✍ Leather product ideas are flowing, really excited about the focus for 2023. I made a significant financial investment yesterday in the future of that hobby that has become a business. Much more to come.

✍ Leather product ideas are flowing, really excited about the focus for 2023. I made a significant financial investment yesterday in the future of that hobby that has become a business. Much more to come.

Ready to go!

Merry Christmas! Up early today finish wrapping a few gifts.

Feeling good about the status of things. All customer Christmas orders complete and delivered, my Christmas gifts are in-progress and will be finished soon. Tomorrow is a mix of work, video games, and comfort food.

feeling Feeling good about the status of things. All customer Christmas orders complete and delivered, my Christmas gifts are in-progress and will be finished soon. Tomorrow is a mix of work, video games, and comfort food.

Never gets old.

My stacked morning routine as of late. Completed top to bottom. Typically accompanied with two cups of coffee.

👍 last working weekend of the year!

👍 last working weekend of the year!

testing, testing. from MarsEdit 5 micro post…

☕ Coffee, rain (was hoping for snow though!), focused work.

☕ Coffee, rain (was hoping for snow though!), focused work.

Giving serious thought to adding a sewing machine to my leather business in 2023…

Preparing parts for final Christmas orders.

💊 Increasing vitamin intake for the new few weeks, specifically C and Zinc.

💊 Increasing vitamin intake for the new few weeks, specifically C and Zinc.

📚 Books ordered from a local-ish bookshop (hour drive). Planning to make a trip in the near future to pick them up. Will be a good break from routine.

📚 Books ordered from a local-ish bookshop (hour drive). Planning to make a trip in the near future to pick them up. Will be a good break from routine.

🎄 Christmas music, coffee, wrapping gifts.

🎄 Christmas music, coffee, wrapping gifts.

🍵 Tea now, then sleep.

🍵 Tea now, then sleep.

😮‍💨 Exhausted. Looking forward to a short break on Sunday!

😮‍💨 Exhausted. Looking forward to a short break on Sunday!

Considering a Playdate for myself, trying to be more intentional about simple ways to “have fun” (something I am historically terrible at doing). Looking for folks to encourage the purchase based on your experience with it, or to discourage it based on your experience. Thanks :-)

Santa’s bag.

✍ Despite the insane work schedule this time of year I am keeping with my morning writing routine. Helps to setup the rest of my day.

✍ Despite the insane work schedule this time of year I am keeping with my morning writing routine. Helps to setup the rest of my day.

🌧 Rain today, which I find myself enjoying more and more lately (which is new for me). Also new is wishing it was a bit colder so the precipitation would be snow.

For 2023. A planner and a “Do Work” notebook. I started using the do work notebook this year, helps me focus and plan quarterly goals and work.

Beautiful scenery on my drive to deliver a leather order in Maryland.

All sides stitched. Next lunch. Then stitching the bottom to each. 2,334 stitches to go.

A nice post-card to go along with each Christmas order I ship out this month. A simple handwritten note will go on the back of each. Also, I love being able to go from idea to execution in just a few minutes. Deciding to make my own print materials has been a great move so far.

💭 Felt affection in my dreams last night. Slept longer than I should have as a result.

📺 I shouldn't, but I need a break that isn't sleeping: watching Slow Horses S2E1

Custom version of one of my best sellers. I see a lot of zippers in my future. Shipping this one out today.

😀 Planning to take "off" the last week of the year...looking forward to it!

From today to Saturday I will be completing 4,214 stitches (by hand) on a massive leather project.

Also, today is day 40 of no alcohol (none!), and man do I feel good!

Joining the 4am club for a few weeks.

One of eight total leather bins (18”x12”x12”). Will deliver all of them to my customer in Maryland next week 😊

May be “leaving money on the table” but I just ended my holiday leather sale early, turned off all ads, any orders received today or after today cannot be gauranteed for Christmas. What a run! Now: catch up on the backlog of orders. Then, around Dec. 20: rest.

