Beginnings
I’ve always enjoyed making things with my hands. I enjoyed the attention to detail, the refining to make it better, and the challenge to create something new.
Somewhere around 8 years ago I needed to pick up a hobby that would act as a creative outlet for my life. More specifically, I needed something I could start then finish, as much of my job at the time never felt “finished”. I also new that with whatever hobby I chose, I wanted to be able to make something that had meaning, value, and if given as a gift, made the person feel like they really got something worth having.
A friend knew I was “shopping” around for this hobby and one day asked me if I would ever consider leather working. I knew very little about it at the time but it sparked an interest. Fast forward a month and I had made my very first wallet.
It was truly terrible but I was hooked. I quickly leaned in and began watched video after video from master leather craters all over the world, experimenting with their many techniques.
Since then, I have made countless gifts of belts, wallets, bags, Journals, knife sheaths, to even “check book covers” and many of them, highly customized and personalized to communicate one thing, “you’re valuable to me”.
Which is probably one of the pieces I enjoy most about this craft. Helping people say “you’re valuable to me” by giving something that lasts a lifetime.
For those that have let me be a part of that, I’m truly grateful and honored.
Kehl