Tonight at the Hand-Eye Supply Curiosity Club: Judy Langlitz Hansen & Dave Hansen of Langlitz Leathers

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Core77’s Hand-Eye Supply Curiosity Club is overjoyed to present Judy Langlitz Hansen and Dave Hansen of Langlitz Leathers, crafters of fine leather motorcycle wear and accessories since 1947.

Tonight’s talk starts at 6 at the Hand-Eye Supply store in Portland, OR. Come early and check out our space or check in with us online for the live broadcast!

Judy Langlitz Hansen and Dave Hansen
Langlitz Leathers: “The World’s Finest Motorcycle Leathers”
Hand-Eye Supply
23 NW 4th Ave
Portland, OR 97209
Tuesday, March 5th, 6PM PST

Ross Langlitz was an ardent motorcyclist who decided to open his own leather garment shop that focused on high quality custom motorcycle gear in 1947. Ross was relatively successful in the early years, and in a couple decades the shop was running smoothly and ready for the Golden Age of Motorcycling of the 1970s. Ross retired in the mid-1980s, but left the shop in the hands of his daughter (Jackie) and son-in-law (Dave). For the past three decades they have endeavored to run Langlitz Leathers as Ross intended… not so big as to get out of hand, and not so small that it would have major problems sustaining itself. Ross achieved his goal of being The World’s Finest Motorcycle Leathers and his reputation has traveled around the world as the ultimate in motorcycle gear.

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Though this small company was founded in Portland and remains located in the same place it has for over four decades, it is well known around the world. Many of their customers are in Asia, and Europe, as well as here in America… but its heart is here on 25th and Division Street. It is not a fancy facility, as one can immediately see when they enter the shop. Its primary focus is building top quality leathers and offering first class service to those who come great distances for its leathers. Interestingly, a customer can stand in one place and order a custom set of leathers. He can also be measured, see where his leathers will be cut and the area where they will be sewn… all without moving from that spot!

Furthermore, the shop found that good customer care is far better than advertising. In this day of modern conveniences, they do not even have a telephone menu… each phone call is answered by a real person capable of helping the customer. Now that the second generation is retiring, the third generation (Judy) is continuing the family tradition. In short, Langlitz Leathers represents the way business used to be done in America, and they continue doing likewise today.

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Tonight at the Hand-Eye Supply Curiosity Club – Learning to Lockpick with Kenny McElroy

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Tonight! Core77’s Hand-Eye Supply Curiosity Club enthusiastically presents Kenny McElroy, Lockpick Extraordinaire!

Tonight’s talk starts at 6 at the Hand-Eye Supply store in Portland, OR. Come early and check out our space or check in with us online for the live broadcast!

Kenny McElroy
“Introduction to Picking Locks”

Hand-Eye Supply
23 NW 4th Ave
Portland, OR, 97209
Tuesday, February 19th, 6PM PST

Kenny McElroy is a computer security geek with interests in circus arts, mechanical engineering, dancing, electronics engineering and pie. The pursuit of figuring out how stuff works, especially security related stuff, tickles his fancy. After a year of hosting multiple monthly meetings with guided tutorials on various aspects of opening locks without their corresponding keys or codes, Kenny is ready to show you some fun tricks, challenge your dexterity and answer your questions.

The workshop starts with a basic introduction to pin-tumbler locks. Practice locks and picks will be provided so you can try out everything we talk about yourself. With the progressively pinned locks, it is easy to start out at level 1 and work your way up to a lock very much like the one you probably have on your door at home. Just how much security does that thing provide anyway? Find out for yourself, first hand.

While people are having fun testing their new skills on the provided practice locks, questions about slightly more advanced topics are welcome. Want to see a demo of a bump-key? Or how to decode a combination lock? Can you escape a pair of handcuffs? We will have lots of the most common locks and some of the easiest, non-destructive methods for opening them. Are the practice locks falling open too easily for you? Beat our challenge locks and you will win fun prizes!

