Blog

Tips and Advice

Showing Tag: "to" (Show all posts)

Custom Dog Tag

Posted by Simon Harrison on Monday, August 7, 2017, In : Products 

Sometimes you might just need an additional tag ring on your dog collar. These can be used to attach your dog's ID tag. Having a separate ring can stop you accidentally attaching your lead to the tags split ring and breaking it. At 1/2 inch wide it is perfect for just that job.


A small piece of leather is thinned down and stitched by hand to the back of your dog's collar. Although it is not meant to hold your dog it probably would!
Visit www.oaksidesaddlery.co.uk to learn ore about my custom de...

Continue reading ...
 

Handmade Leather Dog Collars and Leads

Posted by Simon Harrison on Wednesday, July 13, 2016, In : Products 


Handmade leather dog collars and leads.
Made to order for that unique, individual touch
Visit my store for more handmade leather goods including; leather belts, camera straps, rifle slings, and much more

Continue reading ...
 

How to use a Conway Buckle

Posted by Simon Harrison on Sunday, November 1, 2015, In : Belts 
So you want to buy a Conwy Handmade Leather Belt but you are worried about how to buckle it?
Well check out this post on how the traditional Conway buckle works

Firstly pass one end of the strap through one of the loops. Pass the leather through from the back of the buckle with the grain side out (The nicest side of the leather)

Secondly pass the same point on the belt back through the other loop on the buckle.

Locate one of the three punched holes over the Conway buckle's centre pin and push it ...
Continue reading ...
 

Dog Collars and Leads Store Now Open

Posted by Simon Harrison on Saturday, March 28, 2015, In : News 
It didn't take as long as I thought to put all of my leather dog collars and leads into the new store. I'm really quite impressed with Yola on that one.
So go and visit http://www.oaksidesaddlery.co.uk/canine.php
The original pages are still there while I decide what to do with them. Will it affect my SEO if I delete pages? Or will it affect it more if they are dead pages with no links?


Continue reading ...
 

Invoice Problems!

Posted by Simon Harrison on Tuesday, March 24, 2015, In : News 
I am gaining a large pile of stuff that I have made recently that has just not been paid for (which is annoying)! I'm hoping that when my new store is properly up and running it will stop all of that.
I'm not sure what the cause of the problem is. I know that some customers just don't receive my PayPal invoices as their email client has decided that the email is spam. This is bad for me as;
  1. I don't get paid for my work. A loss that I can't write off against my tax return.
  2. The customer just think...

Continue reading ...
 

Store Opening Soon!

Posted by Simon Harrison on Thursday, March 19, 2015, In : News 
So I have decided to 'bite the bullet' and open a store. It's not something that I really wanted to do as I don't want to look just like any other shop!
Anyway, I decided to go for Yola's online store. Why?
The price was good for a start! But also after watching Yola's youtube video it had everything I seemed to need. The problem I have had with most other means of selling my products was a lack of options. When ordering a collar for instance. It is not just the style of collar, but what colour...
Continue reading ...
 

Belfast Belt

Posted by Simon Harrison on Wednesday, August 27, 2014, In : Belts 
The Belfast Belt

The Belfast belt from Oakside is a handmade leather belt with a double looped, solid brass, oval buckle.

image

Buckle

The Belfast Buckle is made from solid brass in the UK at Abbey England, and is 1 ¼ inches wide. A stylish design which is quite flat with rounded corners and ends. A double buckle so requires no leather loops to keep the belt under control. The belt buckle is long enough to make it easy to buckle with plenty of room to push the leather through.

image

Leather

I use genuine Eng...


Continue reading ...
 

History of the Belt - Prehistory

Posted by Simon Harrison on Thursday, August 7, 2014, In : History 

3350BC – 3100BC – The Ice Man

This amazing fella was discovered on a mountain in the Otztal Alps, South Tyrol, Italy on 19th September, 1991 by two hikers. He was partially encased in glacier ice and so well preserved that originally he was thought to be an unfortunate mountain hiker that had met his end. After recovery of the body radiocarbon dating revealed that the iceman lived between 3350 and 3100 BC, making him 5000 years old.

Among the many items of well preserved clothing found...


Continue reading ...
 

So what sort of lead do you need?

Posted by Simon Harrison on Friday, August 1, 2014, In : Products 
When it comes to choosing a lead it can be quite confusing. And the more advise you get, sometimes the harder it gets to make your decision. I’ll break down some of the common uses that I had in mind when I designed my leads.

Standard Leather Lead

image

This is your General Purpose lead. Designed for everyday use.

Simple in design but can be put to more uses than you may think! A handle at one end and a simple clip at the other it does exactly what it’s meant to do. Clips to your dogs leather coll...


Continue reading ...
 

