It has taken me many years to create the kind of quality leather goods my customers and I have come to expect and I hope you, like them, will find them worth it.
Here is a brief description of my philosophy as a craftsman, largely taught to me by my father (a craftsman, himself, and jack-of-all-trades), and some of my processes:
My Dyeing Process:
"Sometimes, to make something right, you gotta' make it yourself."
This is something I heard very early on from my father, and I think it instilled in me a confidence in taking on something new, and a willingness to make a lot of mistakes, which is invaluable not only in learning a craft, but in life itself.
I hand pick most of my leather hides from a local supplier whom I have known for over 15 years. Most of my leather goods (including The Standard and Signature pipe pouches) are made from natural, undyed, vegetable tanned leather, and then hand dyed, by me, using leather dyes I make from my own dye recipes. Why would I do such a crazy thing? Well, because I learned very early on that sometimes you can't get a traditional leather look and feel from modern, commercially finished hides. Often, they have very "plasticky" finishes, that don't let the leather breathe, and will not stand up to the test of time. Using traditional, hand applied techniques, like hand dyeing, conditioning and hand waxing, not only creates a unique finish, pattern and color, but ensures that your leather pouch, wallet or key fob, will last for decades, and still look beautiful after years of daily use.
Does it take longer to make things this way? Yes, definitely. Often, depending on the look and feel I'm going for, dyeing a single hide can take up to 3 days, and that's before any cutting (which is all done by hand), or construction, sewing, edging and finishing. But, a little extra bit of my time now, will ensure that you will enjoy a pipe pouch, or cigar case I made, years from now, and maybe even pass it on to someone who will get just as much pleasure from it as you did. That, alone, to me, is worth it.
I have also, recently, started adding other, high quality, finished leathers to my lineup (as leather finishes have improved quite a bit in the last few years), including American Bison leather, and high quality, oil-tanned hides, but, the majority of the finishes you see, are still made by me, by hand.
My design philosophy:
"Buy the best tool you can buy, and you'll never have to buy it again."
Although we weren't well off, as a kid I remember my Dad saying this quite often, and, even though many times, in my younger years, I had to learn this lesson the hard way, that idea took hold a long time ago, and I have never looked back.
A good leather pipe pouch, like a good pipe, is really like any good tool you own. It should be a joy to use, give you comfort to look at, and most importantly, it should function well, work with the way you naturally move, and say a little something about the kind of person you are.
It can take me as long as 6 months to a year to create a new product. This is because I personally test each and every one of my leather goods before I offer them up to you. I can go through hundreds of sketches, a myriad of prototypes, and lots of everyday use, all for one new item, before it ever sees the light of day. I also give some to my pipe and cigar smoking friends, on online pipe forums and at my local pipe club (I'm one of the original members of the Los Angeles Pipe Club, and I've been a member of Pipesmokersforum.com since I started, so, I've got a lot of those), or to past customers, to get the feedback of experienced people I trust who are in the hobby.
Sometimes, after a lot of time and effort, a product doesn't work out, and sometimes, I hit upon something that works really well (like the Standard and Signature). Often, the simplest designs (like the Gent) are the hardest to come up with, as they force you to trim away any excess and focus just on the essentials and the experience of smoking a pipe. That is, the ritual of smoking a pipe. It is often, in this way I come upon designs, asking myself, "What's the most natural way I would use this pouch?" so, that it feels like a an extension of my hands, and the pipe smoking experience, itself, rather than something you "have to" carry around, just because you smoke a pipe.
It is in this way, that as I grow into the hobby, I constantly strive to improve the way my products are made, and more importantly, experienced, by my customers.
I do this not only because it's the right thing to do by my customers, but, because I have an overall love, and passion, for the hobby. Also, because, as my father would say, "If something is worth doing, it's worth doing right." Thank you, Dad.
Please let me know if you have any questions, would just like to talk about pipes (seriously), and thank you for visiting my Etsy shop.
Frank