Cave Creek, Arizona

DESIGN NOTES

Many of my patterns and designs are now originals, although I often use patterns from masters of the craft both contemporary and past -- and certainly many of my own designs are inspired by traditional leather craft.

Here's a new favorite -- I call it the "Wortley Daisy" pattern.  While visiting the Wortley Pat Garrett Hotel in Lincoln, New Mexico, I admired an unusual antique hutch in the dining room.  Lincoln is the infamous setting of the bloody Lincoln County War, and the legendary Pat Garrett once owned the Wortley.  Restored to a lovely condition, the Wortley is furnished with period antiques.  The hutch that attracted my attention incorporated several different hand-carved patterns -- a sampler of wood carving.  The most interesting design was a number of notched-leaf daisies strewn across each other randomly.  I photographed it and re-created a similar design in leather. 

The actual wood carving itself strikes me as the work of a leather crafter.  The background, shading, and overall appearance resemble work done with leather tools.  Granted, I know little of the process of wood carving -- but I felt as if I was studying the work of a leather worker as I admired the work of that long-dead craftsman. 

Wondering "but what is it?" The tooled piece above is the top portion of a hand-made bottle tote for steel water bottles, suitable for carrying on your saddle or in your suburban assault vehicle.