How I Got Into Leather Work

Stoic
3 min readNov 7, 2020

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Started off as a hobby, and eventually found my passion in a place called — PINE TREE LEATHERWORKS

Handmade Leather Wallet
Photo by La Compagnie Robinson on Unsplash

From my childhood, I was so obsessed with the smell and feel of leather. I had a beautiful brown leather jacket that I was so fond of wearing. I was growing up fast and my love for that jacket was getting deeper. I was in my early twenties. As the years went by, my physique changed a lot and soon I realized that now my leather jacket will not fit me well and protect me from the harshness of the chilly winters.

A minimalist handmade leather wallet, whom I call “BEN”
Islamabad: Beautiful Faisal Mosque and Margalla Hills in the background

Being a minimalist, I used to keep my wardrobe filled with as little clothes and jackets as possible and as soon as any garment start getting tighter on the body, I used to donate it to the nearby orphanage. The same was about to happen with my leather jacket. However, overwhelmed with my emotions and love for my beautiful leather jacket, I decided to keep my jacket with me for as long as possible.

One of the first wallets I made. I call it “Beau”

One day during my usual YouTube browsing, I came across a video where a person gave tutorials about making a leather minimalist wallet. I was so influenced by that video and wanted to give it a try and make a leather wallet for myself. At the same moment, I realized that I could utilize the leather from my leather jacket for making a leather wallet.

An antique design dual tone leather wallet / pouch with a button

So, I went to the storeroom and got my leather jacket back. I dusted and cleaned my jacket, and then with a heavy heart, I pierced the jacket with the help of a sharp pair of scissors. After about half an hour, the leather jacket that I was so in love with, was torn into a number of small and large leather pieces. With the help of some basic hardware tools and watching the “Making Leather Wallet Tutorial Videos”, repeatedly, I cut the pieces of leather, pasted and hand sewed them and successfully made my first minimalist wallet. It was like love at the first sight.

My Masterpiece, whom I like to call “TED”

Soon I went to the local leather market, bought some leather and basic leatherworking tools, and started my self-taught leather wallet-making journey. With the passage of time, my cutting, pasting and hand stitching skills improved a lot and my love and obsession with leather stuff got deeper and deeper which turned my part-time hobby into a passion and gave birth to the “PINE TREE LEATHER WORKS” brand name of my minimalist leather wallet shop.

That was all!

Thank you so much for your time and for reading my story of how I got into the business of making minimalist leather wallets.

Love!

Muhammad Rizwan Mubashir

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