Thanksgiving is upon us and I have much to be thankful for. I have been able to make many cool and unique leather items this year for very appreciative customers. I’m very thankful for people that value my work and allow me to make one of a kind works of functional art!
My World Leather Debut entry, a custom made leather notebook cover.
I’m thankful that carving and making in leather has become a business that I can succeed in. So many people have come to me over the years to make items for special occasions in their lives, be it weddings, special gifts or just unique items they couldn’t find. I’m thankful that this work has allowed me to express the creative fire within me and I’m grateful for the endless sources of inspiration that surround me – nature, people, music, etc. I’m thankful for these inspirations and their ability to keep my work fresh.
I’m thankful for leathercraft!
I’m also thankful for the journey of creating art itself – the messiness, the breakthroughs, the moments of frustration and the ultimate satisfaction of bringing an idea to life and creating something special and unique for my customers. Most of all I’m deeply grateful for the people who connect with my work, who appreciate my efforts, and who support my artistic journey through purchases, encouragement, and kind words. Their engagement validates my passion. And this goes beyond my customers. I’m grateful to my family, friends and mentors for their encouragement. They’ve helped me navigate the ups and downs of this creative business and kept me going when things got tough.
I’m grateful for the wonderful year I’ve had making these unique items and I’m looking forward to many more making all sorts of new and unique items for people. If you are looking for your own unique leather item, contact me to get the process started. I’m eagerly looking forward to my next projects!
Hi all and Happy First Day of Summer! It’s been a busy first half of the year here in the shop and its hard to believe so much of 2024 has already gone by!
Money clip with Celtic knot design
I want to thank all our fantastic customers for the business this year! I’ve been able to make many cool custom leather work projects so far this year, recreating old wallets, making notebooks and belts. And there are some really cool projects coming soon like a recreation of a customer’s favorite handbag that has now worn out. A chef’s knife roll. Some really cool wallets. There are so many cool things that I am very thankful for the opportunity to make, plus some projects I am doing just to expand my own skills and products. I’m particularly excited about some projects that will go beyond the traditional western style floral designs I typically make. I’m looking to expand into different styles of artwork so I hope you will be seeing some different artwork appearing on these pages and on my social media accounts.
If you are interested in having some custom leather work made for you, just let me know here. I would be happy to talk to you about what you need and what you envision, and I love making your vision into a real leather item that will last you for years to come.
While going through some of my old pictures on my computer I ran across images of this notebook I made twelve years ago. I had forgotten I had even made a notebook like this.
Custom Leather Notebook With Oak Leaf Designs
This was a custom leather notebook made to order. I really like oak leaf carvings and I don’t get to make them as often as I should. Oak leaves are traditionally a symbol of strength and they used to be very common decorations for stone buildings, furniture and yes leather carving.
I’ve made many different carvings using oak leaves, from wallets to notebooks, but one thing I’ve never made is an oak leaf carved belt. If you’re out there reading this and that sounds like a cool idea to you, contact me and let me know. I would be happy to make someone a oak leaf belt and would probably give you a discount to do it too just because I think it would be a cool project.
Custom Leather Notebooks
Custom leather notebooks used to be my speciality and it’s what I started out making for people. My very first custom orders were for custom leather notebooks like the on shown above. These notebooks were almost always laced around the edges like the one shown here because at the time I didn’t know how to hand sew leather. But I also liked the look and I still make some projects like this. Most of the notebooks had western floral designs on them but every once in a while I would get to make a Celtic knot or oak leaf design like this one.
Close up of oak leaf carving on leather.
If you have a need for a custom leather notebook, leather journal or wedding guest book, please let me know. I’m always happy to make leather notebooks and journals for people. Let me know what ideas you have for your design and I will do everything I can to make your idea come to life.
April 26th is know as World Leather Day, a day to celebrate the quality, beauty and versatility of full grain leather. Leather can be a sound choice as a more sustainable up cycled product that is more environmentally friendly than some alternatives like plastics.
Hand Carved Leather Notebook
Leather is one of the oldest products that man has made and it’s still very useful to this day. From clothing to boots to wallets, full grain leather still has many key uses in modern society. It is a versatile and durable product that outperforms and outlasts many modern materials like plastics or synthetic fibers. By replacing plastics and other synthetic polymer based fibers leather can help keep micro-plastics out of the environment and the food chain. Also full grain quality leather can be repaired to extend it’s lifetime or it can be recycled or up cycled into other products, further reducing it’s environmental impact.
