W&F Shop Space

April 9, 2013
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It’s been a while since I moved things out of my house, and everything has just continued to move faster and faster. So fast that I realized I’ve never even formally introduced my current shop on the blog.

If you follow W&F on Instagram, you’ve seen small bits of the place, but since my dear friend Lisa was in recently taking pics, I want to share and show the place off. As you can see, now there’s more than enough room for tools, work tables, materials and even an expert employee, Anna.

I work out of the Beam&Anchor building, which is the fantastic vision of my friends Robert and Jocelyn Rahm. It’s an old, reworked building located in NE Portland, and I’m extremely fortunate that they asked to have me included. There’s no other way I could have gotten this far and this busy without having such an inspiring place to work.

A major source of the inspiration comes from the other building’s tenants – Maak Soap Lab, Revive Upholstery, Earthbound Industries, Phloem Studio and of course space for Robert to work on his artifacts/creations and space for Jocelyn to paint. Below us all is the retail shop, helmed by Jocelyn, Currie, Robert and Patrick. It’s been an amazing experience working alongside and with such hardworking and creative folks.

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Heritage Charcuterie Sheath

April 1, 2013
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There’s been a shift in the shop as of late. As trends change, we need to be ahead of the curve to stay in business. People are on the move and can sometimes get hungry and we need to accommodate them. That’s why as of today, we are suspending all bag production and diving head first into a new market. Consumables carrying accessories.

We’ve been doing some extensive testing in the shop (consequently gaining about 23lbs. during) and are finally ready to launch our new flagship product, the Heritage Charcuterie Sheath series. We should be adding models to the store as early as this week.

Have you ever found yourself out and about, realizing that you could really use a bite of cured meat? Let’s say you’re on a date with a delightful vegetarian and decide to just eat salad for dinner, but later have a craving for hand-crafted salami? You’re in the office, meetings out the wazoo and can’t take a break. Running between board rooms, wouldn’t it be great to refresh with a little snack? Maybe it’s just a weekend canoe trip with your buddies. You want to carry a snack, but you need both hands free to launch the boats.

Now there’s, no problem. You can have cured meat on your belt AT ALL TIMES.

 

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Wood&Faulk Home Goods

March 27, 2013
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Who knew I’d be making home goods? I sure didn’t. It dawned on me when I was making a wholesale catalog that I had enough products for that new category (Mason Jar Sleeves already in production and releasing soon). Granted, I didn’t really plan for any of this to actually happen, but now I’ve got a bunch of products in the store and even more in works in the shop. It’s been really exciting.

In the spirit of making things I need in my own life, I decided to create some W&F coasters and a trivet. Great for saving furniture from drips and scorches, and also look nice too. I agonized over what design to stamp on them, and after trying out lots of objects and looks, I settled on a simple pattern of tiny crosses.

Coasters come in packs of four and the trivets are sold singularly. They’re made with the same English bridle leather that I’ve been using on the Camp Stools – a beautiful example that is tanned here in the US. Cut, stamped and burnished in our Portland shop.

 

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Wood&Faulk + Spartan Guitar Strap

March 15, 2013
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After some taunting and leaking images in Instagram for a while about my guitar strap plans, the release is finally here. I’ve finally got something I really like and hope you will too. The first dozen are available now at Spartan in Austin, Texas. Partly to commemorate the music festival, but mostly because I love Austin and Spartan. If you’re in town, get there and check them out. I’ll be adding them to the store shortly in the color russet (as pictured) and black is in the works.

They’re made with beautiful, hard wearing harness leather with solid brass hardware. Cut, stamped and built in our Portland shop and will retail for $65.00

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The Cheeseboard in Three Steps

February 27, 2013
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There’s practically no steps to this. I feel almost silly even writing it, but there’s some small knowledge here that can make a big difference if you make one, and that’s why I’m gonna be talking about it. The key is in the sanding.

First of all, why the hell didn’t I have a cheeseboard until now? I love cheese! I’ve been cutting the stuff on plates and that’s just dumb. I’ve broken plates this way and certainly dulled my knives. The best thing to cut on while look like a classy son-of-a-gun in the process is definitely real wood.

I’m using Walnut because it’s super sexy, but also is really good to work with and will give a great finish. Step one is obviously to just cut your board. I’m gonna use a live edge because I have access to great pieces of wood, but you can make a fancy shape, leave it square, or anything really. Whatever your shape, I say simpler the better, because the faster you’re done, the quicker you can load it up with cheese and meats.

After the shape is established, it’s time for the un-fun and necessary… lots of sanding. Don’t skimp on this part, and don’t think you can get away with one grit and make it nice. You really have to step down with the grit, and this will make not only a better product, but it’ll go faster too. If your board is relatively smooth from a planer, then start with about a 80 grit on an orbital sander. After you have sufficiently smoothed out any major imperfections, it’s time to change the grit. Next hit it with some 120, then 220, then 320, and if you’re really going for that silky feel – 400 with a hand block sanding in the direction of the grain. At this point, the bare wood will be so smooth you won’t want to stop touching it.

Next blow the dust off with a compressor or use a tack cloth to get the dust off. If you’re sanding furniture, I like a little dust in my finish to fill the grain… But we’re going to oil this piece to make if food safe, and I don’t want any dust in my cheese.

Apply some mineral oil to the wood with a soft cloth and then remove any excess with another cloth. You can apply a few coats, making sure it soaks into the wood plenty. After a cure period of a couple days, you’re ready to use it. You can reapply oil every once-in-a-while to keep it looking good… and if you’re doing tons of cutting, you can always re-sand to get it back to the original condition.

