Growing up in the 1980's I always loved to go visit my cousins and hang out at my Uncle Jack's house. As soon as you walked in you knew he was a leatherworker. I can still smell leather anytime I think about visiting my Aunt & Uncles house. He specialized in belts & buckles. He even did work for famous country musicians as well as people from all walks of life. I still have the first belt he made
for me thirty years ago! He was also a good man and one of the few men besides my Dad that I have always looked up to. I was always fascinated by leather working, But I never really showed an interest until later in life. I could sit and talk with Jack for hours, but we would always come back around to leather work and buckles. We even talked about doing some work together and trying to teach me some about the business. Sadly my Uncle passed way too soon. More than anything I just miss hanging out with him and hearing his stories. I wanted to learn to work with leather even more because it's an old school artform that can be very practical too, and to continue a tradtion of leatherwork. Last year my brother made me a gift of a nice collection of tools and I got my start. It was slow at first but as I practiced I got better and better. I have always been artistic and this was something that I loved doing very quickly. I want to honor my uncle and family by doing high quality leatherwork. It's always been my dream to make a living with art, and I have always enjoyed working with my hands. I look forward to making leather products that will last for generations and that can be passed down and become a family tradition for others as well.