Third time is a charm…I hope.

😞 Holidays feel much different with the divorce being finalized, feeling rather blue today. That aside, I am thankful for the rainy morning, my routine of hot French press coffee, and another day!

🌇 This morning I am happy to report that I was up early enough to watch the city around me transform from dark as night to light as day.

Next up: black leather dye.

~3.5 leather sides cut into smaller sections, then cut into final parts.

Starting my largest project to date. These hides will be transformed into 8 very stylish and very functional black storage bins.

Appreciate being able to do this with sites, especially those that abuse ads and popups.

I am currently working to make several positive changes/improvements in my life, one of them is being thankful for each and every season we have, especially the cold winter months approaching. I want to appreciate the uniqueness each season has to offer.

💨 Since we've started having consistent days in the 30's, I open a window every morning and crack the door to my studio apartment - doing so drops the temperature a few degrees quickly but also gives my space a blast of fresh air as the night air is pushed out the door.

🎄 Christmas orders have me in "the zone" from 8am to midnight most days lately, with breaks for coffee and food. Quitting early today. Need rest before starting again tomorrow morning :-)

Handcrafted.

☕ I do love the morning coffee ritual.

Personalized.

Dead simple but entirely intentional: space for phone, space for notebook (can fit up to 6.5” tall), and fits a fountain pen without any gimmicks.

💻 Admin type work first: emails, print shipping labels, reply to marketplace messages, etc. Once those important items are completed the real work can begin!

In ear headphones have started to bother my ears, more so than usual lately, so upgraded to these…much more comfortable and WAY better at noise cancellation, transparency mode, etc.

Another leather order for local delivery 😊

Guess I’ll just get up and make coffee. Abruptly woke up at 3:45…no luck falling back into a peaceful slumber. carpe diem.

Time to cut

Mixing what I think may be my signature leather dye color.

Success :-) Leather box for the hand cut cigar matches that I make.

A lot of my leather orders are the same two products. Taking some time this morning to make something I’ve had in my head but haven’t had the time to try. Feels good to exercise the creative muscles!

🌳 The mild Autumn weather continues! Sitting outside with my coffee this morning.

Leather orders for local delivery today 😊

☕ enjoying my coffee on this rainy morning.

💡 I love waking up and starting the day with an epiphany. Sleep is fascinating.

🤔 32℉ outside, 77℉ in my apartment without the heat on...the climate control inside has been interesting the past few weeks. Have the windows up and fans on to cool it down in here.

📺 Watching the latest episode of Andor with Mozzie.

🍂 Thankful for a morning that feels more appropriate for the season. Down in the 30's, first time in a few weeks.

😊 Happy with today. Small amount of progress made across many different projects, no major roadblocks along the way!

Time to make some business cards.

👍 Typical Monday so far: BUSY!

🍵 Tea to bring the day to a close.

🌧 Rainy Sunday morning - quite possibly the best!

📖 what a day. exhausted at the end of it, as usual! spent some time reading to my 9-year-old this evening. he asked, I debated (I like the idea of him continuing to develop that skill on his own) but thankfully made the right decision. Time now for bed.

☕ Coffee now, thankfully, while publishing a few thoughts elsewhere, then wrapping up a client project...then barbershop for a shave and then a cigar!

Made time to make a new leather cover for my Bible. This is my own mix of leather dye.

☁ Thankful for the cloudy day today...will make it a bit easier to regulate the temp inside :-)

😮‍💨 what a day!

Customer wants a no-frills case for his phone and calendar. Made a mock-up, love the simplicity of this. A few small adjustments to make but otherwise this is it.

🍃 The quiet before fully starting one's day...

Looking for a distraction of sorts, trying to figure out Mastodon.

☕ Coffee and writing, favorite time of my day.

🛌 time to rest.

💻 a bit of writing

🥱 tired but still a few more things to get to before oh so wonderful sleep.

Everything has been signed.

Much needed fresh air!

