Personal
“He who works with his hands is a laborer.
He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman.
He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.”
― Francis of Assisi
We put our hands, our head, and our heart into every custom leather piece we make. Why?
We really can't explain this any better than the folks atA Craftsman's Legacy. If you appreciate those things, you understand--for you too, it's personal.
Likewise, for us, it's personal, even more so when we are blessed with the privilege of honoring an individual for their service.
Custom
What some folks advertise as "custom" really isn't.
"Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black." - Henry Ford
Telling a customer to pick from a set of pre-designed options and "personalizing" the item by adding one's name or initials and calling it "custom" is just plain-old misleading marketing spin.
We take the definition of custom literally:
custom
-adjective
specially made to fit the needs or requirements of a particular person
We start with a blank sheet of paper and your imagination. If you need some inspiration, we welcome you to browse our gallery, look through your family photos, take a nature walk, visit antique shops or art galleries, etc. Also, search the internet for images, and browse through Etsy, Pinterest, and other leatherworker's sites. Note that although we often look to others' work for inspiration, we will not make exact copies (knockoffs) of their designs. If they have exactly what you want, by all means, buy it from them. If we wanted to make copies, we'd open a factory in China. No! Our mission is to create a masterpiece, a legacy, especially for you, that you can't get anywhere else.
These photos are examples of our functional, custom
works of art
Set of themed holsters to match a customer's Colt Python and Colt Cobra
Custom show saddle for Seven Oaks Stables, WGC Spotted Saddle Horses
Heirloom Quality
We create our goods with the intention that they will not only be used throughout the lifetime of the owner but also passed down as cherished heirlooms to future generations.
The only leather that meets our quality standard is full-grain, vegetable-tanned
leather from Herman Oak Leather or Wickett & Craig. It molds easily (to complicated shapes such as holsters and saddles) yet retains its shape once set, it carves and tools as smooth as butter, and it dyes and oils to a deep, natural, lustrous finish, that looks more beautiful with age and use (develops a patina). With proper care, this leather wears in, not out. The saddle pictured is ten years old, the first we ever made.
Beware of very misleading leather marketing jargon:
- Leather goods marketed as "genuine leather" are either bonded leather (the chip-board version of leather, used in most commercially-made bible/journal/album covers) or the slightly better bycast leather (used in most "leather" furniture and auto seats).
- Products marketed as "top-grain leather" (marketed as a superior product by the big brand name saddle companies) are inferior to full-grain leather.
