About Us
Ed learned saddle making under the tutorship of Bob Ginder of Attwood, IL starting in 1988. Bob was a master saddle maker and tool maker, who learned from saddle makers who had made saddle for the cattle drive cowboys. After Bob's death, Ed continued his education in the leather craft by attending annual advanced leather craft courses. Some of the courses Ed has attended are; two boot making courses, an English saddle construction course, western cartridge belt and holster construction course, four saddle construction courses. Ed opened his leather shop in 1990, operating from the kitchen of his home. The increase in business forced the building of a new shop in an area of the barn. In 1996 Ed built a new house, with the leather shop attached.
The business has grown by word of mouth from our customers and kept Ed busy in his off hours from his day job. Ed retired from his day job after 31 ½ years of service. Now Ed has more time to devote to the leather business.
The business focus is on producing top quality custom leather goods which met the different needs of each customer. Each item is hand cut and crafted one at a time after the order is received. Only example items are kept on hand. If you don't see what you want, explain what your needs are and if possible it will be made. Turn around time from the time you place your order to the time you receive it depends on the number of pending orders. Two week turn around time is the average, but occasionally it is sooner and sometimes it takes longer. Anticipate saddles to require a minimum of 30 days to construct.