Thursday 29 January 2009

Recent Works: Dog collar "Isa"

This collar is the consequent continuation of what I tried out before with the "Skadi"-collar.
I improved the points that weren't perfect, so this time it is hand-sewn AND riveted. Apart from this it's quite the same construction.

Recent Works: Dog collar "Skadi"

This collar is a kind of prototype. Though it is not the first dog collar I have ever made, it is still a new design I thought out over a longer period. This collar itself contains some minor optical imperfections - I wasn't that accurate while working on it, not knowing if it would turn out to fulfil my demands - just wanted to avoid wasting time. ;)
I made it and started trying it with my Saarlooswolfdog bitch Skadi directly.
It showed that this design works pretty well and combines functionality with noble appearance - just like it should.
This piece is only riveted instead of sewn - in the future I will prefer a combination of both for the ultimate safety of the dog.
The inner side is padded which results in a better wearing comfort for the dog.
When looking at the picture, please mind that the collar was already in a somewhat used condition when the photo was taken.

Recent Works: A belt for myself

I was thinking about this since a very long time now, but somehow I never had the time to actually put my plan into practice. I have done belts before, but this one for myself should be more than a simple leather strap holding my pants up.
Of course one of my aims with creating this belt was simply to show my skills on an item used on a daily basis. Something that I can always have with me, where ever I go. I often got into situations speaking about my arts but having nothing to show in real life. This belt should sovle this problem.
A second task this item should be able to fullfil: When wandering through the woods with my dogs, I often wished to be able to keep my hands free, even if the dogs have to stay on the leaches. Therefore I added the two D-rings and a snap-hook to this belt which will make this wish come true.
The patterns I used on this piece are all self-designed and have been inspired by viking-age Jelling style. It took me something more than 2 days to finish this work.