We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gavin Ambrose a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Gavin, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Quitting a stable job to build leather goods full-time was the first risky leap we took, but the risk that truly changed the trajectory of Hellhound Leather Co. happened about two years in, completely by accident.

A local event planner reached out with an unusual request. They wanted to know if we could pack up our tools and do live, on-site leather stamping – putting initials onto keychains and coasters – in the middle of a corporate party. Up until that point, my craft was a completely solitary pursuit. It happens at a quiet bench, where I can control every single variable. Taking my craft public and working leather live in front of a crowd with a cocktail in their hands and zero margin for error was entirely new territory.

Our philosophy at Hellhound has always been, “Just say Yes, we’ll figure out the ‘how’ in the workshop”. So, we packed our leather, grabbed our mallets, and stepped out from behind the curtain.

It turned out to be lightning in a bottle. We quickly realized that people in a highly digital world are starved for tactile, authentic experiences. They don’t just want a piece of leather; they want the romance of old-world craftsmanship. They want to hear the heavy strike of the maul, smell the raw hides, and experience the rugged, Utah cowboy culture that we live and breathe every day.

Seeing that reaction, we decided to double down on the risk. We heavily invested in onsite event gear, supply and machinery to essentially take the workshop on the road. Today, we’ve carved out a niche in the luxury events industry. We bring the smoke, the fire, and the authentic Hellhound workshop experience to corporate activations, private retreats, and weddings all over the country. What started as a risky, untested ‘Yes’ to a local gig fundamentally transformed our business and allowed us to scale in a way we never thought possible.

Gavin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Gavin, and I am the founder and lead craftsman at Hellhound Leather Co. The entire foundation of this business was built out of a personal frustration with the modern world. I was looking for something and couldn’t find what I needed, so I decided to make it myself.
We live in an era of planned obsolescence; mass-produced, synthetic goods that are designed to fail in a year so you have to buy them again. I wanted gear that would outlast me. I started leathercraft as a pursuit of that and found fulfillment at the bench. I wanted to feel the weight of real brass and full-grain leather, and I wanted to know that if I built a holster or a wallet, it could be passed down to my kids. In the era of Amazon, fast fashion, instant gratification and cheap imitations, I want to bring true quality back into the world. Eventually, that personal standard turned into a full-time workshop.

At Hellhound, we operate in two distinct but deeply connected arenas. On one side, we build uncompromising, high-grade gunleather: everything from bespoke Western gun rigs, rifle accessories, iconic western movie recreations and fully hand-tooled buscadero rigs. On the other side, we craft high-end executive and lifestyle gear. We are crafting alligator belly wallets lined with kangaroo leather, English Bridle bourbon travel cases, and architectural valet trays. We also take our craft on the road, bringing the raw, tactile experience of live leatherworking to luxury corporate events and weddings across the country.

The problem we solve for our clients is simple: we eliminate compromise. If you buy a standard leather bag or tray from a big-box brand, it will eventually slouch, sag, and tear because they use cheap fabric linings, cardboard fillers, or, heaven forbid, “genuine” leather. We promise heavy materials, real craftsman and real care. What sets Hellhound apart is our absolute refusal to cut corners. We over-engineer our lifestyle pieces just like we over-engineer our gun rigs. Just like our gun gear is designed to withstand the rugged backcountry and long days on the trail, our lifestyle leathers are designed to travel life with you and never fail.

What I am most proud of, and what I want people to understand about Hellhound, is that true, old-world American craftsmanship is still alive.
When a client commissions a piece from us, they aren’t just buying a temporary accessory. They are investing in heritage.
When we are invited to an event for a live leather activation, the client isn’t just buying a cheap gift for their guests. They are investing in memories and tactile experiences. We bring an authenticity that cannot be faked.
Every single scratch, scuff, and mile put on our leather just adds to the patina. We aren’t building things for the next season; we are building things for the next generation.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In our home, there is a piece of art that serves as the backbone of our grit. It’s a famous 1917 photograph by Ross Taylor of a blind, overworked mine horse. The message that accompanies that image is simple: ‘Pull it one more mile.’ It is a quiet testament to the resilience of the people who built this country, and it became our exact blueprint for survival.

People see the high-end bespoke rigs and the luxury corporate events now, but building this workshop from scratch was a brutal grind. Over the past eight years, there were moments where the ledger was against us and the rational option was to stop before things “get worse”. There were days we had exactly two dollars left in our accounts. When you are staring down the barrel of that kind of financial reality, the temptation to quit, pack up your tools, and retreat to a ‘safe,’ predictable 9-to-5 job is deafening.

But resilience isn’t about never feeling discouraged; it is about what you do when the panic sets in. Every time we hit that wall, we thought about that mine horse. We told ourselves we just needed to pull it one more mile. Keep the workshop doors open for one more week. Answer one more email and take one more phone call. We decided to trust the quality of our craft and outwork the doubt.

That stubborn refusal to quit is why Hellhound Leather Co. exists today. Every single time we chose to pull it one more mile, the tide eventually turned. We didn’t just survive those lean years—we thrived against all odds. That history is baked into every piece of leather we cut; it is the absolute definition of the ‘grit’ in our luxury grit.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

In a world that is becoming increasingly digital, synthetic, and mass-produced, the single best way society can support artists and craftsmen is to actively and deliberately choose the heirloom over the disposable.

We live in a culture of instant gratification where you can buy a factory-made product with a single click and have it delivered tomorrow. We all do it, myself included. “Amazon wins again” muttered every time I can’t find what I need locally and turn to Amazon to get a problem solved. True craftsmanship requires friction. It takes time, calloused hands, ruined materials, and years of stubborn dedication to learn how to burnish a piece of leather or tool a custom saddle. Society supports a thriving creative ecosystem by understanding that you aren’t just paying for the final physical object—you are paying for the thousands of hours of failure and mastery it took to create it.

To support craftsmen, we have to reject planned obsolescence. Stop buying synthetic things that are designed to fall apart in a year. Choose to buy fewer, better things that last. Demand products that have a human fingerprint on them. When you buy a handcrafted piece, whether it’s a painting, a forged knife, or a heavy leather travel bag, you aren’t just making a purchase. You are investing in an heirloom, keeping old-world skills alive, and telling the craftsman that their ‘grit’ is still deeply valued in a modern world.

Contact Info:

• Website: hellhoundleatherco.com, hellhoundevents.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellhoundleatherco , https://www.instagram.com/hellhoundevents
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HellhoundLeatherCo/