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Introduction
History
My interest in leather began when i was small child. My grandparents owned a craftstore in small town illinois that would eventually be bought out by Tandy Leather. When she closed the store my grandma kept alot of the items and taught my family different crafts. One of my favorites was a tandy belt making kit. You could learn the basics of leathercraft, tooling, punching holes, setting hardware etc.
As i got older my attachment to leather was always there. I always drifted towards it, be it in college hanging out at the leather bars or out thrifting for cool leather goods i couldnt resist. I was always someone that people associated with leather.
Training
It wasnt until 2019, in small town Missouri, that i happened to walk into Springfield Leather Company for the first time. I remember how powerful the smell was and how my jaw just hit the floor. I knew i had to work there, call it a gut feeling.
I ended up working there for 2 1/2 years through the Covid 19 Pandemic, during which time i threw myself into my study of the craft head first and heavy. I was obsessed, i wanted to learn everything i could about this craft i had admired for so long.
I studied under some of the best in the industry. Learning the tools of the trade; identifying leather, working with everything from cow to sting ray, tooling vegetable tan leather, hand and machine sewing, edge burnishing, hand lacing and so much more.
Aaron Barbee Leather
It was in midst of the pandemic that friends of mine in Kansas City Missouri opened their own leather studio in Old Westport. They had recently bought Leather Masters and were looking for someone who could run their studio day to day. While there I have been blessed to expand the scope of my craft and hone my skills. Having a job doing something you love is a real blessing even more so because I get to be creative every single day.
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