2007-2009
The Journey My name is John Barton and I am the founder of JB Cases. JB Cases are cases which mean a lot to me because they are manifests of my imagination made real. Since I was a child I have been fascinated by how to take things and make them better. I was bitten by the pool bug at an early age I was able to combine my love of pool and my natural urge to make things into a pool cue case business. I am never settled though and the cases you will see in this book reflect a lot of my thoughts on how to improve the art of making cue cases. For the purpose of this book I don’t show or discuss the interiors on each case but to me a good interior is the heart of a cue case. Protection is paramount and I put layers of soft cloth and generous amounts of padding between your cue investment and the outside world. No matter how pretty we can make a case our first priority is to insure that your cue is cradled and secure. JB Cases is a team. I myself am too impatient to sit down on one case at a time. So I have hired and trained a great team to carry out my designs. As they have grown they are able to design on their own and have contributed greatly to the look and feel of the cases pictured here. Lastly, I want to dedicate this book to the following people, Scott Taylor of Sterling Gaming for giving me an opportunity to develop for Sterling as well as to grow JB Cases, my wife Karen for her love and support, Karen’s mother for her steadiness and willingness to keep trying new things, Roy Malott for his encouragement and patronage, Chas Clements for his advice, and my parents for their encouragement these past 20 years. And of course I want to thank my team for putting up with me and helping me to make the cases I dream about. Lastly, I can’t thank all the customers enough who trust me with their wishes and who wait patiently for their cases. 1.
Table of Contents 3. Alvin 4. Amazon 5. Basketcase 6. Black Dragon 7. Buffalo 8. Buffalo 3x6 9. Brooklyn Rolls 10. Costas goes to Jersey 11. Crossroads 12. Doc 13. Dragon Scales 14. Double Dragon 15. Ehle 16. Eygpt 17. Everglades 18. Flight 19. For, um... Insanity 20. Freedom 21. A Garden Day 22. The Gambler 23. Gateway to the East 24. The Gunslinger 25. Hephaestus 26. The Hotrod 27. JJJ 28. Jessie James 29. Katie’s Dragon 30. The King 31. LKL
32. The Olson Twins 34. The Palace Garden 38. Petros 39. Range Rover 40. Rolls Royce 41. Ron Ross Tribute 42. Old Rusty44. Shorty 43.The Silk Road 44. Shorty”s Fly Case 45. Strong Bear 46. Sheridan in Spring 47. Roman 48. The Sleeper 49. Tillman’s Patience 50. Valor 51. Vero 52. Whimsy 53. Zack 54. GTF Designs 55. GTF Szamboti Box Case 61. J.Flowers Tribute Cases 70. Our Team
Alvin
3.
Alvin
4.
Amazon
Amazon
Basketcase
5.
Basketcase
6.
Black Dragon
Black Dragon
Buffalo
7.
Buffalo
8.
BUFFALO 3X6
BUFFALO 3X6
9.
The Brooklyn Rolls
The Brooklyn
10.
Costas goes to Jersey
Costas
CROSSROAD
11.
CROSSROAD
12.
DOC
DOC
13.
Dragon Scales
Dragon Scales
14.
DOUBLE DRAGON
DOUBLE DRAGON
Ehle
15.
Ehle
16.
EGYPT
EGYPT
The Everglades
17.
The Everglades
18.
FLIGHT
FLIGHT
19.
For UM ... INSANITY
For UM ... INSANITY
20.
Freedom Freedom
A Garden Day
21.
A Garden Day
22.
The Gambler
The Gambler
Gateway to the East
23.
Gateway to the East
24.
Gunslinger
Gunslinger
25.
HEPHAESTUS HEPHAESTUS
26.
Hotrod
Hotrod
27.
JJJ - Jay, Jack, and John
JJJ
28.
JESSE JAMES
J E SS E JA M E S
29.
Katie’s Dragon
DRAGON SCALE CASE
30.
The KING
KING
31.
LKL
LKL
32.
The Olson Twins
Olson
The Olson Twins
33.
Olson
34.
Palace Garden Palace Garden
Palace Garden
35.
Palace Garden
36.
Palace Garden
Palace Garden
37.
38.
Petros
Petros
Range Rover
39.
Range Rover
40.
The Rolls Royce
Rolls Royce
Ron Ross Tribute
41.
Ron Ross Tribute
42.
Rusty
Rusty
SILK ROAD
43.
SILK ROAD
44.
Shorty
Shorty
Strong Bear
45.
Strong Bear
46.
Sheridan in Spring
Sheridan in Spring
THE ROMAN
47.
THE ROMAN
48.
The sleeper
The sleeper
TILLMAN
49.
TILLMAN
50.
Valor
Valor
51.
Vero Vero
52.
Whimsy
Whimsy
zack
53.
zack
In late 2007 I was commissioned to make my version of the iconic Fellini cases. For me this was an honor and a real challenge. I can’t speak for other case makers but for me the Fellini case has always been something of the pinnacle of cue cases. It’s sleek, efficient, understated, and lends itself beautifully to decoration. In my younger days I collected Snap Magazines and one of them featured a Gus Szamboti box cue with a matching Fellini case. This image has never left me and it had always been a goal of mine to make a similar case. We rose to the challenge and recreated a modern version of the Fellini case. As is my style I decided to add more padding to the interior and make it just that much more protective. I am glad to have been able to join a long line of case makers who have emulated the Fellini style. And I did finally get to make that case to match a Szamboti box cue thanks to Mr. Will Prout and Roy Malott. Thank you gentlemen for allowing this case maker the chance to make cases worthy of being in your collections. And thank you to Bob Hemphil for creating the Fellini case that continues to be a timeless symbol of a perfect blend of form and function.
Standards
55.
56. Ostrich
Limiteds
Standards
57.
58.
Limiteds
Hand Tooled
59.
Custom
60.
Two Dreams Realized
The Inspiration
Jay Flowers Tribute Cases My earliest introduction to custom cue cases was when my friend Andreas Sattler brought back some J.E.F Q Cases, or as they are better known now, Jay Flowers cases from his Florida road trip in 1990. I bought one and used it until I took it apart to begin my case making career. I met Jay 12 years later by chance in Las Vegas. He was playing on a team near my booth and he came over and introduced himself. After the shock of meeting a case making legend I was able to settle down and talk shop with him. He was very complimentary of our cases and he gave me permission to make cases in his style, a Jay Flowers line if you will. Sadly I never followed through on that conversation and Jay left us in 2005. Jay started in the early 80’s and his style influenced a lot of well known case makers, His influence can be seen in the way a lot of cue cases are built today. Unfortunately Jay’s name and legacy have been largely forgotten when the topic of influential case makers comes up. So I decided to correct that by making a line of cases that will carry the name J.Flowers and devote a website to insuring that people know who Jasper “Jay” Flowers was and what he brought to the world of custom cases. Thank you Jay for inspiring me and may you rest in peace.
62.
A Case Built for a true Legend
63.
64.
J.Flowers 2008-001
J.Flowers 2008-001
J.Flowers 2008-020
65.
J.Flowers 2008-020
66.
J.Flowers 2008-025
J.Flowers 2008-025
J.Flowers 2008-029
67.
J.Flowers 2008-029
68.
J.Flowers 2008-027
J.Flowers 2008-027
69.
J.Flowers 2008-040 J.Flowers 2008-040
70.
Our Team
To p L - R : M i s s C h e n , J o h n B a r t o n , M i s s Z h a n g , L o n g W e i C h e n , Z h e n H a i L e e , M r . Wang Bottom L-R: Miss Wu, Zhen Hai Lee, Longwei Chen, John Barton