So, What's 317 Leatherworks all about?

Well, believe it or not, it all started with a Journal cover that a dear friend showed me. I said, "Hey, I can make that!" So, I did and showed it to her the next day.  I made it using the leather tools that my great-grandmother had passed down to my father, who had then passed them down to me. Well, after that,  I was hooked and I haven't stopped making leather products since!  

When my father had first given the tools to me many years ago, I didn't have a clue how to use any of them.  Up until this point, I had been carrying them around for years and kept them mostly for sentimental reasons, but they are now true tools of the trade.

How'd you get started?

I started this adventure with a lot of encouragement from two fellow lovers of leather products, affectionately known internally as the Three Amigos Leather Club.  I consider them to be on my Everything Committee, because of the invaluable help I received from them with everything from our name, the logo design, field testing the products that I come up with, packaging, marketing, research and development, and even the feedback we get, which helps me and the products improve daily.  There is rarely a day that goes by that we don't talk, pray, laugh, or cry together!  The product called  "The Reese" from our Etsy Shop was the outcome of one of these R&D products, I created it specifically the dear friend who bears the name. Now that I think about it, the pattern for the covers in the photo on the main page was actually cut by Mr. Reese!  

What's in a name? 

I'll tell you.  The "317" in our name comes from Colossians 3:17, a verse in the Bible which says, "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."  

I give God all the credit for giving me the ability to create the things I do, using the natural leather that He created. I make each piece at my workbench, where I keep a list of names from our weekly Wednesday prayer meeting. As I create each piece, I pray for those on the list.   

All of the profits of the work are given to missions and missionaries around the world, I really don't make a dime off of any product that is sold. I pay only for our supplies and the rest goes to missionaries in support The Great Commission as outlined in Matthew 28:19.

So.....

Everything I make is cut by me, sewn by me, stamped by me, and dyed with hand finishes by me.  I have all these ideas floating around in my head, and what you see is the result!  The leather isn't perfect, and my work isn't perfect, because I'm not perfect, but I do have extremely high standards and will not let anything out of the shop that is substandard.  In some rare cases, I have been known to completely start over, figure out that I didn't really make a mistake like I thought, and then send both to a customer!

I hope that you will get many years of use out of the products I make and I pray that when you look at our name it serves as a reminder of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who forgives us of our sins.  If you want to know more about the anything mentioned here, send me a conversation on Etsy, an e-mail at info(at)317leatherworks.com, or drop a comment below, I'd be glad to answer any questions you may have.

Rick