THE BEGINNING
Black lab leather was born in 2020 when, during lockdown, I decided that my beloved dogs deserved the fanciest collars I could find and, of course, since I had plenty of time on my hands I thought I would make them myself. And so began a steep learning curve of everything leatherwork. Pretty soon my house was filled with various tools, threads, dyes and leather of different weights, types and colours....
​
...and my dogs had several collars each!
​
So I expanded into making other leather items, bags, wallets, notebook covers. Soon friends started asking if I could make things for them and from there Black Lab Leather was born.
​
DESIGN PROCESS
Although some of the products I offer are 'off the shelf' the ones I take the most pleasure and pride in making are the unique, one of a kind creations. I love adding crystals to make the item sparkle, and I love tooling the leather to produce an image or design with texture and depth and then using dyes or special leather paint to add colour and detail.
​
It all begins with the inspiration, this can come from anywhere - a painting or picture, something I see during the day, a book, song lyric or just an idea that seemingly comes from nowhere.
​
Once I have an idea I begin with the research, I sketch a rough idea, this is then developed and changed so that the design is just right.
​
​
THE MAKING
Once the idea is on paper and I’m ready to go the fun stuff begins. I begin by selecting the leather, then I get to work cutting, tooling, dyeing, finishing edges and stitching.
Each piece varies so much that there is always something different to do.