"When I get to make a leather project, it allows me to escape a little. I get to clear my mind and it gives me a chance to reset. It keeps me in line - mentally and physically."-Jeremy Unruh of Fireruh Leather By Liisa Andreassen While his passion is fighting fires, he has a burning desire to work with leather too. Jeremy Unruh, a battalion chief with the Hutchinson Fire
Revival of an Era By Liisa Andreassen Planned obsolescence. That’s something that Sebastian Sandersius, founder of Ezra Arthur, a brand and manufacturer of high fashion casual lifestyle accessories for men, has trouble with and so he decided to do something about it. The idea for Ezra Arthur was first conceived while sitting in a jazz bar in Brussels. It was 2010 and Sebastian found himself inspired by the city’s fashion
A Top-End Texas Leathercraft Hand By Gene Fowler When Clint Wilkinson was born in Denton, Texas, his grandfather Weldon Burgoon bartered a custom-made saddle to pay the doctor bill. Now, 36 years later, Clint carries on the family tradition of leathercraft arts: producing handmade bags, briefcases, wallets and other finely wrought creations in the same location where Weldon’s Saddle Shop served North Texas cowgirls and cowboys for more than half
The Great-Great-Grandpa of Backpacks By Gene Fowler Camille Poirier arrived in Duluth, Minnesota, in the winter of 1870 with “my little stock of leather and tools.” The 32-year-old had learned the shoemaking trade in his native Canada. Like “almost every boy in lower Canada,” he wrote in his autobiography, Camille “had visions of the U.S. as a land of wealth.” At the time Poirier arrived, Duluth, a port on Lake
Arrow & Board creates a new generation of custom leather goods By Lynn Ascrizzi It comes as no surprise that the new moderns — that is, the 20-and-30-somethings — are crazy about high-tech products that fit their digitized lifestyles. But the real jaw-dropper is that this tech-savvy generation also values fine products that are traditionally handcrafted. This trend is evident in the growing success of the three-year-old, artisan leathercraft business,
Leather for Artists By Nick Pernokas In the world of leather, accolades are given to those who can create the most unique or beautiful decoration on an object. So much the better if it’s functional. But there is another school of thought in design, and that is beauty through simplicity. This is hard to define, but the Japanese have a word for it: Shibumi. In Toledo, Spain, there is a
[gallery ids="1424,1429" type="rectangular"] The Forgotten Leather By Nick Pernokas Don Bailey was checking out the saddle vendors at the Denver Market. Don was interested in saddles in a big way as he was the owner and curator of the Bailey Saddle Shop and Saddle Museum in Simla, Colorado. The museum had around 400 saddles from as far away as Afghanistan, but Don’s main interest was in Colorado saddle makers. As
By Gene Fowler If you’ve ever been out West, you know the land is touched with God’s glory and grace. You know the majestic expanse of mountains, desert, rivers and plains speaks to your heart and soul. You know it’s a place where folks have for centuries ventured to spread out and explore; to find themselves and become who they always dreamed they might be in the finest inner reaches
By Danna Burns-Shaw Jeramiah Kapp has led an adventurous life to which most “homebodies” could not relate. Born in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri on a cattle ranch in 1974, he moved to St. Louis in 1982 and would spend the next 18 years living a somewhat atypical upbringing. Attending Webster University in Webster Groves (a suburb of St. Louis), known as the “study abroad” school, Jeramiah began his studies
Innovator in Gunleather By Nick Pernokas It was after the War. People in late 1940s New York City finally had some spending money for “fun.” One of the places they went for fun was Madison Square Garden. Looking back at the Garden now, partially hidden behind Manhattan store fronts causing it to blend in with the surrounding city, it may seem to pale in comparison to modern sports arenas. To
