Rows and rows of tiny tools line the walls of a small studio space in the back of dilapidated cigar factory on N ­Albany Avenue in Tampa.

Chris Pass smiles as he picks up each one, remembering keenly where he acquired it and how useful it's been since founding Branch & Wilder, a handmade leather goods company, in 2013.

"I started this as a hobby first, which is dangerous, because instead of thinking, 'I made this amount,' you end up thinking, 'Sweet, now I can buy this new tool,' " laughed Pass, 26, a digital advertising employee from Seminole Heights. "That's how I ended up with so many of these things.

Pass hand-stitches each leather wallet and cardholder he sells on his website from hide he buys from several American and one U.K. tannery. He designs the products himself and names them after relatives because he's not good with names.

"We call the cardholder The Ike after my uncle," he explained. "The bi-fold wallet is named The Dwayne after my dad."

Even his brand, Brand & Wilder, is just named after the cross streets of his Seminole Heights address. "I saw the street signs and it flowed so nicely. I Googled it and no other company had the name. From there I just went with it because I knew that if I put it off, it was going to take forever."

Branch & Wilder's style can be defined as classic, American wear with precise saddle stitching and smooth edges. Each piece takes anywhere from a half hour to eight hours depending on the level of detail. "I like geometry and curves and lines and smooth finish," Pass said. "How long a piece takes all depends on the number of pockets, the type of leather and the time it takes to get a smooth finish."

Leather goods last a lifetime, Pass said. "Some people don't like the wear, but I think the wear is what makes it special. With these things you can buy one once and carry it for life."

Perfecting his technique by consulting saddle makers from around the country allows Pass to make sturdy pieces that can stand the test of time. "Saddle stitching is done lots of different ways," he said. "I do my own with thread with a needle on either end. I don't use a machine."

Sturdy and functional quite well sums up Pass's personal style, which is peppered with denim, work boots, flannel and thick-framed glasses. Every morning he travels from home to his studio space, which he shares with canvas goods maker Charles Britch of Britch Mfg., and starts his workday. He brought his giant computer from home to the studio so he can turn away from the screen when he's done and start making things for his customers.

"I probably work from about 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. some days," he said.

The studio, which is about the size of college dorm room, was just a space with white walls, a boarded-up window and miscellaneous equipment when Pass and Britch moved in a year ago. The duo found the space while watching a documentary about an artist also housed in the building. "It just made sense for the costs to share the space," Pass said.

Renovations took longer than expected, but when it was done, they became a part of an artist's collective that was willing to help out wherever they could. Wood shops offered the use of equipment for woodwork and photographers offered to help with product shots. Branch & Wilder got slicker and more professional in the past year, a far cry from where it began.

It was 2011 when Pass bought the wallet that changed his life. "It was just so simple but so perfect," Pass recalled. "I looked at it and said to myself, 'I can do this.'" Years and years of trial and error have finally made that statement true.

He'd always had an interest in working with his hands and fine leather goods. Pass' parents were the first generation in his family to not work with their hands, moving away from his dad's farming roots in Dover to become tech entrepreneurs. He followed in their footsteps, working as an Apple Genius for five years. While he was still in the tech business he decided to attempt making his first wallet. Let's just say you won't be seeing that one in the catalog anytime soon.

"I made myself a wallet two years ago, and I've gotten so much better since then that I'm almost embarrassed to show it to people," Pass joked.

Now, he talks like an old pro about leather types, tools of the trade and the differences in tanneries. He keeps a small selection of his website offerings on hand, and in his down time he uses Adobe Illustrator to craft new designs to try out.

"I usually can get it right about the third time," he said.

Making money from something he would be doing anyway makes every day in the studio — even the ones in the summer, where it's hard tell if there's an air conditioner — that much more exciting.

"I love working with my hands and working with leather," he said. "It fulfills me."