Day two of sitting down to write/process the changes I (and my family) have gone through over the course of the last seventeen months. This past week was one of the hardest but a breakthrough of sorts in that this is the first time I feel I am able to write. And not just write about things but publish online in longer form than the wonderful format of micro.blog.

Writing and publishing online for me has been a strong interest, strong pull, strong desire, since I started my first blog back in 2005, but has been something that dwindled over time so as to not potentially upset anyone close to me. So not just writing about things and feeling as though I can mentally work through everything with my words, but do so where I enjoy writing the most: online. I’ll share the URL after I have a good streak established.

All of that to say…it feels really good to write again.

Belts!

I knew she would be signing paperwork soon, thought I was prepared, but getting the call from the attorney to go in and sign after her has hit pretty hard.

Evening walk.

A peek into my current cluttered evening/workbench. Yes wine and yes the Charlie Brown Christmas tree (from last year 🫣). And yes Sopranos.

In addition to California, Texas, Colorado, Louisiana, Washington, and Florida, also shipping leather goods to Germany 🇩🇪 and Hong Kong 🇭🇰 this week! Plus, working on custom requests for clients in Singapore 🇸🇬 and Panama 🇵🇦 🗺️😊

Sending out a few belated birthday cards 🙈

It’s that time of year: switching to my fall/winter ink 🖋️.

Day in the life, 1:53pm Harrisburg Pennsylvania USA, at my workbench getting leather orders out.

A bit of whittling for cigar matches to go into a nice leather pouch. Oh how I have missed making shavings!

All things are connected.

And there is really no such thing as a “new” day, since today brings with it the consequences, good and bad, from the decisions made yesterday. “Today” is simply a continuation of all time before it.

Looks like tomorrow (today) is Ultra delivery day ⌚️ exciting!

Painting leather today 🎨

Step 1: make a silly hair-on bracelet.

Materials for a few ideas I need to get out of my head.

Doesn’t hurt to try. Making my own stamped business cards. (I blame/credit @annahavron for this particular rabbit hole 😊).

Black on black on black.

Been enjoying the iPhone 14 Pro Max. Also enjoying the black leather case for it, obviously :-)

iPhone delivery later today. Made two new Autumn themed leather cases for it. I’m calling the black case “Jack-o’-lantern” and the brown “Candy Corn”. Both feature two thread colors each, which is a fun little detail.

I’ve become a bit obsessed with edge work lately.

Leather for belts! Who wants one? 😊

A few other in-progress leather projects: two phone sleeves (one black the other brown) and a dog collar.

Quite the day today, lots in motion and making good progress!

A custom take on my forthcoming Field Notes sized leather cases…this one is a bit taller to hold the client’s calendar, plus a custom spot for a photo. Happy with how it turned out 🙂

Both colors have been popular for leather projects as of late.

Up at 3:45 this morning. Tortured a bit by my dreams.

Leather gift tag, which will be used again at Christmas :-)

Very productive day today. Finished these three leather projects. Thrilled with how they turned out!

✈️

Phew…the mid-afternoon crash has been very real the last few days. Body and mind feel absolutely spent once 3pm is near.

This macbook air (m2) is…amazing…

Lucy is joining me overnight in the apartment. First time she’s seen where I live now.

Another idea, another test.

In the works.

My cousin (on the left) flew into Philly from Cali for a quick work thing yesterday. My brother (middle) and I drove out to grab dinner with him. It has been 19 years since we were all together. Awesome time catching up!

I enjoy the entire process of making something, especially the end when I wrap it and tie it off with a simple bit of twine.

Very happy with how these cigar cases turned out. Client’s groomsmen will hopefully enjoy them as-well.

I am in the process of completely redoing my leather work website and I’m excited with the refreshed direction and overall “philosophy” of how I want to conduct my business, especially when it comes to the ordering “process”.

I don’t usually work in bulk, preparing leather parts ahead of time, but an order of cigar cases for a wedding party of 8 necessitates such an approach. There is certainly something to be said for the rhythm it affords.

