Thursday, July 28, 2005

Leather Craft

We can now offer all 3 finished Leather Craft Instruction Manuals for sale as downloads from our site. See the Sales Page, 'Leather Instruction Manuals as Downloads' We have linked up with PayDotCom.com who are providing the payment & marketing service although the actual payments are still taken by PayPal. Visit our Sales Page & get one or all 3 e-books, you wont be disappointed. They are comprehensive & take the user through all stages & divisions of this ancient & fascinating Craft. These Manuals fit in with Government requirements for
e-learning & can be likened to an Open University of Leather Craft, indeed they are more than equal to a 2 year full time College Craft Course.

You can learn from the comfort of your home, even work at home in your own work shop (Many already do just that. There is a lot to learn & assimilate & a certain amount of self motivation is called for but you will acquire life time skills that ensure you can always make a living. You will not be left to struggle on your own as help is just an email away & it is Free To learn more Visit http://www.theleatherconnection.com

Friday, July 01, 2005

Stingray Leathergoods (Shagreen)

Availability of Leathergoods made from Stingray Skins.

Since the exhibition at the Victoria & Albert museum in London there has bee a resurgence of interest in the use of Shagreen, (Stingray). It is now being widely used by interior designers, in the corporate offices of large companies & in the homes of the well to do. Since our introduction of the high quality skins from MPL Thailand, (see earlier post). We are also now seeing more fashion conscious customers purchasing Leathergoods in this attractive & fashionable skin. However this need not be restricted to the 'Well To Do' as Shagreen leathergoods are not beyond the reach of the more Astute Shopper.

In fact our Associate Company, Roje Stingray Leather 350 Bay Street, Suite 100-108, San Francisco, CA 94133, Tel; 1-866-309-4488. e-mail: sale@rojeleather.com URL: http://www.rojeleather.com Offer a range of high quality Stingray Leathergoods products. You can visit their site at the above URL. (Contact: Jeremiah Kapp). But if you use the link provided on my site & quote Ref: TLC. A discount of 5% on all articles purchased is available. Note. This is a special offer to Customers from http:www.theleatherconnection.com

The History of The Stingray (Shagreen

History of the Stingray - Enigmatic, powerful, and beautiful.

This article was provided by Roje Stingray Leathergoods http://www.rojeleather.com

The mystique of the stingray has captivated a select group of artisans and consumers since ancient times. These other worldly, winged phantoms of the deep evolved from sharks more than 200 million years ago. Early cultures became fascinated with their primitive beauty and grace. Possessing a stealth-like aura stingrays can soar through waters at amazing speeds while maneuvering with incredible dexterity. The stingray's remarkably durable,
multi-patterned and colored skin also attracted early craftsmen believing this power could be transmitted into their craft.

The earliest civilizations believed the stingray brought strength and power to anyone who
handled it. The backbone, resembling clusters of white pearls, was thought to be a protector of good luck and prosperity. Egyptian craftsmen prized the beauty and durability of the stingray skin by fashioning armor and other decorative items. These were discovered in the tombs of ancient pharaohs. Han and Shogun Samurai also used the raw skins for armor as well as handles on their Samurai swords.

In more contemporary times, 18th century French artisan Jean-Claude Galuchat fashioned the stingray skin for Louis XV into several commodities such as sheaths, wig cases and snuff boxes. Others colored the skins and combined them with precious metals to make various crafts. But it was English artisan, John Paul Cooper, who took the craft to new heights. From 1899 to 1933 his London studio produced nearly 1,000 artifacts veneered with stingray leather including vases, elaborate boxes, candlesticks and frames.

Roje wholesales and retails the highest quality handcrafted stingray leather wallets, stingray leather handbags, stingray leather belts, and stingray leather briefcases.
The Stingray is any of a class of cartilaginous marine animals of the subclass Elasmobranchii, orders Myliobatiformes (rays) or Rajiformes (skates), found in both salt- and fresh-coastal waters, as well as some rivers, around the world.

Species/Families of stingray include the round ray, Bat Ray (Myliobatis californica), Manta ray, diamond ray, Southern Stingray (Dasyatis americana), Atlantic Stingray (Dasyatis sabina), Yellow Stingray (Urolophus jamaiensis), Blue Spot Stingray (Taeniura lymma), Big Skate (Raja binoculata), butterfly ray (Gymnuridae), Pelagic Stingray (Dasyatis Pteroplatytrygon violacea) and Cownose ray (Rhinoptera bonasus). There are also freshwater ray species in South America (Potamotrygon Sp.), Asia (Himantura Sp.), Africa, and Florida (Dasyatis sabina). Most species of stingray are neither threatened or endangered.

Note. From Francis. Before the skins of stingray were widely used for leathergoods the fishermen catching them dumped these exotic skins as waste but retained a few to use in boat building as the hard surface to these skins was a great substitute for sandpaper. (That relates to the skins in their raw state, The tanning process makes the skins pliable & softer without damaging their durability). Also note that reference above of earlier use of Stingray & Shark in the late 18th & early 19th centuries, Examples can be found in Museums & the 'Victoria & Albert Museum' has a fine collection. For a range of quality leathergoods fashioned from the best skins available view this site. http://www.rojeleather.com