We recently connected with Miguel Merced and have shared our conversation below.

Miguel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I am completely self-taught and learned everything from either certain crafters on YouTube or just from trial and error when learning how to design and craft specific pieces.

I feel every step I took was necessary in order to be at my current state in leather craft. There is not much that could have been done differently to help speed up my learning process, since there are no shortcuts when it comes to quality handcrafted goods. I pride myself in doing everything by hand from cutting to hand stitching using traditional methods. Could I have learned to use a sewing machine? Sure, but that would not have speed up my learning process in any way.

The most essential skills were learning how to pick the appropriate leather for the project you want to accomplish. Sure we can go to a craft store and find a bag of leather remnants, but the quality will not be what you are looking for and may even end up being way too thick. Knowing the proper tools for the craft helped not only the learning process but also keeping myself safe when using blades, punches, and needles.

Workspace has always been one of my biggest hindrances when learning leather. Having a massive workbench to lay out a side of leather and create a bag would be great, but due to my space I only have so much room which is a big obstacle the prevents me from being able to create larger pieces like bags, so that is not an inventory item and is kept to just custom orders depending on the design. Another obstacle has been the fact that I also work a full time job, so the only time I really get to work on my craft is roughly 3-4 hours at night after putting my kids to bed which is not a lot of time when it comes to making leather products that can range anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours just for one piece.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I first got into leather work back in 2019 when I wanted to recreate a piece that had broke a couple years prior. There is a Japanese skill toy called kendama which is essentially a more complex version of ball and cup. There was a leather holster I carried mine in all the time and one day the rivet broke off, after many years of searching I could not find a replacement since it was discontinued at the time. Like I usually do when wanting to learn something I watched videos after videos about leather and the tools for it that could help me accomplish my goal. After a few attempts I was able to re-produce the holster and made some for others in the community. After that task was complete I figured “well, I can make myself a new wallet, belt, keychain and etc…” and fast forward to today where I make everything I do now.

We primarily specialize in minimalist style goods for your everyday needs. Yes, we make bi-folds and other large pieces, but our bread and butter really comes down to the simplicity, yet functionality of our leather goods. Our primary sellers is our three pocket wallets and leather journal covers. Our wallet is the perfect transition for getting rid of that bulky bi-fold full of old receipts. The horizontal wallet for example can hold up to 13 cards total nine of which are in the middle pocket and with all that it still remains slimmer than your bi-fold and is barely noticeable in the front pocket. We take pride in what we create for our customers whether it be a request or giving our story behind certain products. I love to hear previous customers come up to us and say how much they love their wallets or whatever it may be although they were skeptical at first about if they would really use it everyday.

We don’t gatekeep here and are happy to share info and answer questions to anyone who comes up to us at markets and either want to know what the process was like or if they even want to potentially get into the craft. We plan on hosting our first workshop this year with our good friends over at Good Art Co in June, so stay tuned for that.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think the biggest misconception about using real 100% leather is people think these cows are slaughtered just for their hides for us to use, when in fact that is not true at all. The leather industry is a by-product and the hides are sourced from cows that have already been processed by the food industry to make your beef related products and rather than tossing these hides into a landfill and slowly fade away, we help the environment by creating these beautiful pieces of work that will age and grow with an individual for generations to come. The larger impact on our environment are those using vegan leather which is actually made up of plastics and other harmful wastes that will not breakdown when tossed in a landfill. You hurt the environment more when wanting to buy that cheap “genuine” leather or vegan leather bag rather than supporting a small business and crafter who has made something truly quality and is in turn helping sustain our environment more.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

We all know our economy is insane right now and not many people can afford these highly priced handmade goods. We can always support creatives through other means like sharing their story to others, follow and interacting on social media pages, and even reviews about the individual themself if their space allows for that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://windjammerleathercraft.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/windjammerleathercraft/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WindjammerLeathercraft
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzHFsM_mm0O6-GtJmtRX7Bw/featured
• Other: https://tiktok.com/@windjammerleathercraft