I have always enjoyed working with leather but over the last few years I have really taken to working with the material. We obviously use lots of different leathers in our bags and bellows. Ninety percent of what we use we cut by hand using templates however, there are a couple of things that have really changed the way we work with leather.
Firstly, over the past few years we have had the option to cut and etch leather using mechanical methods. We can get the most out of hides using a drag knife with our CNC technology. The other is our refurbished 1960s Singer walking foot sewing machine. The machine has a new electronic speed control and soft start. At first we found the machine complex and challenging. But with some help from a local sail maker once we mastered the set up and with the right hardware it sails through leather thick and thin. The needles are an amazing work of art with their triangular points and fluted thread relief. We also have a great wee device for strap cutting. I wondered if leather working is in my DNA
My grandfather and great grandfather were both saddle makers and leather workers. My great grandfather Peter Mason established a saddle making business with his brother William in Perth in the late 1870s. They moved premises a number of times in city. The picture above is an advert from the 1880 Post Office directory of Perth and Perth-shire. These directories are a mine of information and include the home address of those listed in the publication.
My grandfather, also Peter Mason was apprenticed and joined the firm. I have no idea how my grandmother who was born in Tomintoul in 1905 met Peter Mason, but my grandparents on my mothers side were married in Dundee in 1926 just 2 months before my uncle Eric was born.
I wonder if they built shotgun slips into their saddles.