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Buckles March 2016 |
We've already tested the first two of these, and will have a small supply coming by sometime in April....but we'll be making more!
Center Bar Buckles
These new buckle assortments feature 20 buckles:
1/8" = 4This initial round, we will have a supply for sale of the 2 styles below and in the noted configuration of sizes.
3/32" = 10
1/16" = 6
DB145
Rope-Edged BucklesDB145
DB154
Diamond Buckles
Raised Diamonds in a double outline. This style goes with the Filigree Star plates.DB154
We opted to put all three sizes into one sheet, as that allows us to offer more styles in the future, as well as make it easier to keep them in stock as much as possible. (These will be offered as "Limited Availability" initially.)
HOWEVER, this iteration is not yet set in stone. If you would be interested in buckle sets like this, we do need input on how many of each size would be a good number for the projects you ordinarily work on. I can't guarantee we can get the proportions right for everyone, but we'd like to get pretty close.
And here's what they actually will look like! (From tests late last year, although the size distribution is different)
Cute as a bug in a rug, as my mom used to say!
Heel Bar (or One-Sided) Buckles
We did some initial tests awhile back:
The above pictures show some really tiny stuff!
Brocade Items
Here's a 1/8" large fancy buckle, and some matching plates in the "brocade" motif.
This test was to see what would come out from some ancient artwork (that, incidentally, never went into production).Brocade Items
Brocade Buckle Test
Closeup pictureBrocade Buckle Test
Now, here's what we're looking at for test production:
Rope-Edged Floral Heel-Bar Buckles
Imagine how cool these are going to be when they're ready! This image just shows the 3 sizes: 1/16", 3/32" and 1/8". We'll only be getting a small assortment of tests to ensure the deco comes out.
The top two rows are both 1/16", but the topmost row is a little smaller/narrower than the one below (the hole dimensions are the same on both). We want to try to get SOME deco in, but not have the buckle too big, so the final production version may vary a bit from this test group.
Like the center-bar buckles above, these will be made available in sheets with all 3 sizes (same design). We'd like to know how many of each size might be a good size distribution?
Once we determine that, we'll get to work on things. We'd like to have actual production items be ready with the June group. As for rope-edge, (since rope-edge is a traditional style for western items) we'll be filling out the collection with a center-bar square shape, and a heel-bar rounded option, so you'll be able to match both types of buckle within the same project.
We'll also be testing these in 3/16" and 1/4".
Notes:
After having seen much of what is on this page in actual production, it seems like the sky is the limit for what we can come up with in this vein. While at the present time (Late May, 2016) I am furiously working on getting a number of heel-bar buckles ready for production, I'm not yet sure if we'll be able to make the June deadline on these. (or at least we probably won't get all the styles done at this time).
What I have worked on was to create sets that would coordinate with each corner plate motif. The "set" (not necessarily all provided together on one sheet, as we're not sure on how it will be presented as yet) would include:
- Heel Bar Buckle "tops" in 1/16, 3/32, 1/8 and 3/16".
- Matching Keepers and tips for each size
- Matching Bit Clip in 1/16, 3/32 and 1/8... although I am not certain the 1/16" size will be easily "workable"!
- Matching Center-Bar buckles in 1/16, 3/32 and 1/8"
The 2 styles of "DB" series buckles at the top of the page will be joined by a number of brethren for the center-bar variants. Ultimately you'll be able to pick and choose the type of buckle for various tack parts and better coordinate more details within a set.
The matching Heel-Bar buckles are going to be built on a "smaller" frame than what is currently on the "HP" series halter sheets (which are quite ostentatious). Using the rope-edged samples shown above, most of them will be "about that size". Blingy and darling, but not excessively large and extreme. I'll save the super-fancy big ones for halter sets later... (not that you won't be able to mix and match).
