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Now
on Etsy!
Everything
here is made to order, but in-stock items are ready for immediate shipping at my Etsy store!
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Master
Index
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Leather Lore
Contents
"Loads of goods for
Men and Women!"
Renaissance and
Medieval Goods
- Armor (men & women),
Belts, Pouches, Mugs,
Games, Jerkins, Bottells,
Cinchers; lots More!
Pirate Stuff
- Belts, Baldrics, Bags,
Gun stuff, much More!
Studded Items
Miscellaneous Stuff
Contact
Information
Ordering
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Index |
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About Leather Lore
Aida
Album, Photo
Amazon Wear
Armbands
Armor, men's
Armor, women's
Art, custom
Awards & Honors
Bags & Pouches
Bags, Messenger
Baldrics
Bandoliers
Barbarian Headbands
Baycrafters Fayre
Belts
Belts, Medieval
Belts, Pirate
Belt Pouches
Belt, Santa Claus
Belts, Studded
Bertha Brock
Bikini
Blackbeard Harness
Black Rock
Fest
Black Roger
Black Roger's List
of Pirate Movies!
Bodices
Books & Journals
Boot Straps
Bottle Slings
Bottells
Bottell Care
Bracelets
Bracers
Bracers of Gondor
Brethren
of the
Great
Lakes
Bustier
Buttons
More index below...
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How
to Order
How
to Order
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Index
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Calendar
Call Me
Candle Slings
Canteen
Captain
Jack's
Captain Morgan
Care of Bottells
Care of Leather
Care of Mugs
Care of Pitch Items
Castlevania
Chain Tops
Checkers
Chess Box
Chokers
Christmas Deadline
Cigarette Cases
Cigar Cases
Cinchers, Waist
Cinema Carousel
Cleaning Leather
Cloaks
Club Wear
Collars
Colors
Contact
Corsets
Credit Card Orders
Crowns
Cuffs
Custom Art
More index below...
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Need
to contact me or join my mailing list? Click here! |
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Index
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Dagger Frogge
Deadlines, order
Dead Man's Chest
Decorative Leather
Ded Engine
Derbyshire
Faire
Document Case
Doublets
Dragon Map
Dragon Sightings
Draughts
Drink items
Drinking Horns
E-Mail Us
Employment
Engravings
Entertainers
Face Hoods
Facts about Pirates
Fantasy Pouches
Fender Bibs
Ferry, Lake Express
Films
Fittings
Flags, Pirate
Flask, Leather
Flintlock Holster
Flintlock Skirt Hike
Flintlock Skirt Keeper
Flowers
Folder, Document
Fonts
FrankenFeast
Friends
Frogges, Dagger
Frogges, Sword
More index below...
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How
to Order
How
to Order
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Index
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Games
Game Box
George, Sir
Gift Certificates
Gogo's
Gothic, sort of
Greaves
GVRen
Hair Keeps
Halloween Deadline
Halter Tops
Hand Gauntlets
Hand Made
Hard End Bags
Harness, Shoulder
Harness, Sword
Hangings
Headbands
Helms, Medieval
Hike, Skirt
Hike, Skirt w/ Gun
History
Holster, Flintlock
Holster, Mini Skirt Hike
Holster, Mini Skirt Keep
Home
Honors & Awards
Hoods
Horns, Drinking
Horn Care
How to Order
Huntington Ren
Index 2
Insurance, shipping
Interesting Facts
Jacks & Mugs
Jerkins
Journals & Books
Just A
Few MC
More index below...
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Index
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Keeper, Skirt
Keeper, Skirt w/ Gun
Lake Express Ferry
Leather Care
Letter of Marque
Life in the 1500's
Lighter Cases
Links
List of Pirate Movies!
Magical Amulets
Mailing List
Map, Dragon
Marie Griffon
Massacre & Feast
Masks
Masks, Plague
Mayfaire Ren Faire
Medieval
Medieval Belts
Medieval Plague Masks
Medieval Sword Sling
Messenger Bag
Mich Ren Fest
Miscellaneous Items
Morgan, Captain
Movies
Mugs & Jacks
Mug Care
Mug Straps
Musicals
Nasty Bob
National Treasure II
New Jersey Ren
Newsletter Archive
Northwood Ren Fest
Ordering
Order of Red Raven
More index below...
