leatherbydanny

packing packing...

2008-06-22T05:12:10Z

Packig for camp... tired.. trying to get special orders (to be delivered at camp) made... packing.... too much stress with ... lots of stuff... so i canceled cending at Folsom Street East. :( Really bummed about that... :(

Danny

Folsom Street East

2008-06-19T22:23:29Z

Hi,

It looks like I may be traveling solo to Folsum Street East this Sunday... Is there anyone attending or living in the NYC area that would like to help me work the booth ? I have three areas of need: Set up, ( noon till 2pm ) , sales (during the show), and take down. (7pm to 8:45pm )

I plan on doing a smaller booth then I usualy do...

I pay in fabulous leather gear ;)

Danny

claification

2008-06-14T05:53:59Z

Based on some of the comments/emails I got after my last post, I shoudl make a quick clrification: I was not looking for pity, or anything like that... just venting and stressing. Mostly stressing over pricing stuff, 'cause... <shrug> that is something I hate to do. I do really appriciate all the comforting comments (puublic and private) that came in :)

I am going to try to continue posting to LJ.. and not just the stressfull stuff ;)

ranting

2008-06-11T19:06:06Z

I hope you don't mind my venting/free streaming a bit... because I am really stressed, and I feel like I need to vent.. and I also guess I should let my friends to know what is going on.... which is not always easy for me... so I am dumping here.

>> Snip<<   If you don't want to hear a bunch of gripping and whining... stop reading here .. :)

Todays rant started because I came to the realization that I have to raise my prices. This scares the S**t out of me, because frankly, the economy really really sucks right now... and doing anything that can adversary effect sales is scary... but ... with all of my costs going up, like materials, rent, GAS...   and having not had a price increase in 8 years... I need to.

the financial stresses are driving my nuts right now... the economy ... price of gas... airlines no longer allowing baggage, vending booth spaces increasing in price...   I am not sure how (or if) to keep things going.   In the past, most of the events that I would vend at would at least break even....   and by that I mean brake even NET. Basically, my retail sales at shows kept LBD going. In the past year, I have had a large number of shows not even gross the expenses...      and at this point, it is getting difficult to pull together the money to get to shows... and of course, if you skip a year, you run the risk of losing your slot.... <sigh> I just figured out yesterday that if the price of gas does not go up, gas alone for traveling to thunder in the mountains will be around $1200

...add this to the fact that the parties are not doing all that well with offsetting the rent.... and wholesale sales are difficult as well, as more retail stores are buying more and more products from overseas...and taking longer to pay...

Ok...   enough ranting and whining... trying to think on positive side...   and there are good things happening... we may have found a new home (which will cut expenses considerably)...   and I am looking forward to Leather Retreat...

Ok... this part feels like a sales pitch.. but it is not meant that way...   if you know anyone who is thinking about LBD gear, they should probably to order it by the end of the month... because I expect my prices will change starting in July...

leatherbydanny @ 2007-09-20T01:58:00

2007-09-20T06:20:02Z

It is times like these that I realise how fast the world changes... or at least the internet does....

.. there was a time that I honestly felt like I had a good handle on that new fangeled contraption, called the "internet".. now it seems every time I try to send an email, my computer blows up!. from viruses on my "protected" computer (the one I DO NOT use to serve porn, but only use with the laser"... to email lists and spam and <sigh> <insert rant here>

My current issue: I need to get the word out about the Fetish Fair Fleamarket: Carolinas. It is in 8 days!!! and I have been wrestling with "myspace" and "evite" trying to get it to do what I want... with very little luck...

If you know people in that area. please pass the word!

More info: fetishfairfleamarket.com

Last weekend

2007-08-29T03:41:29Z

Ok ok... you *know* you have been really bad about posting, when your freinds start writeing your updates for you, and "politly" suggest you put it on the page... ;) Danny

Hey, all. This is Nikki ( a.k.a. Nikita) whom some of you know from events (I'm the chick with the short red hair that helps Danny vend sometimes), and whom some of you know from other things. Emily and I may be contributing to this livejournal fiasco since we're generally better about doing things in a timely fashion than Danny is, and judging from the last few entries in here, have a better command of when to use the space bar than he does.

