In January of 2004, I took ownership of a small saddle shop off Hwy 21 in Bryan, TX. I had spent the previous two years working and apprenticing in that shop under the guidance of Jim Plantt. Jim and I became very good friends and he helped me to begin my saddle making career. When the opportunity presented itself for the 24 year old me to purchase the business, I thought “Why Not?”
Over the next 16 years, I worked hard to grow the business, build relationships, and above all else, create a quality product and service. We had our ups and downs as all businesses experience. I spent 10 years in that location before selling the property in order to downsize a little and focus on my custom work and less on managing a store.
For the past five years or so, I have focused on my saddle list, custom work, and expanding the LeatherCraft Education side of our business. The latter has become a passion for me that allows me to continue my call of making quality gear as well as passing on the knowledge I have of the craft. We have been operating all of this from a private studio setting which cut down on the “store management” side of the business. This gave me more time to focus on my family and my skills.
Much has changed in my life and business over this time. The greatest change was having my children. This time has been amazing and I have learned a ton about working to balance all aspects of my life so that I am present as I can be. It is amazing how a man’s goals change after he becomes a father.
With all that being said, we are relocating our family and Don Gonzales Saddlery to a city that we feel is the best choice for our family and business. Many of you may already know that I am originally from South Texas. Although I am from the Corpus Christi area, we are not moving that far south. We are moving to Moulton, TX which is just about as far south as I want to go. My mom and dad found this little town while out scouting around for property one weekend. Dad was planning on retirement from his career and wanted to get off the coast and settle in an area where he could relax and raise a few cows. They purchased a house there and after retirement they moved in and he set to looking for land. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to see that through. We lost dad in 2013. My mom stayed and we have spent many weekends and holidays there becoming very familiar with the area. Continue reading
Our “Tooling Series” videos are back in March! In this tooling series video, i go through my entire tooling process. In each video we will work through a certain number of stamping tools to complete the pattern shown in the video. In March, we are tooling a much requested skull… with a twist… this one is wear an indian headdress.
A Leather Bible Cover is probably one of the most popular items that leather craftsmen create for their customers. They are also one of the most popular projects for a new LeatherHead to test his/her skills when it comes to making a book cover. Bible covers offer much more room for leather tooling artwork which in turn allows for a lot more customization.
This project video is about making a Leather Bifold wallet. I designed this wallet so that it is fairly easy to assemble with a lot of space to tool. Leather Wallets are fantastic gifts as well as just items that you can stock up on and sell at anytime. We sewed one of these and buckstitched one in the video to show a different option of assembly if you don’t have a sewing machine in your shop. If you have been wanting to make yourself a new wallet for some time, give this video a look and see if this design would work for you. 
The product line at DG Saddlery over the years has included many types of leather goods. We have designed and created knife scabbards, pistol holsters, belts, home decor, harness, tack and of course saddles. One type of item that we attempted many times are zippered type bags. This item not being my area of expertise, we were able to make something that worked but wasn’t at the level that we wanted to create. Because of this, we as a company many times would stay away from taking orders on any type of zippered bag.
Hand stitching Leather with an awl and two needles is a “must-have” skill set for any aspiring leather craftsman. This method allows for maximum efficiency when it comes to having to hand stitch any project.
Learning to Basket Stamp leather is relatively straightforward and one of the first decorative skills we learn in leatherwork. This tool and the design that it creates has been around for well over a century and works great to cover a project quickly and easily.
Selecting a Cobra Sewing Machine or any leather sewing machine can be challenging whether you are a first time buyer or have years of experience. Doing the proper research to insure that you get the best possible machine to do the job you need it to do takes time and patience.
Developing the Round Leather Handbag