tools art from leather When Doug Halliday was growing up in Scotland, he thought all Americans were like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, singing cowboys whose clothing was covered with decorative leather fringe and silver accents. "I completely believed that until I was 10," Halliday remembered recently, gazing at his collection of singing cowboy photos and paraphernalia. "Then my mother told me Americans drove cars and had jobs just like everyone else. I was crushed." Despite his disillusionment, Doug came to believe that America would be a great place to live. With their young son Scott in tow, he and his wife, Maureen, left Scotland and settled in North Chili, confirming forever that very few Americans (especially in Western New York) wear leather fringe. Nevertheless, Doug never lost his love of western style. A lay off from his job at Delco in the late 1970s proved fortuitous as Doug took up carving and tooling leather to pass the time, working at first from kits and patterns. "I had a friend who was doing it and I thought it looked interesting," he said. "I am self-taught and have to say I made really atrocious pieces in the beginning." After a few years of practice with wallets and belts, he was able to produce leather goods nice enough to sell. Looking at the beautiful things he is now able to create, it's hard to believe he ever made anything that could be labeled "atrocious." Apparently others thought so too, because before long he was so inundated with work that his part-time hobby had become a burden. "When you're up designing a piece of leather on Christmas Eve, it's just not fun anymore," he said. After his return to Delco, he cut back on the amount of leather work he did for others. But now that he's retired, Doug is devoting more time to his leather crafts business called Leather as You Like It. In addition to the standbys like wallets, key cases, purses and knife sheaths, he makes guitar straps, harmonica cases, Bible covers, plaques, and seats for antique chairs. He has fashioned saddlebags for a motorcycle and a flight case for a pilot. Many customers ask him to add their names or initials to custom creations. "What I'm able to make is really only limited by the customer's imagination," he said. "I'm lucky that I can draw some and I don't always have to depend on someone else's pattern." Doug's work is gaining popularity in Canada and has traveled west to California and Oregon. Doug purchases pre-cut or large pieces of leather from a crafts supply store near Syracuse. His work looks like elaborate designs that have been carved from the leather, but it's really a process involving wetting the leather, cutting beveled edges around the design, then pounding down the leather surrounding the design. Additional details are added by smoothing and rubbing and adding dyes. Finally, when the finished product will be a wallet, case or purse, the pieces are stitched or laced together using what looks like one continuous lace, but is really several smaller spliced laces. Elaborate pieces, like the cover he created for his Telecaster guitar, can take up to 50 hours to complete. "What's funny is that others wouldn't describe me as a patient man," Doug reflected. "But I have patience for this." Doug continues to work with the same tools he purchased in the 1970s, downstairs in a basement shop that Maureen wishes he wouldn't show to visitors. He's always got something in progress. "I'm never really satisfied with the way the pieces come out," Doug said. "As soon as something's finished, I start to think about the things I will do better and start the next piece so that I can do that. I'm beginning to think I will never come out the other end because the next project is always out there. And that's a fascinating thing." Editor's note: If you're interested in discussing a custom leather design with Doug Halliday, call him at 594-1624 or email at leather@rochester.rr.com. |
Above: Doug Halliday at work at his bench.