We were lucky to catch up with Shiela Mae recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Shiela Mae, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
I have always loved art. My earliest childhood memories always include sitting around a table and drawing or coloring. In elementary school I entered the local art contests and to be perfectly honest, I loved the accolades and winning awards. It was such a rush. This continued throughout my life. In middle school I would paint on t-shirts and give/sell them to friends. In my early 20s, I would hand draw flyers for the local jazz shows and artwork for bands and musicians.
I have always felt compelled to express myself creatively and to surround myself with creative people. When the pandemic hit and I was unable to work my full-time job as a hair salon manager, I dove headfirst into leathercrafting. It wasn’t until then that I realized I was much happier spending my time creating rather than the typical day job. That’s when I realized I had to prepare and take steps to be able to pursue my artistic path professionally.
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.
My name is Shiela Mae and I am the one-woman show behind MAE Leather Goods based in San Francisco, CA. I am a full-time leathercrafter who specializes in handmade, marbled leather wallets and accessories. My work utilizes the marbling technique which is suspending paints in an aqueous solution to make patterns. I marble natural vegetable tanned leather skins to create one-of-a-kind goods using traditional leather crafting. Crafting a wallet from start to finish is such a fulfilling process. One of the best things about using vegetable tanned leather as a medium is its ability to patina and tell a story. There is nothing quite like seeing a customer’s worn and well-loved wallet.
I would not be where I am today without the community of leathercrafters worldwide that I have befriended through Instagram. I have taught many others how to marble leather and have also sold my panels throughout the globe. It feels really special to know that something I’ve made has traveled to the hands of another crafter eventually making its way to its owner.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the community. It takes a village to make an artistic practice into a business and I have so much gratitude for my Instagram leather community, fellow vendors, craft fair organizers, retail shop owners, and most importantly my customers. My craft is such an independent activity and going out and showing your work in a public setting is so refreshing. Participating in local shows revitalizes my work flow and gets the creative juices flowing. Building communities also opens doors to new opportunities.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
If you have a choice in the matter, shop small and local. It is so important to support local economies and it’s always the mom and pop shops that support local artists.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://maeleathergoods.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mae.leather/
Image Credits
Shiela Mae