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Red, Glossy and Italian – The Molto Bene Toolbox – New & In Stock at Hand-Eye Supply

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At Hand-Eye Supply we’ve been on a long time quest to find a decent tool box. It hasn’t been easy. We’ve found sturdy and dependable toolboxes at hefty price points, and lower priced boxes that are cheaply made and wouldn’t hold up to the rigors of even a gentler shop environment (what would that even be, anyways?).

Then we discovered this: The USAG 646 Toolbox—reasonably priced and so red you might get a speeding ticket.

This USAG 646 toolbox is made in Italy out of sheet steel which is coated using electropheretic deposition, a high quality finishing process which produces a durable color and thickness consistency.

The cantilever top is double-handled, with two upper compartments and one large lower compartment. It’s nicely engineered so that in the process of closing the box the lips of the lid perfectly overlap. There’s a small hole for a light duty u-lock, so you can keep your tools secure.

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Our Favorite Creative Couples: A Core77 Hand-Eye Supply Valentine’s Tribute

At Hand-Eye Supply we are aware that the experience of working creatively with a romantic partner can be a different experience than with a strictly platonic collaborator complete with both caveats and advantages. In February we’d like to celebrate those creative couples who make it work, working together.

Our Valentine’s Day series featuring collaborators in both love and labor. Our first feature is dedicated to historic coupled creatives, and we’ll be releasing following posts about some of our favorite duos in Portland, OR over the next few days! Check them out at Hand-Eye Supply.

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Hand-Eye Supply Valentine’s Day Selection for Lovers

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As you walk hand in hand with your loved one, we know that you have only one thing on your mind: that project you left behind in your shop while you went on your walk. Well, stop it. Focus.

What does your special collaborator need for their project? A bandana to wipe that beloved greasy brow? Safety glasses to protect those captivating eyes? A tool box, roll or bag to get their precious workshop ship shape? Perhaps a journal to capture all of their incredibly genius and charming ideas? To help you in your search for that perfect gift, we at Hand-Eye Supply have put together a little collection on the theme of empowering your partner in crime and at the same time invoking the hue associated with Valentine’s Day paraphernalia.

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Tonight at the Hand-Eye Supply Curiosity Club – Blacksmith Arnon Kartmazov of Bridgetown Forge

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Core77’s Hand-Eye Supply Curiosity Club is absolutely thrilled to bring you Arnon Kartmazov of Portland’s Bridgetown Forge who will talk about his extensive experiences hand-forging Japanese chef’s knives.

Tonight’s talk starts at 6 at the Hand-Eye Supply store in Portland, OR. Come early and check out our space or check in with us online for the live broadcast!

Arnon Kartmazov
Bridgetown Forge “The Hand-Forged Chef’s Knife: The Japanese Perspective”
Hand-Eye Supply
23 NW 4th Ave
Portland, OR, 97209
Tuesday, February 5th, 6PM PST

Bridgetown Forge was founded by Arnon Kartmazov after many years of practicing his craft. He served his first apprenticeship with the last working blacksmith in Jerusalem, Israel, in 1985. He then spent 12 years in Japan, where he was apprenticed to a knife-maker, then a sword-maker, and then opened and operated his own shop in the hills of Northern Kyoto, where he specialized in both hand-forged chef’s knifes, as well as architectural pieces designed to blend with both traditional and modern Japanese architecture. He also trained with many smiths both in Japan and in other countries, including Uri Hofi of Israel, an internationally renowned master smith.

Arnon Kartmazov’s presentation will give a historical background in blacksmithing covering both traditional methods and contemporary applications and processes. Using modeling clay, Arnon will demonstrate the ancient yet still relevant techniques used to create a variety of forms in modern blacksmithing. Arnon will give a general outline of what it means to forge a quality knife, and explain the Japanese approach to creating high-performance, hand-made cutlery. The talk will conclude with a question and answer session, as well as an opportunity for hands-on time with some samples of Arnon’s hand-forged pieces.

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Last Days of the Hand-Eye Post-Holidays Gift Guide Sale – 25% Off

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To kick off the New Year and thank you for your support over the last year, we at Hand-Eye Supply are offering 25% off all items in the 2012 Gift Guide Collection!