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Knotted Keyring

January 28, 2013
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I was in the shop the other day and Jocelyn (of Beam&Anchor) said, “I love the long keychain thing that’s on the desk.” I realized later she was referring to the shape of the camera wrist strap, but that instantly put an idea in my head of making a key carry with a longer, maybe lanyard-like component.

So, I was playing in the shop with ideas and knots and leather scraps and leather lace and came up with a few attempts. Posting them on Instagram, I realized that folks might like one and why not do a DIY too?

It’s similar to the camera wrist strap, but with a twist. I wanted to get the ends on either side, while keeping a long loop in the middle, but having it tied flat with itself. The purpose of the loop is two-fold – one to be very visible when thrown in a bag or backpack, and two to be able to tie though a belt loop and stick in your pocket.

Start by cutting a 3 1/2″ piece of strap that’s 5/8″ wide. I’ve used a belt punch to round both ends, but you can trim with shears too. Punch a series of six holes that are large enough to easily feed your lace though.

Before lacing, feed a split-ring though the leather and fold in half. If you add the split ring later, you will mar up the leather. Once folded in half, you can start the lacing in the top left hole with a knot in the lace. Pull though to the knot. Turn the piece over and you’ll let the lace form the loop handle and come back up to the other side, top right hole. Once though there, you’ll spiral it down on one side, while creating horizontal loops on the other. These loops will wrap around your long handle segments and keep them flush and straight with the leather body. Once you pull it though the last hole, tie a knot at the very end and then tighten the whole assembly with all your extra forming more of the long loop.

You can customize with with more loops on the body, or a rivet like shown in the last pic, or use d-rings and feed split rings through them… Or any number of options.

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W&F Camera Strap Giveaway

January 26, 2013
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It’s been a loooong time since I have put something up here, and I KNOW I owe you folks some new DIYs. I’ve got some in progress and I’ll update soon, but I hope you’ll forgive me with a little giveaway in the meantime.

We finished the new camera neck strap shortly after the holidays and have been enjoying its release, but figured it deserves a proper introduction. It’s constructed with some amazingly beautiful oiled latigo leather, and created with the vintage style that I love, but with sturdy modern details. Nylon attach points hold heavy cameras with great security. It’s a good compromise when you’re carrying your favorite baby, but still want that timeless styling. Hardware was kept to a minimum with a few hand-hammered copper rivets and a simple buckle for some adjustment.

Well, how do you enter to win one? If you’re like me… You’ve got a favorite camera(s) that might look great with one of these on it. Comment below with the camera you’d use it on, and I’ll randomly pick THREE folks to receive one. You’ll get your choice of tan or brown and free shipping too, anywhere in the world. Please only comment once though… Even if you have about 5+ favorite cameras like I do! I’ll draw winners Feb 28 and will announce shortly after.

Update Mar 01 – Using a random number generator, we’ve selected the winners! Numbers 30, 94 and 182. Congrats, Joe, Heather and Bob – I’ll be sending out emails to you shortly!

 

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Wood&Faulk Wallets

October 18, 2012
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One of the more fun things being made in the shop lately are the new wallets, so I thought I’d share here. There’s currently two models, the Traveler Wallet and the Front Pocket Wallet.

The Traveler Wallet is hand-sewn with Horween Chromexcel cowhide. The leather has a beautiful, soft, waxy touch and will wear-in amazingly. Thread colors are coordinated to the leathers. Enough room for credit cards, a cash pocket and a passport or a small notebook pocket.

The Front Pocket Wallets are perfectly small, with just enough room for the essentials. They are also hand-sewn, but with Horween Chromexcel Horsefronts. The three-pocket model is perfect for your suit jacket or front pocket and will hold a few cards and a little cash. I currently use the four-pocket version and I’m able to put credit cards, license, insurance cards and use the back pocket for cash. The small size will keep things from getting out of hand – a’la Costanza.

All wallets are made in our Portland shop and are available in the Beam&Anchor retail store and in our online store, with more retailers to follow.

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Leather Glass Jacket

October 17, 2012
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Yes, I hate the word koozie. It’s a horrible term. However, sometimes you need some insulation on your burning hot coffee cup as to not squeal and throw your full drink after picking it up, and there’s not many other words that come to mind. For this post, I’ll still call it a jacket out of principle.

I like using half-pint mason jars because they are easy to find, inexpensive and easily replaceable. Classic look and a good size, but not good for hot drinks. Here’s a quick way to save your delicate hands and make something fun too. I put a quick lesson together over at Design*Sponge with the full details. I talk about some new tools, and if you’re wanting to do any leather crafting, they are a few that you should own.

Have a look, and maybe you’ll want to give it a try. The techniques can be used to jacket plenty of other things too… beer cans, tennis ball cans, yogurt cups, tobacco tins?

 

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DIY Northwesterner / Otter Wax special

October 4, 2012
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I’ve had this special in the works for a while now, and am finally bringing it to the shop. I teamed up with a local friend Chris, who makes an amazing water-repellant wax called Otter Wax to offer this package special. Otter Wax is made in Portland with all-natural ingredients and does wonders in the rainy climate we have here. I figured it would be the perfect compliment to a natural canvas W&F bag, where you can apply your wax and to give an instantly worn-in look and water repellant properties.

They are available in the store today for $149. The leather handles and straps will age to a golden tan, so with just a little use, this bag will look like a well-used favorite.

The wax comes in bar form, so you simply take it out of the box and rub into the fabric to apply. As you get a little built up, you can use a clean rag to rub it in and even it out. Because the fabric is heavy and textured, you’ll definitely use up a good share of it, but should have about a half bar left to do future touch ups. There’s also some good tutorial advice on the Otter Wax site.

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