Etsy is a great place to browse for inspiration, gifts, and handmade goods! While I always find great new-to-me shops every time I browse, there are just some that stand out. When I stumbled upon
Mesa Dreams Leatherwork, I was immediately drawn to the craftsmanship and creativity in their leather goods. Brandy and Djerek are a wife and husband team that creates guitar/camera straps, keychains, luggage tags, bookmarks and even jewelry.
You can read about how Brandy and Djerek got started on the
The Etsy Blog. Here's an excerpt from the post that explains their leatherworking process:
"My process begins when I hand cut, bevel and shape leather from large
hides. I use steel tools and a mallet to create my designs, hand-draw
maps, tool textural reliefs, and stamp custom text one letter at a time.
Once the pieces are cut, stamped and tooled, I move to the staining
table where I carefully rub natural, water-based color into the leather,
allowing for its unique grain and texture to shine through. Once the
pieces have dried, I buff them with a soft piece of sheep’s wool, and
add a layer of natural matte varnish. Belts, camera straps and the like
also get a coat of natural conditioning creme and finishing wax. Next
all the pieces move to the finishing table, where I add grommets, snaps,
rivets, clips, laces, key rings, and buckles. Finally we wrap each
piece in either a cello sleeve or a stamped muslin bag with a special
card containing information on how to keep the leather looking good with
loving use. Every receipt gets a handwritten personal note no matter
how busy we get, and then we pop it into the sunny yellow mailer and off
it goes!"
Their shop is full of pieces that can be customized/personalized for you. If not Brandy says, "I am up for making just about anything, even if it's not in the shop!
Just contact me and let's see what we can come up with, just for you :)"
Be sure to check out Mesa Dreams Leatherworks on:
Etsy
Facebook
Twitter
