We were lucky to catch up with Leslie Crow recently and have shared our conversation below.

Leslie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

I do not mass produce my work. My focus is on custom handcrafted leather goods made in the USA. Each piece is unique and one of a kind. I personally design and create them myself from the finest wild harvested deer and elkhide leather. By doing so I am able to ensure nothing is wasted, using the scraps for lacing and bringing new life to a beautiful part of the animal which is often discarded.

Leslie, 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?

I have always loved art and admired traditional skills and crafts. Growing up in the Appalachian mountains I was exposed to many historical places and people there were still carrying on these ancient ways and heritage. I decided to try my hand at leatherwork while living in Los Angeles and wishing to reconnect with my roots as well as desiring to design my own fashionable eye catching handbags and later jackets pants and jewelry. I was influenced and inspired by many things including rock and roll, motorcycles, and 70s style as well as my travels to Mexico and living in Arizona Texas Montana and Colorado. My craft is and always has been a labor of love as well as a successful bootstrap business founded with no investments or financial backing just a driving passion to create and build a community of collectors in Los Angeles and around the world through instagram and social media

Have you ever had to pivot?

When I first started making leather goods I was working side by side with my two best friends Rachel Avraham and Angela Bruyere. We accepted a few large orders and were in a boutique showroom started by good friend Jen McMillian of Bandit Brand fame. At that point the business was thriving but it became difficult to produce the quantities that were in demand as well as have creative control over our designs and my shoulder was overworked and strained so we decided to down size and keep the integrity and quality of the brand that was so important to us. Eventually I moved away and began to design on my own which led me to accept even less orders and spend more time on each piece which has been very rewarding. I learned to always follow my heart and not push myself too hard in order to make profit

How did you build your audience on social media?

Photo shoots and collaborations with friends!!! Working with people who love to create and are driven by their own perspective and vision. Also dressing musicians. Sharing our world on instagram was a huge part of having creative freedom and Connecting with potential customers

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.lesliecrow.com
• Instagram: @lesliecrowofficial @coyotespiritchild

Image Credits
Photography by Tim O’Keefe