But this stellar special on our curated collection of covetable curios is only available for two more days! So hurry! Just use the promo code “JANUARY77” at check out!

Thanks again for a smashing 2012 and we hope you have an excellent 2013!

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Tonight at the Hand-Eye Supply Curiosity Club – Matt Reed of Bee Thinking

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Core77’s Hand-Eye Supply Curiosity Club kicks off our first meeting in 2013 with very special guest Matt Reed of Bee Thinking, whose expertise in beekeeping, hive construction and honey bee behavior is celebrated by both Portland’s beekeepers and the international beekeeping community.

Tonight’s talk starts at 6 at the Hand-Eye Supply store in Portland, OR. Come early and check out our space or check in with us online for the live broadcast!

Matt Reed
Bee Thinking: “Natural Beekeeping with Top Bar and Warré Hives”
Hand-Eye Supply
23 NW 4th Ave
Portland, OR, 97209
Tuesday, January 22nd, 6PM PST

A backyard hive can be a simple, fun and manageable addition to your yard, garden, or roof! Both the Top Bar and Warré are foundationless hives that allow bees to build their own combs as they would in nature. Matt will talk about the advantages of choosing foundationless, and treatment free beekeeping by including information on honeybee biology, management techniques and seasonal recommendations. Honeybees are an opportunistic species that Matt loves to demystify through his stories, facts and research. His presentation style is informative and relaxed, where the audience will undoubtedly glean applicable knowledge for new or existing hives. After listening, you may fall in love with honeybees as Matt did years ago, or at the very least, earn a new appreciation for the species and its work.

Matt’s philosophy is simple. The chief end of beekeeping should be to provide the bees with the ideal environment in which to thrive. To do this, the beekeeper must engross his or her mind with a wide range of bee-related information detailing the bee life cycle, history, hive design, management and innumerable other topics of importance. Without this knowledge, it is unlikely that the bees or the keeper will have success in their endeavors.

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Matt Reed is the owner of Bee Thinking, a sustainable beekeeping supply store for backyard beekeepers located in SE Portland. Bee Thinking was founded in 2008 as an internet resource for beekeepers throughout the world. At the same time he began mass-producing foundationless Top Bar and Warre hives for his own apiary. Soon he had a great deal of interest from many people who were getting involved in foundationless beekeeping, so he began selling the same hives that he uses to those in the beekeeping community. Today, he sells these hives to people all over the world.

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Hand-Eye Supply Post-Holidays Gift Guide Sale – 25% Off!

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We at Hand-Eye Supply want to thank you for a wonderful holiday season and we wish you a happy and constructive and productive! To kick off the New Year we’ve made our Gift Guide Collection 25% off for the month of January! A stellar special on our curated collection of covetable curios for designers, makers and those who love them! Just use the promo code “JANUARY77” at check out!

Thanks again for a smashing 2012 and we hope you have an excellent 2013!

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Core77’s Hand-Eye Holidays – Last Chance Delivery Deadline Gift Guide

Alright holiday revelers, time is running thin as we press towards those looming shipping deadlines. We at Hand-Eye Supply would like to throw out a final few gift ideas that may satiate the tastes of your design-loving loved ones. If you buy before Friday, Dec 21st at Noon Pacific Time you’ll get yer goodies before xmas. We are providing free upgrades to USPS Priority Mail for all purchases with US destinations – and if you order more than $75 shipping is free entirely!

2012_LastChance_Growler.jpgGive your favorite brewery concoction a sweet little flavor-saving ride in this 64oz Sprocket Growler from Portland Growler Co.

2012_LastChance_Lexon.jpgNothing says design studio like this color coordinated desk set from Lexon, labelled in Helvetica on a satin rubber finish.

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Taking inspiration from the Japanese art of paper folding, the AKMD Origami Bowls are cast aluminum which makes them quite a bit more substantial than their paper counterparts.

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The Poler Wunder Bundler is a slick temperature conserving portage specially suited for your outdoor adventures from pool side to mountain side.

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Made in the U.S.A. the Hand-Eye Supply Apron is ideal for any workshop warriors in your life. Available in 12oz 100% cotton denim and black twill.

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