Rocky Mountain Leather Show
World Leather Debut
I was proud to be able to compete for the second year in a row at the World Leather Debut competition in Sheridan, Wyoming. This year I submitted two different projects, one of which was the custom holster belt with quiver! We competed with MANY entries from around the world and did very well, but not in the ribbons this year :)
Gunslinger-Style Archery Quiver and Belt
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A customer came to me with the idea of an archery quiver done in a style to look like an old style gunslinger belt and holster. AND, he wanted the ENTIRE thing tooled top to bottom. In addition, he wanted to have a specific photo of an elk that he had incorporated into the design. Being a competitive archer, this rig needed to be fully functional for competition, with the goal of it's debut being the Vegas Shoot, the largest Archery competition in the world. No Pressure!
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We already knew that we wanted to display this project at the world leather debut, so no detail was overlooked. All the artwork was custom drawn. The buck stitch is done with a beautiful white kangaroo lace. All stitching was done by hand.
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Unfortunately, the customer became ill two days before the archery competition and had to cancel his trip, but we did make it to Sheridan! We received great feedback and marks and had one of the most unique entries. Hopefully this coming year we will see this rig on television at the 2025 Vegas Shoot!
"The River at Dusk"
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This project that I entered was an experiment in combining leather with epoxy. My goal was to create depth and dimension to this beautiful river scene.
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I tooled and embossed the design then mounted it to a wood background. The design was hand painted and proceeded to start adding layers of epoxy. As I added the layers, I painted the water details on each dried layer. Multiple applications of epoxy and painting between the layers resulted in a beautiful effect with the water and droplets. Photos truly don't do it justice!
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While we did not place, we presented something that many said they never even thought of. Epoxy of leather presents it's own challenges and I hope to continue to perfect my techniques.
