By B. Crawford  Australia is a ripper place with a fair dinkum reputation for sun-soaked beaches, corker landscapes and a western heritage of cattle stations, cowboys and outlaws. But, would ya believe it, the land down under is also home to Long Legged Cowgirls, a top-notch leather shop run by two sheilas who craft mean leather handbags, prettys, clothes and graphic art. Their gear is in hot demand, both here and abroad, but twin sisters Maxine (Max) Clifford and Calinda (Cal) King still have to pay attention to their family farm in Bridgetown, in the South West of Western Australia.&nb ..read more

Stunning Leather Portraits from the Prairies of Western Canada  by Gene Fowler “I have 56 tiny paintbrushes, boil my coffee in a pot, like roping moving things sometimes, shoeing horses, avoiding loud noises and running my truck out of gas,” says Rayanne Alm of Little Smoke Leather Co. in Red Deer County, Alberta, Canada, as an introduction on her Instagram account. Last year, she passed the 10,000 followers mark on her lively dialogue in cyberspace with customers, fellow makers and friends.  Commenters on her page most often rhapsodize about the incredible detail in the portraits o ..read more

Leatherworker builds items for working cowboys, and others, in her one-woman workshop in Washington.  By Lynn Ascrizzi  “I am building my own brand. When people see my work, they will recognize it as mine. I’m in process. It takes some time for people to start recognizing your work. I feel that long-term leatherworkers have their own style.”        — Mackenzie Crable  Mackenzie Crable lives and works in the small town of Edwall, located about 35 miles from Spokane, Washington. “It’s very rural, very windy, with lots of farming land. I can’t see m ..read more

By Nick Pernokas  The beautiful country around Middleburg, Virginia, is home to the oldest fox hunt in America. Since the early 1800s, riders have ridden to the hounds here; red coats on gray and brown horses making a stunning sight in the morning mist as they stream across the countryside without opening a gate. Tradition is important here and it manifests itself in many ways. One of these is a leather shop that has its roots with those that know the thrill of the airborne equine, but one that has also moved on to be revered by those that just appreciate the romance of it. It is a succe ..read more

By B. Crawford  What would you do if you had an incredible job in an industry that you loved and were living the high life? Well, you might do what Michael Williams did. Quit your job and start a leather working business.  “It’s like jumping off a cliff; you gotta keep flapping those wings. I could get down at times, but what good is that going to do me. NONE. I always know we are going to get through to the other side.”  Michael started flapping his wings in 2015, and about five years ago he started his own leather shop, Calavera Tool Works. Today, Calavera Tool Works is best ..read more

Mountain-inspired leatherwork company sets its sights on high-quality     By Lynn Ascrizzi   ”People like to feel the leather. We can show, how a product ages on a wallet or handbag or other essential item — that it’s part of its beauty.”        — Svein Staaby  Like many small businesses, Ansgar Leather Co., based in St. Louis, Missouri, grew slowly at first.  “When I started doing leather work, I was just looking for a hobby,” recalled Svein Staaby, 33, cofounder of the leather business with his wife, Jill Staaby, 31.  The company was officially launched ..read more

Leatherwork as the Hobby that Hones and Heals  by Gene Fowler  Adrian Petersen has a problem. Actually, he has a lot of problems. And he embraces each one, ravishes them, devours them, adorns his life and world with their relative solutions. The 32-year-old designer based in Stockholm, Sweden, even named his leather accessories brand, Abersome, after the pile o’ probs that vex all makers on the journey from conception to construction. As he explained in a recent Zoom interview, “Aber means problem in Swedish.”  With a full-time job designing military bags made of nylon and plas ..read more

Oklahoma couple gives special-occasion leatherwork a colorful artisan touch. By Lynn Ascrizzi  “The more confidence we can give the customer, the better. We are building a trust. We have a lot of interaction with our customers. We try to create what they’ve dreamed of. ”       — Monty White, co-owner, artisan, Rockin Diamonds Leather    Monty and Lanette White, married for 15 years, are co-owners of their family business, Rockin Diamonds Leather. Gifted artisans, they also have a talent for working well together, which many couples might like to emulate.  “We both t ..read more

By Nick Pernokas  Clay Miller was raised by an artistic family in Farmington, New Mexico. He did a few leather projects at a young age, but then became interested in sports at school. Clay’s dad was a racehorse trainer and Clay worked for him after school.  “I was going to follow in his footsteps and become a racehorse trainer,” remembers Clay.  By the Nineties, Clay was working full time in the racehorse business. There was a lot of downtime at the tracks, especially if it wasn’t a race day. When the Millers were at tracks away from home, like El Paso and Denver, they really d ..read more

Andrew Boomer rounds out a high school teaching career with an ever-evolving creative sideline.  By Lynn Ascrizzi  It all began with “a cheap, mass-produced pair of spur straps,” said Andrew Boomer of Bluff Dale, Texas, as he began to recount the seemingly accidental way that leatherwork became an ongoing passion. “The straps broke one day. I decided to try my hand at building a pair.”   At the time, he was about 20 years young, dating a girl and attending Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas. “I bought some kind of veg-tan leather and a basketweave tool from a lit ..read more