Go Traditional with Oakside Saddlery's Flat Leather Dog Collar

Posted by Simon Harrison on Friday, July 25, 2014, In : Belts 
Most dogs just need a collar to clip your lead to and to carry their identity tag (like all competent owners should do!). But you wouldn’t want to walk round with just any old collar on! So treat your friend to a traditional leather dog collarfrom Oakside Saddlery.

My traditional leather dog collars are made using the time-honoured skills of a traditional saddler. Made to order and hand stitched all in the UK by a traditionally trained Cordwainer.

Style

image

I make my leather dog collars to a tradi...


Continue reading ...
 

Multi-Length Custom Dog Slip Lead

Posted by Simon Harrison on Monday, July 21, 2014, In : Products 

One advantage of ordering your leather dog lead from a UK based Cordwainer is that you can ask for that special one-of-a-kind design. That is the case for this heavy-duty, multi-length Slip lead.

At 1 1/2 inches wide the lead is design to fit a giant Boerboel dog.

The rings stitched along the length of the lead allow for adjustments in much the same way as my standard multi-length leads. They are stitched in to place by hand using three lines of hand-stitching at 8 stitches to the inch.

The slip...


Continue reading ...
 

A selection of my Handmade Leather Belts

Posted by Simon Harrison on Thursday, July 10, 2014, In : Products 
Aberdeen Leather Belt http://www.oaksidebelts.co.uk/aberdeen.php
Ascot Leather Belt http://www.oaksidebelts.co.uk/ascot.php
Belfast Leather Belt http://www.oaksidebelts.co.uk/belfast.php
Bristol leather Belt http://www.oaksidebelts.co.uk/bristol.php
Chatham Leather Belt http://www.oaksidebelts.co.uk/chatham.php
Cheltenham Leather Belt http://www.oaksidebelts.co.uk/cheltenham.php
Lincoln Leather Belt http://www.oaksidebelts.co.uk/lincoln.php
London Leather Belt
http://www.oaksidebelts.co.uk/london.php
West End Leather Belt http://www.oaksidebelts.co.uk/west-end.php


Si

www.oaksidebelts.co.uk

www.oaksidesaddlery.co.uk


Continue reading ...
 

The Lincoln Leather Belt

Posted by Simon Harrison on Monday, July 7, 2014, In : Belts 

The Lincoln handmade Leather Belt appeals to the Equestrian market due to its use of a solid brass horseshoe buckle from Abbey England, but it need not stop there! The Lincoln Belt is at home with any casual style and is well suited to jeans as it has a maximum belt width of 1 ½ inches. Not only that but the same horseshoe buckle can drop down to ½ inch or 12mm for a skinny belt if required.

Lincoln Handmade English leather belt

Leather

As always my Lincoln Leather Handmade Belt uses top quality English bridle Leather that is aro...


Continue reading ...
 

Men's Belt Style

Posted by Simon Harrison on Thursday, July 3, 2014, In : Belts 

I am by no means a fashion expert so I may have ‘borrowed’ a lot of these style tips from people who are more in the know!

Essentially Men’s belts can be placed in to two styles; Casual and Formal, with each suited to a particular situation.

The Formal Belt

Should men even wear a belt with their formal wear? I'm going to say yes! That is because it would be pointless of me not to if I want you to read this and then buy one of my belts! So lets forget the ins and outs and look at formal bel...


Continue reading ...
 

Have you ever wondered why my belts are named after UK towns?

Posted by Simon Harrison on Thursday, July 3, 2014, In : News 

The usual reason is that many belt buckles are named after towns. This is more than likely that that style of buckle originated in that town.

If a buckle is not named then my naming convention goes to the town from where my first order for that belt originated.

Simple really!

So if you want to be the first with a belt named after your town, pop over to Oakside’s Custom Belts and design your one=of-a-kind masterpiece!

Si

www.oaksidebelts.co.uk

www.oaksidesaddlery.co.uk


Continue reading ...
 

Measuring your Dog for a Handmade Leather Slip Collar

Posted by Simon Harrison on Wednesday, June 25, 2014, In : News 

Measuring your dog for a slip collar

The measurement that I require to make your leather handmade slip collar is not the same as a traditional collar. This is due to the way that a leather slip collar fits on your dog. As a slip collar does not open it needs to be able to pass completely over your dog's head without pinching or rubbing.

To measure you will need;

  • A fabric tape measure,

  • and your dog of course!

Simply take your tape and measure around the largest part of your dog's head....


Continue reading ...
 

Measuring for the Perfect Fit!

Posted by Simon Harrison on Friday, June 20, 2014, In : News 

Measuring your dog for a Handmade Leather Dog Collar from Oakside Saddlery couldn't be easier!

Method 2

Using your dogs existing collar to measure for your new handmade Leather Dog Collar. You will need the following items;

  • Your dog's collar.

  • A fabric tape measure or other ruler.

