05MarchPPLGNewsletter

THE POUNDER

MARCH, 2005

REGULAR GUILD MEETINGS;
NORMALLY HELD THE THIRD SUNDAY OF EACH MONTH 1:00 PM TO 4:00 PM

SEE OUR WEB PAGE FOR DIRECTIONS TO THE GUILD MEETING LOCATION

SUNDAY MAR 20, 2005

REGULAR MEETING AT HZUMC CHURCH 1:00 TO 4:00

THE MEETING WILL BE THE FIRST OF SEVERAL CLASSES ON BASIC USE OF

HAND TOOLS, USING THE WESTERN FLORAL DESIGN.

BRING BEVELERS , VEINERS, AND CAMOUFLAGE TOOLS

…………COMING EVENTS;

SEPTEMBER 30 TO OCT 2, 2005 IFOLG SHOW “COLORADO ROUND UP”

HOSTED BY THE COLUMBINE LEATHER GUILD - SEE - http://ifolg.org

OCT 13 TO OCT 15, 2006 PITTPOUNDERS AND THE IILG ARE - COSPONSORING

“HARVEST OF LEATHER” – HELD IN PITTSBURGH, PA.

………

CHRISTOPHER KEARNS, PRES. PITTPOUNDERS EMAIL ckearns109@yahoo.com

THE PITTPOUNDERS NEW WEB SITE “UNDER CONSTRUCTION”

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LEATHER GUILDS, “IFOLG” WEB SITE http://ifolg.org

IFOLG IS THE PITTPOUNDERS (AND OTHER GUILDS) MOTHER ORGANIZATION

SEE ALSO; INTERNATIONAL INTERNET LEATHER GUILD - WEB SITE http:// iilg.org

………………………………………………………………………………………………………… PITTPOUNDER GUILD OFFICERS;

PRESIDENT - CHRISTOPHER KEARNS 724 - 368 – 9507 VICE PRESIDENT - TERRY MOORE 412 - 567 – 6664

SECRETARY - GARY DRAPER 412 – 714 - 4430 TREASURER - JOYCE WEDGE 724 – 538 - 5853
LIBRARIAN - LOIS SILVIS 724 – 256 – 4457

PITTPOUNDERS SUPPORTERS

Text Box: Text Box: TANDY LEATHER COMPANY
DELMONT, PA.
PHONE 724 – 468 – 5148
www.tandyleather.com
JIMMY WALDREP – MANAGER

Greetings Folks,

Winter seemed to come late this year, but it sure is making up for it now, isn't it?! Not only did we have to cancel our January meeting because of the snow, we cut the meeting short last month because of those flying white pieces of water. (Isn't it mind boggling that no two flakes of snow are the same??) So just be aware of the weather forecast for this Sunday. And if you are in doubt if there is a meeting or not, PLEASE call one of the officers to double check before you hit the highway. Our phone numbers are on the front of this newsletter.

Last month Dave Briggs brought a friend who is new to leather crafting, Bob Munger, from Rootstown, Ohio. Bob had a case of tools and catalogs and stuff that I believe he said were his mothers. He also had one of those coin purses that you open by squeezing them in the palm of your hand, and he wanted to know if anyone had a pattern for them. Well Bob, I do. And just to make sure you join us again this month, during the business part of the meeting we will all learn how to make one of these. (We don't want to take any time away from Drapers fine teaching.) So make sure you check out the "What to bring" section so that you are able to participate.

Another thing that we talked about last month was the need to do some type of fundraiser. Which of course leads to: What type of fundraiser do we do? Here were the suggestions we talked about: 50/50 raffle, make a calendar, sell lottery calendars, make specific products to sell, (such as black powder bags, arm guards for archery, etc.) or to participate in a craft show where each member sells his own goods with all or a percentage of the proceeds going towards the guild. After talking about each option, most people were leaning towards doing a craft show. If you are a participating member of this guild, what do you think? It is very important that we hear from each of you. This can only work if there are enough of us willing to do it. Also, the sooner we decide, the sooner we can find a good show to participate in. Please do give this some thought and let us know. Thanks! And "Why do we need to raise

funds?" you may ask. Well, for starters, it makes being a co-host for the International Federation Of Leather Guilds Show in 2006 a much easier task to accomplish if we have them. Also, one of the main goals of our guild and the IFOLG is to promote this beautiful craft that we enjoy. Not only will having extra funds allow us to do this better, but in the process of raising those funds we can finds ways to share what we do and how we do it with others.

