About
I am developing the best leather with a USA tannery, to make unique items for you. The items are made in Ashland, Oregon in my shop. Simply high quality craftsmanship, custom U.V. thread, and real solid brass hardware. The designs are timeless, minimalist, and understated, but someone with a keen eye would be able to see the subtle details.
My name is J Michael and I’m the leathersmith. For twenty years I have have been making knives and leather goods for men. 100% handmade without power tools. Wallets, belts, briefcases and more, in the the American traditional style – pricking with irons and saddle stitching by hand, with extreme attention to detail and finish. My customers are awesome and I am thankful.
In 2024 I started a new artistic project to make some crossbody bags and useful totes, with a focus on craftsmanship and natural analine leather. To apply the knowledge of working with shell cordovan, British bridle, American alligator, and older small tanneries who know how to make #1 leather. I wanted to make these available to women. Why? Because girls are sugar and spice, and everything nice. They give me feedback and it is their creativity that I then translate into assembly.
Most fashion leather manufacturers use ground-up leather, mixed with polymers, to create “Genuine Leather”. Other volume online companies use “full grain leathers” that are simply bad hides, tanned quickly and coated with pigments and polymers for water resistance and a uniform look. If you search “full grain leather couch tan” you will see the common furniture leather is what most bags are made from. I would never use this leather.
Good leather starts with the selection of good hides (grades). It take time to tan them properly – time, temperatures, chemistry, and constant monitoring. Then they are finished with high quality organic oils, fats, and filtered waxes. This is what makes good leather rare, and last a long time, and this is what allows leather to obtain a patina. The “heritage” is not a brand – it’s the knowledge of the process, passed down through generations on how to use a recipe to finish the base leather.
The base leather is just one of the materials. Then there is choice of thread – basic vs outdoor thread. Metal hardware vs durable solid brass. And most important, the craftsman who assembles everything with experience.
