Reading “What Is Leathercraft?” Part 1, by a leather craftsman

I read an article in which a craftsman who runs a leather workshop in Nakameguro writes about what leathercraft is, from the perspective of 26 years in the craft. The theme of the first part is the joy of making itself.

The basics are cutting leather, punching holes, and stitching it into wallets or bags. But the author sees it as “the time when something is born from your own hands.” The first pleasure, according to the article, is watching flat leather gradually become your own work.

People who come to workshops often worry, “I’m clumsy, can I really do this?” Yet if you go step by step, the article says, there will always be a moment when you think, “It’s surprisingly doable.” The idea that small misalignments and mistakes can later become proof that you made it yourself, something you can say years on, “this is where I first went wrong,” is a lovely one.

The piece also touches on hand-sewing. It isn’t fast, but since you step away from your phone and social media and focus on the needle point, it becomes a time that quiets the mind, something like a digital detox. And because each piece of leather differs in softness, wrinkles and scratches, and especially vegetable-tanned leather changes colour and character the more it is used, the author says the day you finish is the real beginning. That point stayed with me.

Even if you don’t start with a wallet, the article recommends beginning with something small, such as a key holder or card case: just cut the leather and sew one stitch. It is a piece of writing that nudges you forward before you have gathered your tools, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to start. The second part is said to be about why the things we make become special, so I look forward to reading on.

Source: note