All leather is actually a byproduct of the meat industry. Leather starts off as an animal hide that would be discarded in a landfill if it wasn’t converted to a useful product. While the tanning process does produce waste chemicals the industry has made great strides on minimizing their waste and treating their contaminated water runoff to mitigate environmental impacts. The tanning industry has made great strides in reducing their carbon and environmental footprint in recent years.
Full Grain Leather’s Impact
Whether it’s a leather garment, a leather boot or a carved leather notebook like the one shown above, the environmental impact that genuine full grain leather can have on the world should not be dismissed. There is still a wide variety of uses for leather in our modern world and it’s a material that should be embraced. Here on World Leather Day we celebrate this most versatile of materials and how it continues to improve and enhance our daily lives.
I was at my local library yesterday and ran across a book called “Art of the Buckle” by Jim Arndt and Mary Emmerling. It’s a pictorial book depicting various kinds of custom and handmade belt buckles. Many are silver with mounted stones like turquoise.
This book caught my eye because of the silver and turquoise work but also when I opened it I ended up in a section of hand engraved silver work for Ranger belt sets. The artistry was definitely eye catching and in ways it was inspiring too. It definitely made me want to build a Ranger style belt for myself!
Custom leather belts have long been a part of the customer leather work we do here at C and B Leather. I’ve made floral carved belts, geometric stamped designs and even belts with tooled mountain scenes. Since my early days, making belts for customers has been a part of my work. Looking at a book like this is inspiring because I look at the various buckle designs and wonder ‘what kind of belt would I make to match this buckle’? The artwork on these buckles can definitely make me think about leather art designs for custom belts that I never would have thought of before.
If you are interested in a custom belt contact us to get the process started. We take your measurements and make a belt specifically for you. You can also choose from our existing floral or geometric designs or present us with your design ideas and we’ll do our best to make them come to life. For more information about what goes into making custom leather belts check out this blog post for more details.
If you are interested in getting a copy of this book you can get in on Amazon here. Please note I am also an Amazon Associate and I earn commissions on qualifying purchases.
I didn’t want all of February to get by without making a post. So today I want to take advantage of leap day to post about a very talented saddle maker and one of my main influences, Jesse Smith.
The video below was filed more than a decade ago but Jesse is still at work making saddles and other leather goods. Jesse is a master saddle maker who has made hundreds of saddles over his career and is responsible for training dozens and dozens of aspiring saddle makers over the years.
While I am not a saddle maker (I would love to make one someday though!) Jesse did teach me much of the basics of floral carving when I was starting out and I learned the style of floral carving I make, called the Northwest Style of floral carving, from him. I owe a lot of my style and success to Jesse.
Floral carving in leather.
This is an example of my own carving in the Northwest Style of floral carving.
In many ways saddle making is the pinnacle of leather work. It involves all the techniques for solid construction of a working leather item and must withstand the elements. It can incorporate the highest forms of leather art in the carvings and decorations that adorn the saddle. It also is an important piece of safety equipment as both the rider’s and the horse’s health and safety can depend on how well it functions. It really brings all the skills and techniques of leather work into one project.
Jesse has spent a lifetime developing his skills and knowledge, and he has always been happy to share that knowledge with others. He has been a teacher for many years and has influenced some of the best makers in our field. I am very thankful to have had him as a teacher and to call him a friend.
Just a quick reminder that our special offer on custom leather wallets will end this Saturday, Jan 27th at midnight. You can still get a 15% discount if you contact us before then and get your order in place, and we will guarantee to have the wallet finish in time for Valentine’s Day.
Blue leather clutch wallet.
You can order a customized leather wallet and get a discount on it too! Just contact us now to get the process started.
THERE ARE LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE in our order books for this event. Spots in promotions like this tend to fill up quickly so let us know as soon as you can what you would like to have made for the special someone in your life. And if you need any ideas be sure to visit our wallet page in our shop to check out some pre-made items we have in stock.
We can make you many different styles of clutch wallets, bifold wallets and other custom leather wallets. Talk to us today about the special artwork or personalization you would like for your loved one and we will do everything we can to make it happen!
Custom Leather Wallets 15% off!
Now through January 27th! Offer valid on new custom orders only. Preexisting custom orders and Etsy shop listing are excluded. Get your order in today by contacting us!
Happy New Year! May everyone have a happy and prosperous 2024!
I would like to take this moment to thank all our customer’s for the year just passed. 2023 was a great year of new and different projects, and some requests for some pretty cool custom leather items. It was a joy to make all these things for each of you out there and I look forward to many more custom orders in the coming year.
