I’m buttoning things up here in Turner Oregon for the summer and headed South.Im heading back to Arizona for the winter, to open my my new shop just outside of Douglas Arizona. The wife and I purchased property there earlier this spring with the intention of moving my saddle business to a warmer climate. The Oregon rains are hard on my old bones! The last three years we have wintered in Arizona to take advantage of the warmer climate. After much exploring we finally found a location suitable to our needs. My saddle shop will be located about thirteen miles from the border in the heart of ranching country. The plan is to move the majority of my business to Douglas, as I’m not getting any younger and the winter climate in Oregon makes my life miserable! The Arizona property has an existing shop which is large enough for my current business and capable of handling expansion should I choose to go down that road. For the immediate future I will still be operating my saddle shop in Turner Oregon during the summer months. As the Douglas Arizona shop develops I intend to move my entire business to that location. Stay tuned for updates of the move process and thank you so much for your patronage!

It’s been raining off and on down here in Casa Grande the last few days. That being said, it’s still warm, t-shirt and shorts weather. I haven’t been able to get out and work on my leather projects because, unlike my shop up in Oregon, I am not working from a physical shop. The physical shop has its benefits and its inherent problems not unlike the rain here. The benefit is being able to work during rainy weather, the detriment is being trapped in a building without the great natural lighting and fresh air flowing through.  I have gotten to really enjoy working outside down here in the nice weather, of which we get a lot of, down here in the Arizona desert.  There is a constant flow of wildlife while out working, doves, quail, jackrabbits, cottontails and such. These things make my leather working designs flow better than being cooped up in a stuffy old shop.  Another benefit being that my leather work requires a constant flow of design, which I do for the most part during these, “rainy” days.  Sitting at the table drawing scroll work, assorted flowers, and wildlife such as cougars, elk, deer, horses and such.  On North Dakota rancher even wanted a tractor, but that’s a story for another time. One of the benefits of working outside is the flow of people walking by. They get curious as to what I’m doing, which leads to stopping by to have a look. A look quite often leads to a request for a custom leather project, be it a belt, wallet, purse or maybe a holster or? Anyway, these rain days down here in the desert are few and far between and I know that in a few days they will pass and it’s back to physically cutting, carving, stitching and making more of what I love to do.  By the way, if you love what you are doing, it ain’t work! If you are interested in a Hand Carved Wallet, holster, Belts or? visit my Facebook page #Customleather #handcrafted  #handcarved  #leatherart #westernartist #leatherCraft #leathergoods #bespoke #leathercarving #cowboy #cowboyart #leathertooling #handtooledleather    Saddles, wallets, purses, belts, bronc halters and much more! KC-saddlery.com

I recently completed this cross body purse for a customer in Florida. I was pretty happy with the result as was the client. The purse is tooled in a feather design with a dove to one side. The photo really doesn’t do the design justice, but you get the idea. If you are questioning the background of the photo, the wife and I are staying in our 5th wheel while getting our house ready to sell. I have moved my saddle shop to a spot just outside of Turner Oregon.  The front tooled portion is a feather design with a dove to one side. 100 percent leather produced here in the USA The exterior rear panel is in basket weave pattern. The purse is designed to either run over the shoulder or around the waist. The tooled portion is constructed of three ounce Hermann Oak vegetable tanned processed here in the USA. The gusset is oak tanned goat skin which is very soft and pliable. Rear panel in a diagonal basket weave pattern. Note the zipper to the rear compartment. The inner compartments The inner portion of the handbag consists of two fully loaded compartments. Both compartments are fully lined with a soft lavender leather. The larger compartment is designed to carry a wallet and the daily necessities while out and about. The smaller compartment is for a cell phone. Due to the larger phones available these days, I made this compartment extra roomy. Large general compartment Compartments for Cards and bills Rear Cell Phone Pocket You will note that the photo above showing the rear panel, the two D rings for the attachment of the shoulder/waist strap. I will in the future move the D rings up to the corners to give more flexibility as to how the purse can be used/carried.  Three ways to comfortably carry your bag The shoulder strap shown above is fully adjustable. Depending upon just how you would like to carry it. You have three options, remove the strap and carry as a handbag, carry the bag much as you would a fannie pack or across the body, I.E. over one shoulder.  In Closing… The end design is very flexible. I have a number of different tooling patterns, colors of leather and type of leather. The interior can be designed to meet your needs with little or no cost increase. This bag is completely hand made here in the USA out of natural materials domestic ally produced here in the USA.   I am offering this bag for $150.00 plus shipping and handling. This price is subject to change as the availability of materials change. Please drop me a note or contact me via the contact form.  

Custom Belt Measuring Measuring for a custom belt needn’t be difficult. There are a few simple steps which will guarantee your new belt will fit right out of the box. Whatever you do, do not go by pant size! Pant size varies from one manufacturer to another. Doing so will lead to your new belt not fitting correctly. There are two methods which work There are two methods that work especially well to determine the correct length of a belt. The first being to measure an existing belt. The second is to measure using a tailor’s measuring tape. I will go over both methods, starting with measuring an existing belt. Custom Belt Measure Method 1: Lay your existing belt out full length on a table or kitchen counter or other flat surface. Using a tape measure the distance from the most used hole on the tongue end of your belt to the fold or more accurately to the bar where the leather of the belt folds over the buckle.  This is the actual length of the belt I need. Failure to accurately provide this measurement will most likely lead to your belt not fitting properly. measure from the most used hole of your existing belt Measure to the fold where the buckle attaches to the buckle. Works the same whether it is a western style or traditional style. The next thing I will need is the buckle length of the actual buckle you are planning to use.  Buckle length can vary from buckle to buckle depending upon manufacturer. So, just to be sure I will need this measurement as well. The buckle length is measured from the bar (where the belt attaches to the buckle) to point the prong crosses the frame of the buckle. In the case of a western style buckle it is measured from the bar to the post which is inserted into a hole in the belt. Measure from the bar to the inside where the prong crosses the frame in this case it is about 1-1/2″ Measure from the post to the bar which in this case is about 2-3/8″ Method 2 Method 2 requires a tailors cloth tape. These are available anywhere cloth or sewing products are sold. Simply have the person wear the pants with which the belt will be worn. Run the tape through the belt loops and measure the actual length (snug!). Once again, I will need the buckle length as called out in method 1. If you have any questions whatsoever, please call me! I want your belt to fit you properly from the second you put it on! Tailors Measuring Tape

Kent Cannon Saddlery Blog