How To

Before removing your dog's collar check the fit and note which hole that the collar is buckled to.

  • Remove the collar and lay it flat.

  • Lay your measure alongside the collar.

  • Take the measurement from the inside of the o...


Continue reading ...
 

Measuring For The Perfect Fit

Posted by Simon Harrison on Tuesday, June 17, 2014, In : News 

To measure your dog for your new Handmade Leather Dog Collar from Oakside is quite simple really.


Method 1


You will need the following items;

  • A fabric tape measure (this can be in inches or centimetres)

  • Two fingers

  • And your dog

Hopefully you have all three of these otherwise you may have to improvise!

Place the fabric tape around your dogs neck where the collar will go. The tape needs to have enough slack to easily slide two fingers underneath it. This is the size of the collar that you should order...


Continue reading ...
 

Get Heavy with the Chatham Leather Belt from Oakside

Posted by Simon Harrison on Tuesday, June 17, 2014, In : Belts 
image

The Chatham Handmade Leather Belt from Oakside is a heavy duty, no nonsense, leather belt. Designed with style and sturdiness in mind. It has a solid brass buckle and two leather loops that are stitched to the Bridle leather belt

Buckle

image

The solid brass Chatham leather belt buckle is available in widths of;

  • 1 inch wide leather belt

  • 1 ¼ inch wide leather belt

  • 1 ½ inch wide leather belt

  • 1 ¾ inch wide leather belt

  • 2 inch wide leather belt

The solid brass Chatham belt buckle is quite flat and square wi...


Continue reading ...
 

Why should you choose to buy a handmade Leather Belt from Oakside?

Posted by Simon Harrison on Thursday, June 5, 2014, In : Belts 

So you have been looking for a handmade leather belt. There are many available from really cheap ones – to really expensive ones, and I mean really expensive, even some made from human skin!

So why would you choose one of my handmade leather belts?

Maybe it is just because you like to support UK small business? Whatever the reason, I would like to think that you choose to buy a leather belt from Oakside because you like the look and quality of my work!

I am trained as a Cordwainer (someone who...


Continue reading ...
 

Bespoke Leather Dog Collars and Leads

Posted by Simon Harrison on Tuesday, June 3, 2014, In : Products 

image

So you have an idea for the perfect collar for your dog. And no matter how much you have scoured the web you just can’t find exactly what you are looking for! This is when a Bespoke Cordwainer comes in handy. Give me your ideas and I will see what I can do.

Some of the specific requirements I have been requested to make are listed below

  • ·         Extra wide to protect an old injury.
  • ·         Brass instead of leather loops.
  • ·         Wide boar hound style collar.
  • ·         Double pronged buc...

Continue reading ...
 

Why should you buy a handmade leather belt?

Posted by Simon Harrison on Friday, May 30, 2014, In : Belts 
If you walk in to any department store you will be able to buy a ready made leather belt. So why should you order from Oakside and have to wait for a belt to be made and then delivered!

Simple Really!

My leather belts are made by hand using traditional techniques and methods. The leather is top quality, 1st selection, English bridle leather – the best leather you can get! You can choose from a selection of standard designs and buckles, or you can be adventurous and design one of your own uniq...


Continue reading ...
 

Leather Repairs

Posted by Simon Harrison on Thursday, May 29, 2014, In : Repairs 

Leather Repairs

So your favourite saddle has started to come apart at the seams – quite literally! What are you going to do? Throw it in the bin? Chuck it in the cupboard under the stairs? No! Take it to Oakside Saddlery for repair!

Most leather items can be repaired, especially if the stitching has just worn through. And it is not just saddles that can be repaired; leather boots, bridles, dog collars and leads, bags, motorbike leathers, leather belts, and many other items are repairable. S...


Continue reading ...
 

A Short History of Dog Collars

Posted by Simon Harrison on Monday, May 26, 2014, In : History 

Dog Collars have been in use by mankind for thousands of years. Images can be found in Ancient Egyptian paintings dating back to 3500BC. These collars were made from leather and had the dogs name on them. The Ancient Greeks used dogs to protect their livestock and used large spiked collars. The Ancient Romans were devoted to their dogs, and collars have been found with with messages in them showing appreciation to their dogs.

Dogs have been used, and sadly abused, by humans for many years; hu...


Continue reading ...
 
 

Cordwainer


Simon Harrison Cordwainer at Oakside Saddlery Handmade, bespoke leather Made in England. Leather Collars and Leads for your Dog, Handmade, made to Measure Leather Belts, Leather camera straps, Leather briefcases and messenger bags, watch straps, And Leather rifle slings for Field Sports. All made in the Traditional Hand-stitched way

Tags

Simon Harrison

Oakside Saddlery

67 Windmill Rise

Minster

Kent

ME12 3QA

United Kingdom

oaksidesaddlery@gmail.com

+44(0)7976892950

Contact Me