Well now that I've recovered from the holiday rush/crush ;-) and my Etsy shop accounting files are all set up for 2019, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and offer a huge THANK YOU to Phil for setting up this forum to allow us all to get to know each other; share our projects and help each other out whenever we can. My name is Catharine Bryson and I make custom designed, handmade leather accessories full time now after leaving the corporate world that I was pulled into for over 35 years. I began learning how to create with leather about 40 years ago...(I was very, very young ;-) My mother's uncle was a leather worker making mostly belts with western floral designs on them so I always thought that this craft was for 'older' men who listed to country music and wore cowboy boots...as I grew older, I realized that I could not have been more wrong!!! I come from a very creative family and found myself studying design at the Ontario College of Art and Design in the late 70's. As a young girl, I always loved making artsy/crafty things and learning new creative skills. I started to play with leather in my twenties with a few kits from Tandy....well, fast forward to the years when computers started to take over the business world in the 80's and my next move out of art school was to make some money! I ended up getting pulled through the Information Technology looking glass...well I made it safely out of that world and am now making a living doing what I love. In order to supplement my income, I started making leather accessories again and have had my Etsy shop called 'clbLeatherDesign' now for 5 years. You can have a look at my work on Instagram @clbLeatherDesign Leathercraft is an art that offers life long learning opportunities and a quest to master many skills necessary to produce quality leather goods. Phil has helped my improve my work over the past couple of years by sharing his skills and experience. I am forever grateful for this and I look forward to giving back and participating in this group by, hopefully, connecting with many of you lovely, like-minded leather crafters around the world! And now, back to finishing up that that camera strap Etsy order I'm working on...Thanks for taking the time to read to the end ... Cheers! ;-)