Leather Carving As An Art Form

Carving or embossing leather is an art that is as old as man’s use of animal hides. It was probably something that mankind learned to do as soon as they learned how to tan leather. Leather carving as an art form has been embraced by almost all cultures in Earth’s history, each providing their own unique cultural spins.

The image of the purse above is one that we made that uses the Western floral carving style that was developed by saddle makers in the US. Though this is a common leather carving style seen these days in the US, it’s not the only style we’ve made.

This notebook has a traditional Celtic Trinity Knot design flanked by other Celtic Knot designs in the corners. Celtic knot designs in leather, as well as in stone, wood or on paper, have been a popular art form for many centuries, and still hold their allure today in leather art. Celtic designs are very popular to this day and we are often requested to make customer leather items that use Celtic knots or images.

One of the most common forms of making leather into art is by stamping a design into it. Geometric designs can be simple lines to complex geometric forms. Most often they are stamped into the leather with a single tool that is used to make multiple impressions across the surface of the leather.

This particular design on a minimalist leather wallet was achieved with two separate tools being used together across the wallet’s outer surface. It’s a complex task that takes a lot of skill to execute well.

Custom leather work is what we do at C and B Leather and bringing your artwork ideas to life is our goal with every project.

Bob Blea, owner, C and B Leather