Making
I love making. That process of working with my hands to create something new, I find there's no feeling like it. A great part of producing something handmade is being able to control the quality and the materials throughout the process.
Here is an inside look at how we make the leather straps for our blanket rolls.
Tools - Having the right tools is the key to success. As my mom would say, "Lo barato, sale caro", the Spanish equivalent of "You get what you pay for."
Materials - While working with leather, a natural material, you have to be aware of its imperfections. Branding marks, bug spots, even grain and thickness vary throughout a hide.
Process - There's a rhythm that occurs when you can streamline the manufacturing process. Each step in the process becomes meditative, each pass through the leather, each punch, becomes a small motion as part of the larger whole. By the end, the leather hide that at the start covered the table, is transformed to a pile of blanket straps and a few end scraps.
The best part though is riveting that last set of straps and putting the tag on and being able to see how much you can make in a couple of days.