Leatherworking

I enjoy creating unique pieces where art and practical craftsmanship come together through leather. Leather is an incredibly versatile material, which allows me to keep exploring new techniques, new products, and new ways to express creativity.

Leather can become almost anything. Rather than limiting myself to a fixed catalogue, I enjoy creating both functional and decorative pieces — from horse tack and everyday carry items to artwork and fully custom commissions.

To bring these ideas to life, I use a wide range of tools and techniques.

Techniques

Leatherworking encompasses a wide range of techniques, many of which can be combined within a single project.

I carve, tool, and stamp leather to create detailed designs and patterns. These can then be enhanced through dyeing, painting, or other colouring techniques to add depth, contrast, and character. Finally, I stitch, assemble, braid, and finish the various components to transform them into a complete piece.

Carving leather is one of my favourite decorative techniques. This process allows me to bring any imagery onto the leather, by carefully cutting each line, as if I’m drawing, and bringing depth and dynamics into the design using a wide range of specialized stamps, each with their own shape and purpose.

Tools and Materials

For my work, I almost exclusively use vegetable-tanned leather.

Most leather encountered in everyday life is chrome-tanned, a type of leather processed using chromium salts. This is the leather commonly found in furniture, clothing, and many store-bought bags.

The leather I work with, vegetable-tanned leather, is produced using natural tannins derived from plants such as tree bark and olive leaves. This process creates leather with a naturally pale colour, often close to skin tone. Compared to chrome-tanned leather, it is generally firmer, stronger, and highly durable.

One of the qualities that makes vegetable-tanned leather so special is its ability to be shaped and worked while damp. It can be carved, stamped, tooled, and moulded with ease, taking impressions readily and retaining them as it dries. This makes it exceptionally well suited for detailed craftsmanship and sculptural work.

Vegetable-tanned leather is typically more expensive, but it is also a material with a long tradition — historically used for belts, horse tack, and even armour. When crafted well and properly cared for, products made from quality vegetable-tanned leather can last for decades.

Leatherworking is as much about tools as it is about leather. Over time, I have built a growing collection of specialised tools, each with its own purpose and character. From knives used for cutting and skiving to carving and stamping tools that create texture and detail, these tools allow me to shape leather with care and precision rather than relying on mass-production methods.

Want to see more finished pieces? Visit the portfolio.

Interested in a custom-made piece of your own? Learn more on the commissions page.