The Heskett family has started somewhat of a tradition — and their craft has brought them nothing but success. THE TOOLS involved in leather working are fairly simple, they said. A small wooden box contained all of the chisels and stamps they needed to make impressions on the leather. THE RARITY of such creations has contributed to the Hesketts’ success, they said. All three of them have been grand champions at various fairs many times over.
Isaac, Kody and Michelle Heskett — 12, 23 and 20, respectively — have been working with leather since each was seven years old.
“It’s something that nobody else really does,” Kody said of their hobbies.
Their family was inspired by their aunt and uncle Jane and David Turner to begin leather work. Through their instruction and 4-H projects, they have been honing their skills for many years. Most recently, Isaac won the grand champion award at the Allen County Fair for a leather belt and holster he made. He also won a purple ribbon for a knife sheath he crafted.
The three Heskett children, along with their mother, Lynn, sat at their kitchen table in their home in Moran — “just a handful” of their crafts sat on a table behind them.
The projects include everything from traditional leather crafts (belts, wallets and checkbook covers to name a few) to some non-traditional works of art.
Isaac said they order their leather from Tandy Leather Co., Kansas City. There are different grades of leather as well — the higher the grade, the less stains, brands, markings and scars on the material.
“It just depends on what you are working on,” Kody said.
After picking the leather, the next step is to trace a pattern on the material. Then, they cut and stitch it together. After assembling the piece, it is just a matter of burnishing (smoothing out) the leather and designing it with the stamping tools.
The burnishing process used to be just a piece of denim rubbed across the leather. Isaac said they now have a machine they can run the material across.
“It must be nice to have a machine,” Kody said with a laugh.
All three have worked on leather paintings, which is far more unique than traditional leather working.
“We decided to start making it a little bit more 3-D,” Kody said.
They start by taking a large, blank sheet of leather. Then, they trace and press out some sort of image. Michelle pointed out a large painting of a cowboy Kody had done of a largemouth bass and Isaac has crafted some cartoon characters. By wetting the leather and press the surface, they can raise and lower the image to make it seem like an image with depth. Then they paint it.
“It’s a lot more unique,” Isaac said of the paintings.
“This is something people don’t get to see all of the time,” Michelle replied.
Isaac, Michelle and Kody are all three members of the International Federation of Leather Guilds as well. The federation gives them a chance to compete against other leather workers from across the globe; the competition is intense.
“You’re running with the big dogs at that point,” Kody said.
Both Kody and Michelle have received first place awards at the federation competitions. But, now that they are out of high school, the older siblings said they don’t have as much time to work on their leather craft as they would like.
“We really don’t have as much time as we’d like,” Michelle and Kody agreed.
Isaac said he hopes to start working on another leather painting soon, but first he needs to see how well his creations will do at competition. He will be taking his knife sheath to state competition.
When asked if they ever considered selling their works, all three seemed reluctant.
“It’s definitely hard to part with some of them (the projects),” Michelle said.
Isaac, for example, said he made the holster and sheath out of function more than anything else. He traps small animals, mainly raccoons and opossums, and sells the fur. He needed the sheath and holster to hold his equipment — so he made them.
As for the cost, Michelle said leather is expensive and many people don’t understand the effort it takes to make a leather craft or painting. Her favorite piece is the cowboy she won awards with at the federation competition. As for Kody, his favorite piece is a dragon figurine he crafted completely out of leather.
They all agreed leatherworking is something they do for themselves, out of function and art.
“It’s something we can actually use,” