Christmas Dinner Starts Early

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Tom Green

We are having a change this year, the menu will remain the same as every year, Turkey, followed by real Plum Pudding, and then Christmas Pudding Ice Cream, but where we will differ is the method of cooking.

This year we built a smoker in which we can do either hot or cold smoking. So this year we will be starting some new Green Family Christmas traditions. On Christmas Eve we will be cold smoking salmon and cheese, including Brie, Cheddar and Gouda. Especially for the day I have treated myself to a vacuum packing machine, other men might want the latest X box game or football annual, but for me the thought of being able to vacuum pack smoked food beats it all , and solves the what to give elderly relations, and probably everybody else, for Christmas dilemma.

On Christmas Day the crowning glory will be the turkey which this year I am taking responsibility for which is going to be hot smoked.  If you have not done this yourself it involves a fire inside the smoker made from charcoal with some additional wood chips just to give it that added piquance. It doesn’t get quite as hot as your domestic oven so it will take longer to cook, so I will need to get up early, but then who can stay in bed after Father Christmas has been. However a slow cooked turkey, cooked in a hot damp smoky atmosphere, should remain moist and be packed full of flavour. That’s the theory, but I might have some sausages on standby just in case.

The point of all of this is this weekend its time to make the charcoal. Regular readers wont be surprised to know I make my own charcoal, and bless my soul there is a video which you can watch shown above. In the summer I cut down an old pear tree  and saved the trunk especially to make charcoal for my Christmas dinner. This should give a gentle aromatic sweet smoke to impart a glorious flavour to our bird. The process is very simple you put the cut up wood into a steel box, or you can use an old cooking pot, anything with a lid you can light a fire under. Normally I would be using my hardwood offcuts to be made into charcoal, and all the scraps, bits of old pallet etc. as firewood. The good stuff goes into the box and you bake it over a fire for several hours until you drive the moisture in the wood out which is all charcoal is. Its the perfect way to spend a day especially when the weather isn’t that exciting, and if you have children they love it especially if there is a marshmallow to cook as well. One visitor showed my how to cook the marshmallow and then squeeze it between two chocolate biscuits for a very indulgent treat, very nice, but like deep fried mars bars you only ever want it once.

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After years of trying

Posted on November 24, 2014 by Tom Green

polish  For some time now I have been trying to make shoe polish, which seems a ridiculous ambition really when you consider how cheap it is to buy ready made in the supermarket, and really as more and more people wear leisure shoes everyday its a declining market. With this kind of business acumen I will be making snuff next

The same arguements can be used pretty much for just about everything I make, which completely misses the point its not about price its about quality and craftsmanship. Not every product has to be a race to the lowest price, occasionally its nice to have something with quality natural ingredients, that doesn’t cost the earth. I see it like my apple pie. I can buy one from a shop or I can make one. The shop one still uses apples and pastry but there the similarity ends, its no contest especially when its  made with my now famous Calvados Pastry. All I need to do is get my customer to try it, but I digress.

As some one who works a lot with leather I have made my own neutral leather polish for some time, its just one of those attention to detail things you do to enhance your product. Quality leather needs to be looked after if its to remain in tip top condition, it needs to be protected from the elements, and it needs to be fed and nourished if it is to remain supple, avoid drying out and becoming brittle. I havent found a commercial product that I liked so I started making my own. My recipe  uses a combination of Beeswax and Coconut wax to protect the leather, Caster oil to give a soft sheen and sweet almond oil to penetrate and feed the leather. There’s also a little something to cut through the dirt on the leather and allow my polish to penetrate. Over the years I have fine tuned the reciepe to give a neutral colour polish with a soft sheen rather than high gloss finish.

Now I have always wanted to take this further and try adapting my basic reciepe to make shoe polish, by changing the quanties in the existing components I can increase the shine, but its the colour thats evaded me, over the years I tried all sorts of colouring agents. There are all kinds of old wives tales of mixing soot with turpentine over the fire, I did try the soot without the turpentine, I also tried ground charcoal and various other strange concoctions, but finally I have managed it, but with a secret ingredient that was so obvious I cant believe I didn’t think of it sooner. A definite case of not seeing the wood for the trees, but as you can see from the picture I have it licked and now feel an orgy of shoe cleaning coming on as I pass round samples to all and sundry to test it.

Having conquered Black its on to dark brown and even Tan, although I might be to old for brown shoes, they do seem very racy.

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A satisfied customer

Posted on November 15, 2014 by Tom Green

If you would like to see how I went from having a shoulder of vegetable tanned leather to a hand stitched and shaped Ladies Shoulder bag, complete with lining and zip have a look at the video.

