Dennis of Dragon Leather Works is moving from New York to the more-free state of Tennessee
The family and I (wife and kids) are moving out of New York State. Its too expensive here...taxes are onerous, and the only places where the cost of a home approaches something that could be construed as reasonably affordable are so far from the population centers that pay on the highest scales, that you need to live 70+ miles away, and commute to the better paying jobs. Which I have done for the past 13 years...each day is an 80 mile commute ONE WAY (yes, you read that right...its a daily round trip of 160+ miles each and every day) just to get a paycheck. The costs of gasoline alone tops $600 a month. Add in the state income taxes paid to NY (for the *cough* privilege *cough*) to live here, and the state income tax paid to NJ for the *cough* privilege *cough* to be allowed to work in *that* state, and my monthly outlay in terms of net dollars topped $1000 a month. And thats not even considering the costs of tolls, monthly maintenance on the vehicle, insurance costs, etc... Since I still need the day job while the holsters are still gaining momentum (the holster business is finally finding its legs, and thats a good thing) I'll be working out of one of the offices in the Knoxville Tennessee area. A state with no state income tax. Where I can actually afford to live within 5 miles of where I work. Which means that Dragon Leatherworks will also be changing its base of operations to the Knoxville area as well. The two towns that are running in close competition are Oak Ridge (northeast of Knoxville proper), and Maryville (southeast of Knoxville proper). I have to admit, it will feel great to breathe the free air of Tennessee...up until now, the thought of being able to buy a handgun and not have the state demanding that I register it, and add it to a permission slip that says I'm *allowed* to have it, were just crazy thoughts. And I literally can't wait to walk into a gun shop, see a 17 round capacity handgun, ask to see it, and not be asked to show my super-secret-LEO qualification permission slip that allows me to even *touch* the gun. Hell....I'm surprised that they don't arrest folks on the spot here in NY for even *thinking* about a LEO-only handgun. And making mag carriers for 17 rounders, at least in NY, would make me a felon, because as a non-LEO, I'm not allowed to even *possess* a mag larger than 10 rounds. Can't properly build/fit a mag carrier if I can't legally get my hands on the mag. So, yes, I will be adding hand-crafted mag carriers to my holster lineup once the business is set back up, and the Christmas orders are all packed and shipped, as well as adding gunbelts to the product lines as well. So there you have it. I'm working my tail off getting all my booked orders out the door so that everyone has their orders early or on time, so that we can house-shop, move, and set the leather shop back up by the first week of October, and start making, for delivery, my November holster orders. Warmest Regards, Dragon Leather Works
The family and I (wife and kids) are moving out of New York State. Its too expensive here...taxes are onerous, and the only places where the cost of a home approaches something that could be construed as reasonably affordable are so far from the population centers that pay on the highest scales, that you need to live 70+ miles away, and commute to the better paying jobs.
Which I have done for the past 13 years...each day is an 80 mile commute ONE WAY (yes, you read that right...its a daily round trip of 160+ miles each and every day) just to get a paycheck. The costs of gasoline alone tops $600 a month. Add in the state income taxes paid to NY (for the *cough* privilege *cough*) to live here, and the state income tax paid to NJ for the *cough* privilege *cough* to be allowed to work in *that* state, and my monthly outlay in terms of net dollars topped $1000 a month. And thats not even considering the costs of tolls, monthly maintenance on the vehicle, insurance costs, etc...
Since I still need the day job while the holsters are still gaining momentum (the holster business is finally finding its legs, and thats a good thing) I'll be working out of one of the offices in the Knoxville Tennessee area. A state with no state income tax. Where I can actually afford to live within 5 miles of where I work. Which means that Dragon Leatherworks will also be changing its base of operations to the Knoxville area as well. The two towns that are running in close competition are Oak Ridge (northeast of Knoxville proper), and Maryville (southeast of Knoxville proper).
I have to admit, it will feel great to breathe the free air of Tennessee...up until now, the thought of being able to buy a handgun and not have the state demanding that I register it, and add it to a permission slip that says I'm *allowed* to have it, were just crazy thoughts. And I literally can't wait to walk into a gun shop, see a 17 round capacity handgun, ask to see it, and not be asked to show my super-secret-LEO qualification permission slip that allows me to even *touch* the gun. Hell....I'm surprised that they don't arrest folks on the spot here in NY for even *thinking* about a LEO-only handgun.
And making mag carriers for 17 rounders, at least in NY, would make me a felon, because as a non-LEO, I'm not allowed to even *possess* a mag larger than 10 rounds. Can't properly build/fit a mag carrier if I can't legally get my hands on the mag. So, yes, I will be adding hand-crafted mag carriers to my holster lineup once the business is set back up, and the Christmas orders are all packed and shipped, as well as adding gunbelts to the product lines as well.
So there you have it. I'm working my tail off getting all my booked orders out the door so that everyone has their orders early or on time, so that we can house-shop, move, and set the leather shop back up by the first week of October, and start making, for delivery, my November holster orders.
Warmest Regards,
Dragon Leather Works
Dennis wanted my readers to know that there will be no disruption in orders during his downtime and that he is working around the clock to get all orders out in time.
We here at the Sharp as a Marble compound wish him the best of luck!
FTC Disclaimer – If I had one of those belts from Dragon Leather Works, you folks could unbuckle it for easier access to my ass for kissing.