Border tooled Cuffs

I was walking through the grocery store one day and trying to get out of town and back to the quiet of the wide open spaces when a fellow I was passing said "that's cool" and I realized he was commenting on the leather cuff I always wear. I said thanks and he asked if I made it and if I ever made them to sell. I said "yup I can make you a pair if you want". Turns out Travis is a welder/metal artist and was sick of having all his shirt sleeves full of holes. So I made him this set of tall leather cuffs to give him a bit of protection.

Box Turtled

Here is a fun strap made for an old friend, a friend that had been asking for a guitar strap for awhile. I kept saying "okay I’ll make you a strap, what do you want on it?” and he kept saying “I don’t know”. Well this went on for sometime until I played a prank on him at a music festival he was camped out at. I came across a box turtle while walking through the woods early one morning and had an epiphany. The friends tent was found, he was asleep inside it and ever so carefully the tent was unzipped enough for one box turtle to be quietly slid in. His awakening that morning was to the sound of said bot turtle trying to get traction on the nylon floor of the tent.
     

Next time he asked for a strap and I said “what do you want on it?” he said “a box turtle” and my response was “I can work with that!”. I start at the forest floor, box turtle, then slowly pan up through the forest layers. There is a trillium blooming and the tulip tree leaves and their distinct tulip shaped flowers can be seen. The friend lived in West Virginia and I picked flora that would be indicative of his area. I had a lot of fun tooling this one.

Big Eyed Rabbits Gone

This strap is also inspired by an old fiddle tune name. The rabbit is in mid hop and facing away like its leaving. He just can't quite resist a rabbits favorite food and is paused to get one more mouthful of clover, which is in bloom. There are a few four leaf clovers just for good luck. This strap has found it's home on a banjo.

Samule's Strap

Samule actually spells his name that way, it is not a typo, He told me he identifies with mules.

Samule is a friend I made on my travels from Montana to Arizona. I got a chance to meet him and his lovely wife in Idaho where they live. Samule actually spells his name that way, it is not a typo, He told me he identifies with mules. I had a strap that I had started to tool but had stopped after putting a mule on it, I couldn't decide what to tool around the mule. Samule saw it and said "that's my strap" So we filled in the skyline with the mountain range that his wife Kitty had been a fire lookout on and added the pine trees that are prevalent in their area.