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 my neighbor,” she said. 

But when it comes to the unique inner landscape which stirs the soul and brings direction to one’s lifework, Mackenzie, 25, described a black leather suitcase given to her years ago by an uncle who had experience working with leather. 

As fate would have it, the mysterious black suitcase contained handfuls of leather tools — edgers, conchos, key fobs and stampers. Amazingly, the suitcase also held old, how-to leathercraft books, like Big Leather Secrets, a pattern book by F.O. Baird. And, there were books by renowned leatherworker, Al Stohlman, whose works include, The Art of Hand Sewing Leather, and Leathercraft Tools: How to Use Them, How to Sharpen Them, titles that are still sought today. 

At the time, when Mackenzie dug into the classic leather books, she discovered practical data which she still appreciates. “They’re fun to have,” she said. 

She first tried her hand at leatherwork when around age 15. “I played with the old, dusty stuff in the suitcase for a while. Then, I decided do leatherwork for my senior project at East Valley High School, in Spokane. That event occurred around a year after I got the box of tools. The uncle who gave them to me said, ‘Here’s some leather tools for you to play with.’”  

Since she didn’t know how to work with the leather tools, she brought them to Indiana Harness, a local saddle shop in Spokane. The shop’s owner, Clint McGowan, showed her how to use them. “I made a headstall (bridle for a horse). My senior project passed and the teachers said I did very well.”   

DETERMINATION, FOCUS and ENERGY 

Nearly a decade has passed since Mackenzie first wiped the dust off those old leather tools. In fact, she has been working with leather ever since.  

“Leatherwork has been my only source of income, since I was 18,” she said. “I spent one full year in the Spokane saddle shop, where I learned many valuable skills around working with and repairing leather. I learned a lot about tooling. And, I did a lot of the cleaning and putting new strings on saddles. Later, I was able to take saddles apart and do big repairs replacing fenders and sheepskin.”  

Today, she is founder and owner of Arrow M Saddlery, a one-woman shop, as she describes it, where she builds leather items for working cowboys, such as chinks and chaps, breast collars, headstalls, saddlebags, back cinches and the like. She also designs and creates handbags, clutch wallets and other western-style products.   

“To me, working cowboys are not just rodeo cowboys. They’re the ones who actually go out and feed and work the cattle. It’s very hands on. For example, they might be struggling with a cow’s birth process,” she said.  

But her heartfelt passions don’t end there. “I am the mother of three beautiful girls: Ellie Jo, age 10, Dallie, 3, and Laynie, who is almost 2. And, I truly love leather and the cowboy lifestyle. I also have done a lot of saddle repairs and countless amounts of tack,” she said. 

Currently, her on-going goal is to become a fully-fledged saddlemaker, a skill that takes extraordinary determination, focus and energy – a discipline many women of child-bearing age can appreciate.  

“I have made one saddle so far,” she pointed out. “I finished that first saddle in 2019, when I was 21, about six weeks before I had my middle child. When I started making two other saddles, I found out that I was pregnant, so I stayed with smaller leather items. I’m still doing tack – 

headstalls and breast collars. But I’ve made one saddle so far, have two in progress and two more waiting to be started.” 

Although tackling so many important responsibilities can cut into her saddlemaking time, she’s sticking with it. “I’d like to get going on that. And, I’m still going to make nice leather belts and other items,” she said, resolutely. 

Her partner, Jake Maurer, a fourth-generation cattle rancher, raises beef cows on a cattle ranch in Edwall. He feeds and owns over 500 head of cattle. Mackenzie puts her energy into the cattle work too.  

“I help with all the cattle. My job complements his job,” she said. “I’m the Arrow M Saddlery brand and Jake owns the Double Arrow Ranch brand. We are constantly product testing as we use our horses to gather and work the cattle. We also sell our homegrown beef to locals. We have a pony for the kids and nine horses for the ranch work.”   

A PRIVATE WORKSHOP 

When Mackenzie first got into leatherwork, she was employed by a saddle shop that did repairs. But now, she mainly creates custom items in her private workshop, which she set up in a converted 17×17-foot living room, based in an old house located on their 1,500-acre ranch in Edwall.  

“This is where I keep my tools, my machines, my big cutting worktable. A lot of people don’t know that I’m here,” she said, which to her is a good thing. “I don’t have people coming through and distracting me,” she explained. 

One of her favorite tools is her Cobra Class 26. “It’s a sewing machine that sews mainly lighter leather. So, I use this for purses, wallets, belts and some lightweight tack,” she explained. She also likes to use a head knife: a round knife with a wooden handle and a big blade that is almost a half-circle. “I use if for cutting out leather patterns and also for skiving,” she said, referring to a crafting process used to reduce the thickness of leather. 

She also pointed out a valuable skill gleaned from repairing leather items. “I have learned the importance of building functional, usable products for real cowboys. If you’re repairing something, you want it fixed and to work, or function. Each product must be able to function and get the job done.”  

And, she is setting larger goals. 

“I also like to do custom work or to build inventory for my website. And, 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.” 

To that end, she has been working on her drawing and tooling patterns. “I am drawing all my own patterns to create my own style and brand,” she said.  

SALES & PROMOTION 

Mackenzie mainly sells from her website, arrowmsaddlery.com. And, she promotes her work regularly on social media, such as Instagram or Facebook. Also, some items are sold by word of mouth.  

“My local neighbors support a lot of my business and I make a lot of gear for them, for people in the surrounding area, about a dozen or more farmers and people who raise cows.”  
 

Meanwhile, what is her biggest challenge regarding the saddle-making goal?  

“Knowing what step to take next,” she said. 

KEEP IN TOUCH 

Arrow M Saddlery  

Mackenzie Crable, founder, owner 

Cell phone: 1-509-939-4511 

Email : arrowmsaddlery@gmail.com 
Web Site :  arrowmsaddlery.com 

Facebook :  arrow m saddlery  

Instagram : arrowmsaddlery