Michael James Leather

Michael James Leather turned his hand to leatherwork after making his own canvas work for his boat.

Mike has made many items using commercial patterns and has now begun to design his own too. Having retired from the computer business he feels he had a head start in being able to manipulate the sizes to fit what’s needed.

He has found that skills learned from woodworking have also been transferable to leathercraft, particularly in the use and maintenance of handtools.

Mike’s philosophy is to “embrace the imperfections” of leather as a natural material. Although working around most scars and scratches sustained throughout the life of the animal, a few marks will inevitably become accepted as part of the finished article.

While the uniqueness of each skin is taken into account, something that every one of Mike’s pieces has in common is that it is handmade, hand stitched and lovingly crafted.