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The seeds of Old
School Leather Company were planted in the early 1970s. After
becoming pregnant with my younger sister, my mom received a Tandy
Leathercraft kit from dad. The kit was to "give mom something
to do" while she was stuck in the house. Both mom and dad
got much use from the deluxe starter kit. In fact, the "kit-in-a-box"
evolved into a workbench in the garage and Custom Leathercraft
was born. It was not long after that mom and dad were personalizing
Name Bracelets for every kid in my school at the Dog Patch Daze
Scott Lake Elementary School Carnival!
Mom and dad moved
along to develop their own style and to display their fine goods
at some of the premier art and craft festivals in Florida and
along the East Coast. Dad eventually quit his corporate lifestyle
at IBM and Custom Leathercraft became a full-time venture. Meanwhile,
some things remained the same. Every item made was cut, tooled,
and dyed by hand.
Meanwhile, I was
graduating from college in the early 90s without a clue what to
do and no motivation to do it. After a few years of dead-end jobs,
I met the inspiration in my life; a free spirit named Jami and
her little boy Gaige. I noticed Jami for the first time from far
across the room at a bar in Ybor City (yes! it is possible to
find love in a bar!) After a long friendship, we quickly fell
in love and in January 1995, we decided to make a fresh start
in Washington state. Our 1978 Plymouth Volare Station Wagon made
it to Tucson, Arizona before losing third gear. While we were
"stuck," Jami's birthday came up. We were living on
a wing and a prayer with nothing to spare. Our first Christmas
together, my favorite gift from Jami was a macrame hemp necklace
she handmade. So, I spent a couple bucks on a 4oz. bottle of Fiebing's
leather dye and went to work on a handmade gift. I had a little
scrap, a few carving tools, and a few Craftool 3D stamps thanks
to mom and dad's encouragement to do SOMETHING. I made Jami a
belt decorated with a simple geometric design and the Zodiac signs
for Gaige, Jami, and me. The "special" aspect of this
gift was that I left a blank space to be filled with the astrological
sign of the baby we planned to have some day. The belt was fastened
with a tooled mushroom buckle. It was very rough and unfinished
looking, but Jami loved it. She was also intrigued with the concept
of leatherworking. I showed her the little I knew, and within
a week we had stick barrettes and bic light covers for sale on
the sidewalks of downtown Tucson. Our work has been in a constant
state of evolution since then. Jami's belt was finally finished
when our second son, Jayan, was born in August 2000.
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To the left are a
few pics of the belt that set the wheels of Old School Leather
Co. in motion. Notice in the bottom picture, the Leo Stamp does
not show the contrast that can be seen in the rest of the belt.
That is because the stamp was placed after the belt was Block
Dyed. The belt was made January, 1995. The Leo stamp was placed
in August, 2000. These photos were taken March, 2003.
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Today we display
our goods at some of the most prestigious art and craft festivals
in Florida, Georgia, and Pennsylvania as well as here on our web
site. We hope you enjoy your visit here and will appreciate the
degree of love, pride, and craftsmanship that we insert into all
our fine, handmade leather goods.
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