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How
to Order
How
to Order
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Index
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Padding, Bracer
Padding, Cuff
Pauldrons
Pentacle Top
Pewter
Phone me!
Photo Album
Pictures
Pilgrim, What Is
Pipe Accessories
Pirate Baldrics
Pirate Belts
Pirate Facts
Pirate Festivals
Pirate Movies, List of
Pirate Stuff
Pitch Care
Plague Masks
Pocket Gun Skirt Hike
Pocket Gun Skirt Keep
Port Washington
Pouches
Promo Pack
Prop Work
Punk
Purses
Ravenwood Castle
Red Raven, order of
Refund Policy
Return Policy
Rings
Roger, Black
Roses
Rum Rack
Rush Orders
Santa Claus Belt
Satchels
Scabbards
Scaled Armor Skirt
Scaled Bracers
Schedule of Events
Screen
She-Ra project
Shiabruck
Shipping
Shoulder Bags
Shoulder Pauldrons
Show Schedule
More index below...
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Index
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SilverLeaf Faire
Sir George
Sizing & Sizes
Skirt, Amazon
Skirt Hike
Skirt Hike w/ Gun
Skirt Keeper
Skirt Keeper w/ Gun
Skirt, Overskirt
Skirt, Scaled Armor
Skirt, Strap Armor
Skullter top
Smoker Accessories
Soft Tops
Spider chain top
St. Valentine's Day
Stage shows
Strap Armor Skirt
Stronghold Faire
Studded Armbands
Studded Belts
Studded Bracelets
Suspenders
Sword Frogges
Sword Harness
Symbols
Symbols, Medieval
Telephone me
Tunics
Val Day
Vambraces
Vendors
Vessel Care
Waist Cinchers
Wallets
Water Bottle Sling
Warrior Harness
Weapon Accessories
"What is Pilgrim?"
Wholesale
Wine Rack
WMRF
Women's Clothing
Wristbands
Write Me
Zippo Cases
Zodiac, signs of the |
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How
to Order
How
to Order
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About Heavy
Leather Lore
This is a general history.
For more details, see my online promotional package, or
read about "Sir George". To learn more
about our staff and friends, and see photos of everyone, go to our Photo
Album!
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My humble workbench, where the
magic all happens! |
Hi! I'm Chip, the
owner and primary crafter here at Heavy Leather Lore! I'm glad that you
stopped by to read about my staff and I, for I feel that we are more than
a business, we are here to have a lot of fun, and take you with us! If
you've ever visited our booth, I'm sure hoping that you went away feeling
that your visit was fun! We put a lot of effort into not just crafting,
but entertaining as well! So if there's anything you want to ask me or my
staff, just
ask! I do also
personally portray two major characters: The honorable Sir
George, and that
rascally pirate Black Roger.
Click on either to read more about them! And if you're looking for more
information about how I started this business and why, click
here! |
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The 1980's
How did I begin in leather crafting? Click
here for the story...
 Originally
started in 1982 as "Heavy Leather" to outfit the Heavy Metal
Band Ded Engine with black leather and
studs, Leather Lore has grown to be one of the few specialty
leather accessory shops still in existence! All of our products
are HAND-CRAFTED, none of that machine stamped generic stuff! High
Quality and proven innovative design have made pieces of Leather Lore
sought after around the world! |
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Recently found in the archives,
the original Heavy Leather Catalog from 1982! Click photo for details! |
The 1990's to Today
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In the early 1990's, I
discovered Renaissance Faires and Medieval Recreationism. I fell in love!
Being a student medieval history and after venturing to many faires, I
soon discovered that my skills were at least comparable to other
craftsman, and my ambition for accuracy and fantasy greater than most. What got my attention is
that very few were interested in the art, and too many were just into
pushing mass produced machine imprinted junk - no one was making many
items that I considered necessary to a true recreationist, be them factual
or fantasy, and so Leather Lore was born! |
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research and make true items from history, some near museum quality! And I
delve greatly into fantasy as well, taking on the projects that others shy
away from! |
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My tent is even
hand made, and is decorated like a medieval shop! My helpers and I
do our best to recreate the "life" of our ancestors, right
down to the talk, mannerisms, clothes, foods, and decorations. We do
demonstrations, and even put on little "shows" of our own!
