Workshop: Green Mountain National Forest

“We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us even in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavour. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve
and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.”
-Thoreau, Walden

For the past couple months, I’ve taken my workshop on the road. I have been living gypsy style throughout the Green Mountain National Forest while working on conservation projects in Vermont. There is something refreshing about working in new mediums and sleeping in a tent. I’m still doing my leatherwork and fulfilling the orders that come in, but when you work and live in the forest utility and functionality changes. This change has incited a shift in how I am designing some of my products.

I think everyone should, at some point, get back to basics. Drink water from a spring, bathe in cold mountain brooks, and remember what the cold feels like.

With that, I don’t have any photos of designs to share. I figure that the least I can do is share some pretty pictures I have collected over the last three months.

Materials: Maine Thread Company

The word ‘threads’ in a company’s name often denotes its hipster wares including but not limited to: raw denim, wool flannels, man tanks, and XXL sweater vests. Let’s set this straight, the Maine Thread Company is not one of the aforementioned brands.

Founded in 1958, this small waxed cord manufacturer started off as a supplier to the New England show making industry. Today, the US made threads and cotton chords are shipped all over the world. They offer a myriad of colors (31, in fact) and sizes, as well as some really nifty canvas tool bags.
Quality in stitching thread is key to making a long lasting leather product. All the stitching you see in my products is done with waxed polycord from Maine Thread Company. You can find their online retail shop here.

Maine Thread Canvas Bags

EDC: Card Holder

To me, leather work is all about showing off the materials you have.  Stitching and hardware must play their part in design and utility, but good leather is a blank canvas just waiting to be used.

On a daily basis I don’t carry much more than ID, ski pass, credit card and some cash, why carry more? The EDC Card Holder is designed to carry up to 5 cards and cash, leaving no bulk in your back pocket. Sewn from a single piece of leather, this slim wallet only has stitching where needed.

Hand cut, sewn and finished in Killington, Vermont.

3″x3-3/4″

Materials: Herman Oak Veg-tan, natural waxed thread (Maine Thread Company), raw beeswax (Nature’s Flames)

-$40

Please see my  contact information to place an order. Click here for Hoggy Leather’s standards and guarantee.

EDC: Copper Belt

EDC Copper Belt:

Hey all,

I’ve been designing and working on Hoggy Leather’s EDC Copper Belt for the last week or so. This 1-1/2″ Herman Oak natural vegetable tanned belt is clad with a hand hammered copper belt keeper and matching buckle. As with all Hoggy Leather products, this belt will only get better with time.
My goal for this project was to create a belt simple enough to wear during daily (and nightly) affairs, but would stand out from your garden variety leather belt. The Herman Oak leather will age into a beautiful chestnut brown after it is broken in. The unfinished copper with age in some areas while remaining polished on the most active parts, creating a distinct contrast. Waxed hand stitching will keep buckle and keeper from shifting during walking, biking, or competitive eating.

Materials: Herman Oak Vegetable Tanned Leather, Natural Waxed Thread by Maine Thread, Raw Beeswax by Nature’s Flames, Hand Hammered Copper Belt Keeper by Hoggy Leather, Copper Finished Buckle.

-$65
Please see my  contact information to place an order. Click here for Hoggy Leather’s standards and guarantee.
Note: I only found one local company that could source copper belt buckles. It was not feasible for me to shift the cost of these artisan made copper buckles onto all of my customers. If you would like a 100% made in the USA EDC Copper Belt, please let me know and we can work something out.

Belt Keeper Close Up:

Materials: Nature’s Flames 100% New England Beeswax

Beeswax is an essential part of leather working. It acts as a waterproofing agent for thread, protecting and helping to ensure long lasting stitches. As always, I set out in search of a (fairly) local company that would be able to supply raw beeswax. After a phone call here and an email there, I stumbled upon Nature’s Flame, a company based out of Bowdoin, Maine. Natures Flame is grounded in fine candle making but sources their 100% pure beeswax from New England apiaries. Imported beeswax, like heroin,  is more often than not cut by sketchy chemicals such as paraffin wax, benzene (a carcinogen), toluene, alkanes, alkenes, and others (Massoudi, R. and Hamidi, A.(2009).HAZARDOUS EMISSIONS BY SOME TYPES OF CANDLES, The American Chemical Society publication. Summary at: http://www.reeis.usda.gov/web/crisprojectpages/0206030-soybean-candles-for-healthy-life-and-well-being.html).
My interactions with Nature’s Flame were steeped in refreshing New England kindness and professionalism. The owner, Bethany, even had to call be back because she was caught in a March snow storm; talk about New England problems.

To check out Nature’s Flame’s and 100% beeswax and candle offerings visit their Etsy store (http://www.etsy.com/shop/NaturesFlame).

Check out the 1oz beeswax blocks:

 

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Materials: Herman Oak Tannery

Growing up in Vermont, I wasn’t often exposed to how leather was made. In fact, I never learned how it was made.  Here is a (rather lengthy) video about where the leather for my products comes from, Herman Oak Tannery.

Yes, it is produced in the US. ‘Murika

Project One: Copper Belt Keeper

Recently I’ve been thinking about how well leather ages and how few raw materials age in a similar manner. Copper is one of these materials; there is even a name for the coloring it accumulates,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patina. With that in mind, I spent a couple of hours whipping up an in-house designed and crafted copper belt keeper. This will end up in a belt (obviously) that I’m making for a good friend. Tune in for the final project, leather and hardware were shipped today and should be here in a couple of days.
Raw Copper:
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Front:
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Back:
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