PPB October 2018

1 All products begin as sheets of treated cowhide; Brown works primarily with hides finished in black, brown, tan and red. There are a variety of colors available that they can source, but the main offerings are earthtones. 2 Sheets are cut to size by hand for journal bindings and ties, luggage tags, cord wraps, patches and more. 3 Brown uses equipment such as sewing machines and hot stamping machines, the latter of which requires setting lead type blocks by hand. 4 Items such as notebooks and tags are cut and finished in bulk, then customized on demand. Jen Alexander is associate editor of PPB. About Ox & Pine Founding date: November 2014 Principal: Stephanie Brown, founder/owner Number of orders filled per month: Several hundred Most popular item: Personalized luggage tags Read on to learn more about leatherworking and bookbinding at Ox & Pine. from 18 to 24 square feet depending on the size of the cow. “The hides don’t come in nice rectangular rolls like fabric—they’ll be irregularly shaped with holes, scars and brand marks,” Brown says. Brown and an assistant, along with some consultants, work the leather into journals, luggage tags, cord organizers and, most recently, leather patches on trucker hats and leather three-ring binders. “We continue to work on future products that we will offer soon,” she says. Brown’s team is trained in both leatherworking and bookbinding techniques. “They’re really learning a trade and practicing it until they get it down well,” Brown says. “They learn about the tools and how to use them, and about all the materials. And when it comes to stamping in the personalization by hand, it takes knowing what gives the best result and a lot of practice.” Leatherworking by hand is not without its challenges, says Brown. “Learning— and teaching—the personalization that we do all by hand is the biggest. It takes time and practice to learn the art, but we’ve been able to overcome this with extensive training manuals and one-on- one training with constant feedback.” The ongoing training and learned expertise translate into bespoke items that are gaining a following. “Handmade leather goods usually have a long production time due to the detail involved, but we’ve been able to keep a short production time while providing the best leather goods.” | OCTOBER 2018 | 97 CONNECT