We even camp out in it, cook our own meals, the whole shot! (No, we
don't hunt on the grounds, our usual hunting grounds are the local
A&P store!)
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My humble workbench
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We make all kinds of
leather accessories with something that will suit your needs. Our
specialties include (but are not limited to) Gothic, Medieval, Biker,
Pirate, and Renaissance styles of leather goods. From pouches to saddle
bags, belts to scabbards, spikes to conchos, cigarette to watch cases,
knife sheaths to beer can holsters, minor club wear to crafty decorations,
we do it all! We can also do some repair work, and really have fun
creating new items just for you!
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The Apprentice workbench
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Even though our
stuff is all hand made with the best materials and care that personal
craftsmen can provide, we keep our prices reasonable in order to compete
with all the machine stamped stuff you can find elsewhere! Take a look
around, and tell us what you think! We check
our email daily, so please ask questions! Want
to see us in person? Check out our show schedules!
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Click the trophy to
see our awards and honors! All of our products are HAND-CRAFTED,
none of that machine stamped generic stuff! High Quality and proven
design have made pieces of Heavy Leather literally sought after around
the world!
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PERSONAL HISTORY AS A
CRAFTSMAN, MY MOTIVATION AND APPROACH
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In
the 1970’s my dad took up western leather craft as a hobby. In 1980 I
became affiliated with a heavy metal band that could not find the black
leather and stud work that they needed. I gained access and skill from my
dad, and began designing and supplying the band with their needs. I soon
found myself selling bracelets and such at clubs and later in magazine ads
through the ‘80’s and early 90’s. In 1994 I discovered the Michigan
Renaissance Festival, and have been hooked since. Too often I would see
people laying out big bucks for leather items that I thought could be done
with a little better quality and attention to detail. I began toying with
the idea of digging out the leather stuff and getting back into it. It
soon became obvious to me that you could find leather armor for men all
over the place, but very little for the ladies. With the advent of the
Xena television series and such, I decided that would be a market for
ladies leather armor, and that I could make something cool AND practical.
I started researching women’s fashion and form and went through two
failed prototypes before I came upon the fully adjustable design that
allows stiff hard leather to comfortably fit nearly every woman that has
tried it on! After seeing the response of other crafters, and upon the
advice of my friends, I filed for a patent on certain functional elements
of the design. But that wasn’t enough to satisfy my artistic drive.
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That’s
when I saw the chess box. All I saw was this small black and white
photo and a paragraph barely describing it. Efforts to locate the
real thing had been fruitless. None the less, working from the
sources at hand, I set out and accomplished the chess box featured
in my photos. I was very proud of myself, and realized that with the
great accomplishments of the chess box and the ladies fantasy armor
top that I could do just about anything I want to in this craft. |
Even though it was still a hobby to me, experiments with eBay proved that
I had something people wanted, and so I set out to get into some
festivals. MRF didn’t want to look at me. Not realizing that there were
smaller festivals around I about gave up. Right then someone told me of
the Silverleaf festival in Kalamazoo, and so I tried for it - and got
accepted in 2001! The tides of life forced me to cancel it due to not being able
to have any product ready. They told me to come back next year; I was
already confirmed.
In January 2002, I was suddenly in a position where I could
concentrate full time on the craft, and
that is when I went into a full time business, and I had a heck of a first
year!
Wow, this was supposed to be short, sorry. As for work
philosophy, you’ve probably gathered most of it already. But let say
that I don’t want to create the same stuff that everyone else does. I
want my own things. Nobody makes the Chess Box. Nobody makes the ladies
armor fit like I have. Somebody must, but I’ve not seen it yet. Sure, I
make common things too, like ring belts, weapon’s frogs, and drawstring
pouches, but I don’t concentrate on those. In fact, I often recommend
other crafters at the festival for many items. I like to find and fill the
niches, make the things no one else does, tackle the projects other stay
away from, not make the same stuff other people make. My booth even is
like a little medieval leather shop, and I believe in the performance and
the setting as well as the product. As a ten year manager of a retail
photo lab I understand the importance of the customer satisfaction as a
whole, and in the festival setting that means the experience as a whole,
as well as the product. |
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