Long story short: tried iPad OS as my “main” OS for the past year, have hit too many walls to continue…moving back to Mac OS (MacBook Air M2 enroute)…what app(s) are the kids using for creating/editing markdown files these days? Go to in the past has been iA Writer.

…not quite sure how I missed _Westworld_…

Throw back to my days of woodworking with my oh so lovely hand tools. Made this mallet originally for woodworking, turns out it works just as well for leather.

Beta version 1.0 complete. Will share more photos tomorrow.

Looking forward to making tonight’s dinner. Some of the ingredients: shrimp, garlic, fresh lemon juice, saké, linguini.

Concept in progress.

Brain is currently exploding with ideas.

I do have a thing for being by outside while it is raining. The wind, the sound of the rain, the rustling leaves in nearby trees, the smell in the air.

Happy Friday! I’ve got another batch of leather Summer ‘22 mailers going out next week. Fill out the form here if you’d like to receive some friendly snail mail with a handwritten note…Plus a simple leather gift is included :-)

I am officially at the point where I print out the emails/newsletters I want to read. And I kinda love it.

For reference, and for anyone who is interested, the leather camera wrist strap I made for @miraz (original post) is available on my site here.

Kinda have that vibe in my head, but also based on the excellent humidity in the air and the heavy rain, of a rainy afternoon at the beach. So doing what I would do if I was there: beer on the balcony.

Time for the best part of the day: first sip of coffee.

A bit abstract but I enjoyed designing and making this classy leather wallet. Hand dyed royal blue, printed sheepskin, violet thread, and brass snap.

Made a leather walking pouch of sorts. Belt loops on the back so I can use it with whatever belt I am wearing at the time. Have also been using it as a standalone pouch to hold EDC items.

First time in a while I’ve had to tape one back together. May need to make an appropriately sized leather cover…

Latest creation.

Love this current feeling I have, been a while since I have felt it, after sitting on the beach all day, sipping cool and refreshing cocktails all afternoon, the “magic hour” approaching, the beach emptying, the vibe changing…

…just on my balcony though. Need to plan a trip!

Good sleep last night!

Absolutely thrilled with how this project turned out. Hand-dyed royal blue veg-tan cowhide exterior, interior is completely lined with printed sheep skin. Hand-stitched with violet thread for a subtle contrast. Brass magnetic clasp for a touch of class.

Extremely unusual Sunday morning for me.

Obsessed.

Blue is definitely a popular color 💙

Been dragging my feet on this and I’m not sure why, waiting for the “right time” (thanks for the nudge @miraz) 😊 Anyways, my website where you can commission leather projects is https://amaiken.com. Use micro.blog for 25% off (applies to most items).

Working on a variation for one of my existing leather designs…excited 🙂

Another device sleeve, this one for the client’s iPod Touch 7th generation. Love the simple contrast between the natural balm finish and black thread.

Have been a member of the 5am club so far this week…a goal I’ve been working towards for over a year…this used to be my regular, back when I was more mentally fit. Feels great to be back at it!

The process of creating something never gets old. The end result is also pretty darn incredible to get to.

🍷 Wine from Austria 🇦🇹 tonight. Looking forward to this one…and really liking the label!

In the process of making a simple leather gift to include in a mailing later this week or next week. Feel free to send me your mailing address if you’d like to receive snail mail 💌 with a handwritten address, friendly note, a nice small leather item :-) aaronaiken at me dot com

Experimenting.

Leather projects completed recently. Red phone sleeve, green wine tote, and black “bin”.

Have some snail mail 💌 going out for my leather business in early May (next week already!). If you’d like to receive something with a handwritten address and note send me your mailing address (int’l friendly for friends in places I’d like to travel): aaronaiken at me dot com

I was served “the papers” last night. I haven’t read them yet. I am first focusing on doing things that get into a positive mindset. Maybe I’ll read them later today. Maybe I won’t.