It was an interesting project. I started mixing materials, leather with fabric a few projects back, and its an interesting combination. Leather isn’t very flexible and I would go as far as to say co operates. Fabric especially thin fabric flops about all over the place. When I am stitching I tend to use a saddlers stitch which involves the use of two needles, one either end of the same piece of thread, and you go back through the same holes. With leather that’s easy, the holes are easy to find, however with fabric its becomes slightly more of a challenge, and the holes are much harder to locate.

All of my projects tend to be bespoke and its always an amusing interaction when I get the brief. I starts off with ” I want a bag just like the one you made for xxx” and then proceed to give me a list of modifications. In this case the bag came with longer, thinner shoulder straps, in a lighter weight leather, with a lining and zipped pocket, so really nothing like the one that went before.

Still the end result is rather pleasing and the young lady it was made for seems very happy judging by the width of her smile, and the speed she transferred the contents of her old bag into this one.

On to the next

 

thanks for reading

tom

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I put it off as long as I could

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Tom Green

lined_bag (2)

If you read my earlier post you will know I wasn’t looking forward to parts of this bag, in particular the lining and internal zipped pocket. Combining Saddlers Leather with a fabric is fiddly and time consuming which is probably why I don’t like it. I had put it off as long as I could, I tidied my workshop, swept the floor, and every other diversionary tactic I could think of, but in the end I had too do it before my wife decided something needed decorating.

So now its done, the body of the bag is complete and the lining with zipped pocket is sewn in. All that remains is to attach the shoulder straps, and the closing strap and then its done.

Once its finished I shall be off leatherwork for a while. I have a little list of projects lined up, including some upholstered chairs, but before that I shall be blacksmithing some brackets for a customer, which as the weather turns cold  will be a particular treat, as are the toasted sandwiches I then make on the forge. When you see it written down ” A cheese and Ham Sandwich squeezed between two metal plates and held over a coke fire” doesn’t actually sound that good, until you try them. Add to that the childish excitement of making tea from a kettle that whistles when it boils and its a classic day. The only thing to top that is whenever I have taught someone blacksmithing, the first thing they make is a toasting fork, which they then use to cook sausages over the forge. Everyone is covered in soot,the forge is far too hot to cook over, the sausages get burnt, but the flavour and sense of achievement is magnificent.

thanks for reading

tom

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The best apple pie

Posted on November 9, 2014 by Tom Green

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Apple pie is one of my favourite dishes, which takes on a extra edge when its made from apples from the garden. I should claim that I have a recipe, but in reality I have made it so often I tend to throw it all together, my standard sweet butter pastry and then a filling.  Normally I work on the theory why meddle with a classic, but this time I couldn’t resist an experiment, with I have to say superb results.

My normal method is to mix the bramley apples, with dark brown sugar, to which I add some of my home dried sultanas, and to bring it all together add some calvados, a classic pie filling. This time I was feeling adventurous and instead of putting the calvados in the filling, I used it in the pastry in place of water. The end result was a pastry, that was crisp, and packed full of flavour, and took my favourite pie a step further, and I think this is now “the recipe”.

As a concept I can see all kinds of interesting possibilities.  I went through a phase of making all kinds of infusions, there was a pineapple gin, a raspberry vodka, and my favourite sloe gin, and I still have lots maturing in dark cupboards, because whilst I like making it I have no head for alcohol . So this represents a perfect opportunity. However the one I really want to try is red wine bread, all I need is some leftover wine

If you try do let me know

tom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I cant put it off any longer

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Tom Green

lined

Recently I have been making a variety of Leather bags and cases, and whilst all my work is to individual order, with customers encouraged to ask for any modifications they may want, they tend to follow a certain pattern. Usually they will have seen a previous project, and want one just like that but in a different colour.

My current project is a combination of several. The basic bag is the same as the ladies handbag subject of my more popular you tube videos, which I am delighted to see is very close to 60,000 views mark, much to my amazement. However it then veers off, the customer wants longer thinner straps, which aren’t a problem, but more of an issue is a fabric lining as seen in the Fuzion bag video, which is then refined further with a zipped pocket. When you see it written down it seems like a perfectly reasonable request, after all most ladies bags have internal zipped pockets, but not mine, and I can see this will start a trend everyone will now want one.

Luckily I am using slightly lighter weight leather than usual, its about 2mm thick as opposed to 3-4mm, as you can see I have made the front and the back, attached the square rings for the straps, and the buckle. I have also sewn the shoulder straps and sides. Now all I have to do is sew it all together and then sew in the lining with a zipped pocket.

