ColsenKeane Leather is celebrating its successful, first decade By Lynn Ascrizzi A rugged, hefty cowhide handbag finished in ColsenKeane's signature "Crazy Horse" style of leather, rubbed with special-purpose waxes to give the cowhide a distressed, "antique" patina that will change color and texture, over time. Like many a small enterprise in its start-up phase, ColsenKeane Leather, LLC of Charlotte, North Carolina, had a humble beginning. “I began making leather goods
The Heritage Brand leather shop in Tumalo, Oregon, where all HB products are manufactured. By Danna Burns-Shaw Did you know that family businesses account for 64% of U.S. gross domestic product? They generate 62% of the country’s employment and account for 78% of all new job creation. Family-owned businesses are the backbone of the American economy! Small businesses employ just over half of U.S. workers. Research also shows that family
Ropin’ and Toolin’ in Johnson City, Texas By Gene Fowler Leather artist Seth Stidham has a front row seat on Main Street of the Texas Hill Country. When he sits at his workbench at Stidham Outfitters and Custom Leather in the two-stoplight town of Johnson City, tooling most any creation that befits the classic Sheridan style, he can look out a big picture window at the endless parade on US
“The Proof Is in the Patina” Leather Products as Distinctive as the Company Name Chris Bray runs the Jersey City leathercrafts company with his younger brother Kirk, whose full name is William Kirkland Bray. Dubbed Billykirk by the brothers' father, Kirk knew way back in high school that he and his brother would someday start a business. By Gene Fowler Brothers Chris and Kirk Bray—owners of the Jersey City-based quality
Signature leatherwork puts Craft & Lore on the map in Northern Idaho By Lynn Ascrizzi The Folkland Weekender Duffel and Rolltop Backpack on holiday at Mt Rainer National Park, Washington state. In the mountainous region of northwestern Idaho, nestled near a 25-mile-long lake, is the small city of Coeur d’Alene. That’s French for “heart of an awl,” a term used by 19th-century fur trappers to describe the business savvy of
By Gene Fowler When leathercraft artist Freddie Matara and his wife Rebecca wanted to relocate from Brooklyn a couple years ago, they looked high and low for something a little off the beaten path. They found the perfect home in Patterson, New York. Built in 1875, the structure served as a place of worship until 1960. Today, it serves as the couple's own piece of Henry-David-Thoreau-heaven-on-earth. Leathercraft artist Freddie Matara, best
Anna thinks outside the box in her bag designs. She makes what she would like to carry. By Nick Pernokas In a small leather shop in the town of Lyubertsy, just outside of Moscow, rock music plays in the background while a young woman hand sews her newest creation. The handbag that she’s working on is unique, to say the least. This one-of-a-kind piece isn’t typical of the run-of-the-mill, leather
Maine artist’s start-up enterprise leads to custom designs witha distinct sense of place By Lynn Ascrizzi It is no mere coincidence that the leatherwork being created by artist-designer Charlotte Woodman has evolved intoa harmonious synthesis of heritage craftsmanship with clean, functional, modern lines. A big influence on her passion for fine handmade work is rooted in her good fortune to live, since childhood, in the picturesque village of historic Waldoboro,
Lisa Nihiser's Vintage Global Cowgirl Goth Based in the "City of Big Shoulders," as Carl Sandburg described Chicago, Ransack Leather is a one-woman bag-making outfit. Ransacker Lisa Nihiser produces unique, one-of-a-kind creations using new and recycled leather and accented with buckles, conchos, appliques, and other features. By Gene Fowler For Lisa Nihiser of Chicago’s Ransack Leather, it’s all about creativity. The one-woman, bag and clutch company lives up to its
and the Return of the Rugged Gentleman By Gene Fowler “Honor your wild.” It almost seems a travesty to deem such a noble, stirring phrase a mere motto, but in the case of Buffalo Jackson Trading Company, the leather goods and clothing outfit that lays claim to the spirited maxim, the three simple yet profound words are well deserved. This year, the e-commerce establishment, with a lone brick and mortar