Okay? Okay! How many of you remember the opportunity we had to get together with the Buckeye Guild last year for a picnic? Well they would like to do it again. Are you interested? The date will most likely be in June. And if I remember correctly, it took us about 2 hours to get to Roscoe Village, a small historic village with all types of neat little shops. Including a great little leather shop, with some super friendly folks running the place and working there. I'll try to get more details as to what they would like to do this year, whether to go back to Roscoe Village or if there is some other place they had in mind.

In last month's newsletter, since we had extra space, I put in a 'puzzle in thought & logic'. Most of you idn't have time to try and figure it out. The only person who said he tried said he ended up tearing up his newsletter! But for those of you who are curious here are the answers:

Draper had to go to the hardware store, Kevin had to go to the bank, Dave had to go to the leather store and Terry had to go to the shoe store.

Let me know if this is something you would like to see when we have the space. Well I hope to see many of you at this months meeting. As you are packing your tools and supplies to bring this month, how about bringing a couple of your favorite projects to show Bill and any other visitor we may have just what all can be made with this versatile medium we work with. Your Friend,
Christopher

ITEMS TO BRING FOR THE COIN PURSE;

PEN OR PENCIL

STRAIGHT EDGE

SCISSORS

ERNIE SPEAKS;

I have been asked this question; ?I am a new member of an IFoLG Guild, in what Division should I enter my leather Project at the annual show??

Now with 3 divisions Open, Advanced, and Masters this is a good question.

For most of you who have previously entered items in competition you probably already know your skills level. And what division to enter.

With new guilds entering the Federation and present member guilds enrolling new members, I feel this question needs to be addressed.

First, anyone entering the leather competition for the first time may enter any division, depending on which division he or she feels most represents their skills level.

For the new leathercrafter or the novice leathercrafter most will enter the Open Division.

For the more advanced leathercrafter with some experience in leathercraft might consider the Advanced Division.

If you have a lot of experience or work with leather as a job, the Masters Division is probably the division you should enter.

Article VIII- Competition; in the Policy & Procedures reads as followed;

Section 1- General Guidelines

A. It will be the responsibility of each member guild to police its own members.

11. Members of a guild applying for membership in the Federation may enter only one item in any one (1) class only.

B. Only articles completed after the previous annual show may be entered into competition.

C. A Federation Member may enter in only one Division.

D. A Federation member will be allowed to enter only one entry per class.

Section 2- Divisions

A. There shall be three (3) divisions of classes for competition, Open, Advanced, and Master. Special Division, while named as Division with classes designated Z is open to anyone in open advanced or masters so long as they fulfill the criterion required for entering a particular class

within the special Division.

B. Advancing

1. Anyone entering an Open Division class would advance automatically to the Advance Division after winning five (5) first place awards in any number of classes within the open division.

2.2. Anyone entering the Advance Division class would advance automatically to the Masters Division after winning ten (10) first place awards in any number of years and any number of classes within the Advance Division.

3.3. A member may choose any division in which to compete.

4.4. Certificates will be awarded upon advancement to Advance or to Masters Division.

5.5. Members who wish to bypass the regular advancement procedure as stated in B1 & B2, advancement would be as follows:

a. Certificates would be awarded only after he/she wins an award in Advance Division.

b. If an individual chooses to enter the Masters, a Masters certificate will be awarded after he/she wins an award in the Masters Division.

6.6.Awards in the Special Division do not count toward advancement in any Open, Advance, or Masters Division.

As you can see, the skills level in which you would enter is up to the individual leathercrafter. However once you are established in a Division you must enter that division and that division alone.

The only exception being The special Division which anyone may enter, if they meet the criteria.

The full criteria for entering competition in the annual International show can be found in the Policy & Procedure section of your Guilds Blue Book under Article VIII- Competition.

I hope this answers some of your questions about entering International Competition. I hope to see your entry this year in Denver.

Ernie Wayman, Executive Director IFOLG

(http://ifolg.org)