I’ve been putting it off as much as I can, all my tea cups are now clean, the floor is swept, the knives are sharpened even the ones I don’t use very often, I seriously considered sorting out my stock of buckles and labelling the parts bins.

Alas I cant put it off any longer, wish me luck I’m going in

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An open and shut case

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Tom Green

When I first started stitching leather about 10 years ago one of the very first projects I made was a red leather briefcase, and I have used it proudly ever since. But finally it was time for a new one, and the video takes you through the process of how to make one step by step.

When I sat down to consider the project, I spent some time working out what I wanted to carry. A4 pads and sample cards, and iPad and occasionally a laptop. I looked carefully at the old case and worked out it didnt need to be as wide, I could loose 50mm off the side, and thats the size I made the new case. Alas I have brought a new lap top, which turned out to be in widescreen format and you can see this coming, doesnt fit in the new case.

Oh well the old case will still be good for another 10 years

 

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See the Movie – Drink the Beer

Posted on October 19, 2014 by Tom Green

You may have already read the post and now its your chance to see the movie which has been posted on you tube today complete with new jokes.

What started as a light hearted product for a Sunday morning video, has proved to be very popular with visitors to my workshop and will now get added to my product portfolio.

The briefcase film is the next vide due to be released this week, and in the meantime its back to the workshop. This week its a ladies shoulder bag for a customer who had seen one of my earlier videos, and wanted a similar bag just with one or two refinements, and by the time the list ended its a completely different design,but then most of my work is bespoke so its not a problem

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what do you get the man who has everything?

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Tom Green

bottle3

There’s an old joke that says “what do you get the man who has everything?”

The answer to the joke is anti biotics, but the answer to my question is a Beer Bottle Holster, which will undoubtably be everymans must have present for this year.

Many of my products will soon be appearing on a new sales web site launching soon that specializes in handmade bespoke items, and they asked me for a novelty item ideal as a christmas present. The result was the beer bottle holster.

Like most things I make, I have never made one before, and so I needed to first create the design. Unfortunatley you never have an empty beer bottle when you need one, so suffering for my craft, last night I sacrificed my principles and emptied a bottle of my current favourite beer. which then gave me a pattern to work from. matching the style of a proper work holster I have used 3mm thick leather, and unusally for me some rivets.

Having made the holster, and shot a video as I did it, I then had to make a belt because to my embarrasement I didnt have one ( I made a few but never keep them). Its only then did I find its real use. When I had been thinking the holster design through before I started I thought it could be used for a beer bottle, perhaps it could be used for a bottle of barberque sauce when barberquing , or even a long lense for a photographer, but when I put it on I discovered it also fits a bottle of mineral water, its ideal for a travel mug. How butch am I – dont answer that. All I have to do now is wear the same jumper tomorrow so I can reshoot parts of the video but dont tell anyone it will be our secret.

In the meantime if your looking for a christmas present for that difficult to buy for person in your life I know just what you need.

thanks for reading

Tom

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I started so I finished

Posted on October 5, 2014 by Tom Green

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When I first started stitching leather about 12 years ago I made myself a couple of briefcases, Looking back at it now with the benefit of hindsight they were very ambitious projects, with all kinds of pockets and compartments, and 12 years later I am still using them, one of them practically everyday, and whilst it was still serviceable it was looking like its owner dog eared and tired. Time for a replacement just dont tell my wife in case it gives her ideas.

Hence this project was borne. Made from a shoulder of red vegetable tanned leather, its taken a couple of weeks, and as usual there will be a video taking you through the process step by step should you feel the urge to try making one for yourself posted in a few weeks time.

The problem now is having made the case I am not sure I can bring myself to use it, partly because its too good to use, and partly because the old case was like an old family pet, well worn and house trained, a true and faithful companion, its been all over the world with me, we are comfortable together, and there’s plenty of miles left in the old case yet again just like its owner. I was going to put in here that I might just save it until Prince Charles does come to tea, for which you probably need to read the previous post, but then I vowed never to use that line again, so I wont.

So whats the next project I hear you ask. Occasionally (?) I find myself going off on tangents, at the moment  I have a hankering to make some leather polish, I also have a plan for some shaving cream, and then I have an order for a new handbag from a lady who saw the fusion bag video and wants something similar but with zipped pockets, a proper challenge. To find out what happens next click the follow button and you will be the first to know.

thanks for reading

Tom

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