A week ago today I met a leather craftsman named Chris Howard. He stopped by my “free” booth at the Fulton Street Artisans Market, 1147 Fulton St. SE, with his family and we got to chatting. He told me about some of his projects and I decided to feature him in my Grand Rapids Press [...]

After a week of exploring the art of leather craft, I’ve gained a whole new appreciation for those who spend hours pounding and carving raw leather into beautiful saddles, belts, kid toys and other goods. I’ve spent the last several days pounding out simple designs on scraps of leather with varying degrees of success. For [...]