Friday evening

Wrapping up three leather projects later this evening. Need to make dinner first. Opening a bottle of wine, “dinner music” playing. And I still need to official announce my leather shop (website) here 🙈 Time is flying.

Severance 🤯

Finally finished reading: Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones by James Clear 📚

I wanted to get up early but not quite this early.

more and more lately I am feeling way too connected. Further refinements to iOS notifications and have started to only wear Apple Watch for sleep tracking.

Ready for delivery!

Tired but brain is too active to fall asleep.

More leather belts in-progress!

Finished these yesterday, wore them yesterday too! Extremely happy with how they turned out. 1,000 imperfections and mistakes but not bad for my first pair. Planning v1.1 already :-)

Loving this combo. Turned out well, client is happy 😊

Extremely excited about this project. Parts cut out, stamped, and dyed as of now. Will hopefully begin assembly this evening.

Another purse finished.

This morning: coffee, Bon Iver, leatherwork.

Caught up on sleep! The data matches with how I feel. Refreshed!

Tonight’s wine. Obscura Petite Sirah 2018.

Not shined, but better. Eyelets are a good improvement.

Idea to execution is too much fun! Turned out exactly how I imagined and functions as expected. Think I’ll call it the “Live edge leather cigar ashtray” 🙂 giving this one as a gift.

In-progress experiment.

Oh yes.

Sipping while making dinner (brown sugar bourbon pork chops with potatoes and Brussels sprouts).

Think we hit 73 degrees today. Great to get out!

Yesterday wasn’t as warm, but still warmer than usual. Did mini golf.

Could go for a thunderstorm right about now.

Time for the afternoon (late afternoon) cup of coffee. What a week!

Simple.

Dinner!!

Wandered out for a cup of coffee. First two shops were closed already (only 2pm), third shop was a success! They are open until 3pm on weekdays. Noted.

Enjoy working with this leather. Still veg-tan, so checks that box for me, but drum-dyed, so removes a lot of the finishing steps required otherwise.

Quick case to hold various “sales” related items. Leather samples, business cards, card reader, notebook, promo material, etc.

My mom’s last day working at the church her and my dad helped plant 23 years ago. They’ve been part of it since day zero, she’s worked there since day 1 (primarily dir. of Children’s Ministry). Awesome to be a part of.

From a walk this afternoon after church with my brother and his 2 (almost 3) year old. My 8.5 year old in the center.

From yesterday morning. Like old times.

Working on a leather case/roll of sorts to hold various aspects of meeting with folks when discussing a leather project. Using drum-dyed veg-tan leather, different than what I’m used to working with but fun to try.

I do prefer early mornings.

RGB

Will be officially announcing my leather goods website here in the coming days, complete with a lifetime discount code. The community here has seen me through a lot,although I’m quiet about things. Let me know if you’d like me to cc you in the post.

The crisp air felt amazing.

A new favorite part of my day: putting on a jazz album, opening a bottle of wine, making dinner.

Sitting down to read through a magazine. This is amazing. And something I need to do more often.

Last two leather rose arrangements I’m offering for Valentine’s Day.

Another leather rose dressed up.

Made this as a birthday gift for my grandmother who loves to knit 🧶

Leather roses all dressed up!

Tonight’s wine, plus progress on the Valentine’s Day leather rose floral arrangements I am selling this year.

He got to spend an unplanned night with me in the city. He loved watching the snow fall.

Sort of a whim purchase, Xbox Series X 🎮. Primarily for me to do a better job at doing something with Mozzie that he wants to do. But I’m also looking forward to playing a few games. BestBuy is currently saying pickup on Friday…

Tonight’s wine 🍷

O’ snowy night…

Rushing out, so briefcase in a bag is how it needs to be!

Current priority is to catch up on sleep, early to bed and late to rise. Probably another day or so will do. Then dust off my early to bed early to rise routine that served me well for many years.

Smiling on the inside 😊 looking forward to what 2022 has in store. Also a sneak peak of another bag I finished making last week.

Here we go.