slightly different, but you’re probably the only one who will notice.

PHEW!  That was totally the long answer.  Me, I’d just make a nifty patch out of leather and slap it on the couch, or my bag, or shoes, or what have you.  Those silver tips on cowboy boots are because the toes wear out so quickly and can’t really be repaired, right?

Time to take the dogs for a walk!

xo

c

Color of the Year

I don’t know how you choose the color of the year at the beginning, but Pantone does.  The 2014 Color of the year is Radiant Orchid and this, my friends, is my Orchid Belt. Beautifully detailed carving with a collection of orchids at the back, trailing vines, and another orchid on the tip for a little visual excitement from the front.  Wood grain background, and of course, a bit of Radiant Orchid in the flowers.

Enjoy, and wear radiantly!

-Caitlin

One drink is never enough

 

When we were in Baltimore and people would comment on the different size flasks – the key chain flasks being so tiny that it couldn’t possibly hold enough of anything, all the way up to the 12oz flasks that they couldn’t imagine drinking all of – I would laugh just a little to myself.   Those key chain flasks wouldn’t get me drunk, but they’d give me a buzz (after spending the last 4.5 years either pregnant or with small children, my alcohol tolerance is pretty sad). And that 12oz flask, well, that flask doesn’t hold a candle to the flask I made a holster for right before we left.

I made a flask holster, and belt to match, for a half gallon flask.  Yeah, that’s right.  This baby holds 64 shots, so if drinking is literally a team sport where you’re from, it’s perfect for you.  And in that case, someone needs a holster to match. After all, carrying a flask like that in your hands is not only awkward, it’s heavy!  So here’s the solution a customer came up with, and I couldn’t say no.

And the belt to match, because no flask holster would be complete without a matching tire tread inspired belt.  All pieces are made by hand in my Seattle studio out of full-grain vegetable tanned leather.  The belt is hand carved and the flask holster is branded.  The holster has snaps on the back for easy on/off and the edges are stitched by hand.  The finish is antique brown.

Yes, I can do holsters for smaller flasks.  But this baby is a show-stopper.  I would love to see a picture of it in action!

xo

c

Introducing the Musette Bag

Do you know what a musette bag is?  Yeah, neither did I, and if you google search it you really don’t find much that is helpful.  But at the request of my brother-in-law, I carefully examined his well-loved cycling musette bag and created a new one – a little more sophisticated than the canvass bag that they hand out to cyclists during the race, and a little more practical for every-day use.  It did take a bit of convincing, but I got him to let me put a flap on the bag, rather than leaving it open like a traditional musette (wouldn’t want your things to fall out, would you?).  He chose the Nice pattern with a wood grain and heart, and a simple snap closure.  So, new to the Moxie and Oliver made-to-order catalog is the Nice Musette Bag in two sizes – the large is the size of an original musette (about 11x14), and the medium is sized to fit an ipad (about 9x12). 

Oh, yeah, and I loved the design so much that I decided to make a second one – the Owl in the Woods Musette.  Also available in two sizes.

Enjoy!

xo

c