Five Star Leather Jackets

spectre6000 said:

Maybe if they ever get their website to work...

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spectre6000 said:

It appears I'll not be cracking the Fivestar code after all. I went round and round with Shawn and Fargham trying to get leather samples. All the means, methods, and addresses, including a cold video chat at one point. Could not get the communication to work well enough for it to happen. I told Shawn I had a design I was working on, and was down to the final details trying to nail them down in an attempt to let him know I was seriously trying to buy a jacket, and not just trying to get tiny pieces of random hides. He asked to see it, so I sent him a link with the warning that it was a draft, and that I was still finalizing the details. I had 38 pages of photos, notes, and annotated drawings, etc., but was still working on figuring out the specifics of the darts. He told me he didn't want to make it because I was TOO DETAILED, and if they missed 1 or 2, they'd have to remake it. I responded to that email to try to salvage the effort, but he's no longer responding. So... ...

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We know from extensive collective experience that not providing enough detail leaves the door open for (often incorrect) interpretation and assumptions and guesswork. The solution to this problem is apparently NOT to eliminate the need for any guesswork or assumptions by providing those details (or even let slip that you have said details in draft form). Wish I could say what the answer actually is (and have a great jacket to show for it), but that's all I got and all I'll likely be able to get. Major bummer. Did not see that one coming...

At least it didn't cost me anything but time. I learned a lot in the process, and seem to have maybe found a cool new project to work on in the evenings as time, space, budget, etc. allow.

So... I guess I'll be shifting my focus to just making something from scratch over a much longer period of time, and at much greater expense...

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MrProper said:

Are you surprised?
For me it's completely understandable and in a 5* position I would have rejected the order too.
Far too costly in relation to the expected profit.
That might be justified if I were going into mass production, but not for a single jacket.
Or would you be prepared to pay the surcharge that really compensates for the effort?
I think it would be different if you deliver a completely finished pattern. But 5* has to create the pattern from a 38-page PDF and the cost increases with every detail and every special request.
So be glad that 5* managed to say no. Nothing satisfactory would have come of it.
I think you've worked so hard on it now that maybe you should start sewing your own jacket.

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El Marro said:

This is great news! Call Johnson Leather and have them make you a jacket that fits.

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ton312 said:

I don’t think they’d touch this with a 10’ pole.

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spectre6000 said:

Keep me posted on how it goes with this alternate company. The thing is, I actually NEED a jacket before next fall. I would prefer to have it now, but I'm willing to wait and make do for something that is exactly what I want. Someone on here told me in PM that the group has moved on from Fivestar, and is looking for the new kid on the block. I'm also now looking for the new kid.

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PilotJens said:

Something cheap they make for a customer

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PilotJens said:

I send them multiple pictures of aeros and he says he can get similar leathers .I am skeptical but he will also send goat leather which should be good regardless which Indian/Pakistani hill billy tannery is involved

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ton312 said:

I’d sooner wrap myself in a Hefty bag and run around with no pants on.

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PilotJens said:

I send them multiple pictures of aeros and he says he can get similar leathers .I am skeptical but he will also send goat leather which should be good regardless which Indian/Pakistani hill billy tannery is involved

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ton312 said:

Why not just look at the established makers and find something that gets you what you need. I briefly perused your pdf. You can find something similar from Aero, JL, etc. The downside is you’ll have to pay for it. The upside is it won’t suck.

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PilotJens said:

I have no idea why I keep torturing myself .

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spectre6000 said:

After what I've seen from the samples in the microscopy thread, I'm pretty thoroughly sold on horsehide. It's almost certainly a requirement at this point.

I've bookmarked and looked at every manufacturer I've seen mentioned here. Aero is the only one that has anything that comes close to piquing my interest. I've seen comments from others on here about how they won't do "big drops", which is kinda the reason I'm here at all. Doubling the price is also an issue, as for the prices they charge, I can buy a lot of leather and tooling, and just do it as many times as I want with exactly what I want and no compromises. If I haven't figured out something by this fall, maybe I'll go that route, but that's a lot of evenings worth of puttering around...

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ton312 said:

^All of this. Extraneous effort on their part which surely would result in some missed spec and complaint. No maker in their right mind would take that on or even entertain the notion. The only option for something like this is to do it yourself. Good for Shawn, spared himself an absolute pain in the ass no doubt.

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