Maker stories

A bottle opener can be found in many shapes and in many tools. My goal was to design a bottle opener with a heritage look and feel, combining leather, metal and a nice industrial clasp.

The Duke & Sons Leather belt is made from 3-4mm full grain leather, from the best quality. When you see the whole hide, you already see the nice top grain and the lines from the shoulder. I would like to share the making process to give you an idea of how the belts are made. And for sure: this belt will last more than a lifetime!

A lot of people always ask about tips and tricks in Leathercraft. Although I often mention that Youtube is a good channel for finding what you are looking for, I prefer a book as a reference. I had the pleasure to meet fellow craftsman Otis Ingrams from the UK and he has written a beautiful reference book called: 'Leatherworks, traditional craft for modern living'. Here is a brief review.

The Bike Shed Motorcycle Club store in London is the only store that sells a limited selection of my handmade items. From the start of Duke & Sons Leather, my wife Ingeborg and I had a special relationship with our friends from The Bike Shed. it is always a pleasure to make new items for them. This post shows the making of a protective card wallet.

The Horween leather is well known, often used and appreciated by a lot of leather craftsmen worldwide. Horween Leather company was founded in 1905. For more than 100 years and five generations, their goal has been to make the world's best leather. The formulas they use are more than 100 years old but updated to the modern times. 

Jonathan Duncan from Canada is involved with supporting athletes in the cycling world for over 10 years, which includes wrenching on the team bikes. 
Jonathan sent me an email with a custom order request. He asked me to make a custom leather tool roll for his tools. I asked him to send me a picture with the tools he used along with a ruler so I could make a design that would fit all his tools.

For some people their watch isn't just their watch... therefore they decide to go for a handmade watch strap. It looks like a simple piece of leather and in fact,...