Custom Leather Belt with Vine Design
Last year was a great year for orders for custom leather belts, custom leather wallets and even a few custom leather notebooks and journals. In addition my customers came up with some very unusual custom leather work items, like a leather business card holder and a special bifold wallet with a money clip attached to the back. All of these projects were fun challenges to make my customer’s ideas become a reality.
Money clip with Celtic knot design
Thank you for all your Custom Leather Work orders!
So thank you all for your custom orders this past year! It was a pleasure making all your ideas for custom leather items a reality! These challenges are what make this business such fun and a challenge. Each custom leather item is a chance to make something unique and long lasting for each customer. It’s a chance to make a functional work of art that will last a lifetime and be handed down to the next generation.
We’re still here working away furiously trying to finish up those last minute Christmas orders. It’s been a busy season and I’m very thankful for all your orders and the trust you put in me in bringing your custom leather requests to life. Making custom leather notebooks, wallets and belts is what I do and it’s been a joy to make all the things I have this holiday season!
Custom Leather Belt with Vine Design
It’s too late to order anything for Christmas this year but our order books are open for January and February 2024. Let us know if there is something you would like made for you and I will be happy to discuss this with you. Contact me here to get the process started today!
Fall had come to town and the saddle shop was busy with the mix of new orders and repairs that had built up over the summer of hard work. It was a busy time for Bill who worked as an apprentice in the shop. He did a lot of the repairs under the watchful eye of Frank, the head saddle maker.
Hand Stitching a Leather Wallet with a traditional saddle stitch.
This year seemed particularly busy, with lots of equipment coming for repairs and new orders and such. It was keeping Bill busy with work and some long hours. With the fall days rapidly getting shorter as October came to a close, Bill found himself working into the dark evenings more and more. But he didn’t mind. The extra work meant extra pay and Bill was a hard worker.
The first time it happened it had just gotten dark outside. Bill heard a noise from the back of the shop where the leather was stored. It sounded like someone was ringing a cowbell. At first Bill ignored it as he tried to stitch a new piece of leather to a well worn headstall. The cowbell kept clanging, enough so that it started getting on Bill’s nerves. He walked to the back storage area expecting that Frank or Toby would be pulling a prank on him. Toby was particularly known as the shop prankster.
But when Bill got back to the leather storage racks no one was there. And he couldn’t find a cowbell either. He walked around the shop and didn’t find anyone. He eventually found Frank and Toby out front of the shop talking to one of the neighboring business owners. Very strange…..
The next few days were quiet and uneventful. But then a couple of days before Halloween it happened again. This time it was later in the evening, and Bill was working late itaking apart an old saddle. Working late alone. He knew Frank, who was an early riser and liked to start his days early, had gone home about an hour ago. Toby had left about the same time.
While working to take off some of the old worn leather he heard it again. The cowbell. Just a ding – ding – ding. Then silence. Then he hear foot steps. No, more like a clopping sound that hooves make on a hard surface..
This time Bill didn’t hesitate. He hurried back to the storage area where he had heard the noise. This time he was going to catch whomever was pulling the prank.
No one was there.
Bill looked around confused. He was certain he had heard the bell and the banging. He looked though the shelves of leather, trying to see if there was a bell somewhere that he hadn’t noticed before. Maybe the wind was finding a way through the walls and ringing a bell, or something that could sound like a bell? Maybe something was banging against the wall?
In his searching Bill somehow caused one of the shelves to shift. From the top of the shelf a rolled up side of leather fell and almost hit Bill on the head. He wasn’t hurt but he didn’t know how he managed to knock it off. Not that it really could have hurt him. It startled him more than anything. He put the side back and went back to his workbench. Nothing more unusual happened that night.
The evenings were quiet in the shop until the night of Halloween. It was a quiet Halloween in the saddle shop and Bill was working late again. He didn’t have anywhere in particular to be that night so he didn’t mind working. Wile finishing up a project he heard it again. A cowbell.
It was coming from the leather storage area again, and this time heheard the clopping sound loudly too. In fact is sounded a lot like hooves. The bell was ringing loudly and it sounded like someone had let a bull loose in the storage room. An angry bull.
Before Bill could do anything to check what was going on, the lights in the shop went out. And then he heard what sounded like a bull charging towards him.
Frank found Bill the next morning when he came into work.
No one could figure out what had happened. Bill looked like he had been trampled. Like he had been caught in a stampede and run over by several cows. One appeared to have very statically placed a hoof right into his heart. Yet there was no evidence the body had been moved and nothing else in the shop had been bothered, except for a bunch of leather hides that had been knocked down in the storage room.
