Tag: leathercraft

Happy National Leathercraft Day!

Leather Carving, Leather Construction, Leather Stamping

Did you know that August 15th is National Leathercraft Day?  It is a celebration founded in 2018 by Tandy Leather to celebrate the rich history, artistry, and skills of leathercrafting.

Stamping a basket stamp design on a leather wallet.
Stamping a basket weave design into leather.

So how to celebrate this day that is so important to what I do?  For starters if you have a Tandy Leather store near you, try stoping in to find a cool kit to build, discover some really cool leather,  or discover the rich world of leather crafting if your just getting started.  They also have a large sale going on this weekend to promote Leathercraft Day.  There are also on line leather suppliers like Springfield Leather that are having massive sales for National Leathercraft Day to promote this day dedicated to the leather craft.

Also, check out the resources section of my website for tutorials and tips on leather crafting.  You can also follow me on social media (on Instagram @bobbleacandbleather or on Facebook @C and B Leather) to see more tips, techniques or just to follow my work.  I’m also open to any questions you may have.

Creating in leather can be a very rewarding hobby or even a side business.  Making leather and creating things out of leather is probably one of the oldest skills known to man but despite that fact crafting items in leather is still as important today as it has ever been.  Leather is also an up cycled material.  Cow hides are a byproduct of the meat industry and if they were not made into leather they would end up as a waste product in a landfill.  So by creating in leather you are putting an age old product to good use, and you just might be making a work of art.

If there is anything I can craft for you from leather contact me and we can come up with a way to make your vision a reality!

Happy National Leathercraft Day August 15th!

Leather Carving, Leather Construction, Leather Stamping

National Leathercraft Day was created in 2018 by Tandy Leather as a way of celebrating the art and craft of working with leather.

Hand Sewing Leather
Hand Stitching a Leather Wallet with a traditional saddle stitch.

Leather has a long history going back to the stone age.  Leather was probably one of the first materials mankind learned to work and take advantage of, and it’s been a major part of all our lives ever since.  As time has moved along leather work has developed from being utilitarian to being an art form and form of expression.

Leathercraft is still a viable craft practiced by people all over the world.  For some of us it is even a business and profession.  But it’s also a hobby that is open to all ages and skill levels.  4H has classes for kids to start working with leather as do Boy and Girl Scouts.  There are also leather supply stores like Tandy or Standing Bear’s Trading Post that have regular in person classes for people to try their hand at various skills.  There are Leather Guilds across the US and the world dedicated to expanding the art form and that have regular classes or meetings with the purpose of educating people who are interested in the hobby.  And of course there are many online resources like videos and tutorials, including several here on my site.

So today in honor of National Leathercraft Day I invite you to try out leathercraft for the first time or work on improving some skill. Maybe you would like to make yourself a belt.  Maybe you want to make a sheath for a knife you have.  Maybe you have always wanted to learn carving or stamping leather..  Give it a try!  I have tutorials here on my site and Tandy Leather sells some of the best beginners books out there. There are tons of video resources by leather suppliers.  Springfield Leather is not only a good source of supplies but they are one of the largest producers of online teaching videos.  There are a lot of resources available to everyone these days and picking up the craft is easier now than ever.

For my own little contribution to National Leathercraft Day, I’ve got a free carving design for you.  This is a corner floral design you can feel free to use however you would like.  

Floral Carving Design free to use.
Floral Corner Design

I’ve included a PDF version of the design here.  You can download the JPEG image above or the PDF version by clicking the link below:

Corner Design

Use it however you like.  And if I get enough requests I might even do my own carving tutorial video for that design.  Enjoy the day and get to the bench and make something!