A Story in Leather: Why Commissioned Pieces Matter

Not long ago, I was asked to make a collar for a dog named Ludo. His owner reached out with a simple request: something strong, something handsome, and—most importantly—something that felt like it belonged to him.

Now, I could have pulled a premade strap from a shelf, stamped his name with a machine, and sent it off. That’s how most things are made today—efficient, standardized, impersonal. But that’s not what this work is about.

Instead, I laid a strip of Wickett & Craig bridle leather across the bench and imagined Ludo himself—his size, his weight, his personality. The edges were thinned so the collar would sit comfortably on his neck. A hand-cut stamp in the Labyrinth font (a nod to his namesake) was pressed into the leather. The stitching was chosen to complement the brass hardware, and the entire piece was burnished until it gleamed with quiet strength.

When it was finished, it wasn’t just a collar—it was Ludo’s collar.

Beyond Personalization

In our modern world, “personalization” has been reduced to typing a name into a website and waiting for a factory to press it onto an object you’ll never truly connect with. What was made for thousands of others is suddenly passed off as made for you.

But a commissioned piece is different. It carries your story. Every detail—the thickness of the leather, the color of the thread, the style of the lettering—comes from choices we make together. That collaboration turns leather into memory, into legacy.

Enrichment for the Owner—and the Maker

For Ludo’s owner, receiving that collar wasn’t about owning another accessory. It was about holding something tangible that spoke of her dog’s place in her life. For me, creating it wasn’t just about making a product—it was about participating in their story.

That exchange enriches us both. The owner receives something meant only for them, and I get the gift of stretching my craft, of working leather into forms and ideas I might not have imagined on my own. Each commissioned piece carries forward the lives of both user and maker.

Why It Matters Today

Mass production has made our lives easier, but also emptier. We forget the quiet satisfaction of objects that endure—the belt that molds to your waist over years of wear, the wallet that softens and darkens as it lives in your pocket, the collar that ages alongside your dog.

Commissioned leatherwork invites us to slow down, to value meaning over convenience, and to remember that ownership can still be intimate.

In every stitch, every edge, every mark of the hand, there’s proof that not everything has to be rushed. Some things are worth the wait.