What is your name, your leather craft business, and where are you located?

My name is Ellen Valentine. My leatherwork business is Saxley®. I primarily operate under Leatherwork School. I just sold my house and studio and am building a new home and studio in Aiken, South Carolina. During this time of transition, I’m staying with my father in State College, Pennsylvania. I’m custom building my dream studio and I can’t be more excited. It will be 828 square feet (77 square meters) and I hope I never outgrow the space.

What was your relationship to leathercraft before writing your book?

I started leatherwork in 2012. I’ve always been involved in a lot of crafts. My father made decorative decoy birds and ducks when I was growing up and I was fortunate to inherit his hand skills. Experts say to find your passion, you need to look to your childhood. I actually made a quilted handbag when I was 6. My dad also got me a great Tandy Leather saddlebag kit when I was 12. How I wish I still had that bag. Those early projects definitely gave me some great clues!

I spent a lot of time in other creative pursuits like sewing garments, and picture framing before I found leatherwork. Almost as soon as I started, I knew that this was the perfect pursuit for me! And I’m lucky that I could leverage the construction techniques of sewing with the measuring and precision requirements of picture framing as I began my leatherwork journey.

We’ve all heard of authors like JK Rowling or Steven King, getting denied over and over by publishers before getting picked up. What was your road to being published, and do you have any tips for others trying to get their own book out?

I had been approached by several agents when I was thinking of writing a book. They all told me that the production time after I completed writing the book would be about two years to publish in the traditional manner. I didn’t want to wait that long! In a traditional model, you write the book, but often the publisher owns the rights to the photography and they control the design, editing, printing, pricing and distribution. I did not want to give up all of that control! Those constraints led to me creating my own publishing company.

I’m also fortunate that as CMO for several technology companies in my past work life, I have done a lot of writing, marketing and design work, so I could rely on this experience. I hired my own photographers, editors, designers, printers and more. I control the printing process and the distribution as well. I’m very happy that I have taken this path because I was able to get the book in the hands of makers much sooner and have much more control over the

outcome.

That’s not to say the traditional publishing is bad; it just was not the optimal route for me.

If you could have an updated version of the book come out and you’re able to squeeze in an additional chapter, what would it be on? Why?

I probably would have dedicated more pages in the book to reinforcements. These are rapidly changing construction techniques and many of the top makers have several different types of reinforcements in each bag. It can really improve the overall look of the bag and help it hold up longer.

Do you have a favorite fact that you came across while writing the book?

I came away with the belief that this is a very broad industry that is really only limited by the creativity of the makers. They are many ways to make things and so many different leathers, tools and materials to use in the construction of bags and small leather goods. I have also learned that this is very much a global phenomenon. There are excellent leatherworkers in nearly every country! I treasure the friendships that I have made as a result of leatherwork and publishing this book.

This book seems like a labour of love. I’m curious what the origins of it are. Did you wake up one morning and know this is what you wanted to do?

Actually, this is not my first book.

Back in the early 2000’s I took a break from my technology career to sell real estate. In selling a lot of high-end, custom homes, I realized that many home buyers were not very organized about all of their selections and the project in general. I saw an opening in the market and I wrote The Ultimate Home Book to help new homeowners store and organize everything about their home. I primarily sold the book to real estate agents.

While it was a good success, I chose to stop re-printing and marketing the book as I moved out of real estate.

Because of this experience, writing a book was not a foreign concept to me. The more involved I got with leatherwork, the more I realized that there really was not an English language book focused on the kind of leatherwork that I and others wanted to make. And that set my path.

As a follow up, what sort of niche do you hope this book to fill? Where did you see a void in the market place?

I want this book to be a reference book for all leatherworkers who want to begin the craft or improve their skills and know-how.

Do you have any favorite projects you recommend to people looking to get started in leathercraft?

In Leatherwork School, I provide digital patterns for 10 projects ranging from beginner to advanced. I want to make sure that there are new skills and construction techniques everyone could learn. I have had several readers (new to leatherworking) who have committed to making every project in the book, which I love. A couple of folks are on their sixth or seventh project and I’m encouraging them to keep it up!

How has a setback, or seeming setback, set you up for later success in leather craft? Do you have a favorite failure?

Of course, I’ve had failures. In sewing, we call them wadders (as in ‘I’m going to wad this up and throw it away). Most of my failures are due to not having the right thickness for the leather. It is something that really takes experience to learn. We all stand on top of the mountain of our wadders.

What are bad recommendations you hear in the leathercraft world?

It’s not necessarily a bad recommendation, but a bad assumption. I hear about people in the LeatherCraft Discord channel who only have $20-30 to spend on tools and they want to make bags and small leather goods. This craft is a tool-rich pursuit that required time, money, practice and patience before you are making quality items. I realize that many want to test the waters first before making a substantial investment, but very quickly, beginners will realize that they will want a fileteuse, quality knives and pricking irons and more. And if they short cut their initial investment, they will have wasted money on inferior tools that aren’t any good.

If you could write a profile on some of your favorite crafters (or people in the profession), who would you choose?

There are literally hundreds of great leatherworkers. I’d hate to single any out because every day I stumble on someone else who is a great talent. That said, I’d love to see more women profiled. I’m honored to be the first woman featured on Ten Lessons Learned!

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, or have lost your focus temporarily, what do you do? (If helpful: What questions do you ask yourself?)

I always step back and clean my workspace. If I am making mistakes, it is often

because my area has started to look like a tornado. I always remind myself that the best surgeons have an immaculate operating room and leatherwork should be no different. Also, if I find I’m making mistakes, I always ask myself if I’m too tired to proceed. There’s nothing like a good night’s sleep to hit the reset button.

Where can people find you (links to online store, blog, twitter, Instagram, etc.)

Instagram: LeatherworkSchool (primarily leatherwork), EllenValentine (more

about my travels and my South Carolina building project).

My Website: LeatherworkSchool.com –I share more about the Leatherwork

School book, I have a free Resource Guide and I have a Journal page to share

other ideas.