Just got back from vending at Floating World in New Jersey. Brand new event, so naturally there were some bugs, but the space was really nice and it looked like people were having a good time. It's funny to see what item is sort of the "hit" of the show...sometimes we sell out of split thumpers in a few hours, sometimes people are all about the backbinders...this time it was blindfolds. Who knew? Of course, I think this giant run on blindfolds is directly related to my discovery (and subsequent announcement) that you can wear them without messing up your eye makeup, but I could be wrong. It happens every once in a while.

Danny's new modular gag system was also popular (that's the one where you can use the bit-gag center piece or the not-quite-a-ball-gag silicone center piece with the same set of head straps). And grip cuffs, as ever, went to happy new homes. Aww. So sweet.

Upcoming events where LBD will be (NB: none of these links are work-safe. But did you really need me to tell you that?):

Saturday, Sept. 8: LF&P, Washington DC
Sept. 12 - Sept. 17: Dark Odyssey Summer Camp, outside Baltimore
Sept. 28 - Sept. 30: Fetish Fair Fleamarket , Charlotte, NC
Oct 11 - Oct 14 : DomCon Atanta <<<< Not sure if I am in this one or not.... working on it...
Nov. 30 - Dec. 3: Black Rose XX, Washington DC
Jan. 11 - Jan. 13: Fetish Fair Fleamarket , Providence, RI

More to come, I'm sure.

xo
nikita

playing in the workshop...

2007-04-25T22:29:56Z

Sabrina and Tim are in Purto Rico for the week, which means I have the place all to myself. Which also means that I can be completly on my own scedule, and hyper-focus on any project for as long as I want. (As long as I get th eplace put back together before they get back... so I will probably *not* re-do the bathroom floor, which is on th e"to-do" list)

What I am probably going to do is finaly start a project that I have been "planning" in my head for several years now... which is learning how to make molds, and pouring silicon... I have some design ideas for several unique gags, and I am hoping to make some samples and proto types, and then either out source getting them made in quantity, or look into producing them in mass myself. Some sample silcon formulas arrived.. and I am itching to get busy!! :)

Wow...

2007-04-14T04:54:57Z

Wow...    Ok.. I make *ONE LITTLE COMMENT* on my LJ, and a whole bunch of people respond to it...    :)   thank you... makes me think that LJ is probably more the place for me... :)

Well, I am still up, busy cleaning, and decided to take a break... trying to explor more of the LJ stuff... and since I am procrastinating...   here is a small little (edited) clip of an email I sent to a freind who asked me what events I was doing this summer....

I have to say it made me think for a minute... and while on one hand I am exhausted... on the other hand, I really like what I am doing..... and then on the *third* hand, am I *nuts* ????

...Oh... and more news coming soon, on NEW FFF's....

D

>snip<

Hmm.. my travel plans, as best I can remember...

LLC, April 20-22,
IML/ShibariCon (both same weekend May24-28, vend at IML, stay at Shibaricon hotel)
DC Leatherfest in June 1-3 (maybe, not in yet) ,
Folsom Street East June 17th,
Leather Retreat, June 20-25,
Thunder in the Mountains, July 20-22,   <<<
FFF-Boston, July ????,   (Date not set yet)
LF&P August 11th, ( LBD will be there, but I will be in Tampa... see below)
Fetish Con August 9-12
Dark Odyssey Summer camp Sept 12-17 <<<

Oh.. and mixed into those dates, there will be *at least* 7 parties in my loft that are mine, and probably 3 or 4 parties where I am not the host, but they have rented my loft....

Ok.. after spelling it all out like that, I am exhausted. :(

Life is crazy..

2007-04-12T05:29:08Z

<sigh> Life is crazy... just got back from Dark Odyssy Spring fire in DC... have started a MySpace account, and then a freind pointed out that I shoudl probably use the LJ account I already have, but have not actualy posted to in... well, a long time....Sorry!!! Will try get in the habit of LJ also... because I have so much free time ... :/
D

Ok Ok... this is my first post...

2005-05-19T01:00:51Z

Ok Ok.. this is my first post... and I have no time to do it... maybe I should not have started LJ as I was preping for a big evnet? .. hmm.. wait a minute.. I am *always* preping for an event...

So... getting ready for the Chicago trip .. IML and Shibaricon... franticaly cranking out in the workshop... and new ideas for products keep distracting me... which turns out to be a good thing this time.. because I have been able to design and finish a run on coupld of new toys :)

Hope to get a web cam in the workshop someday, to document my creative process... which might scare some people...

D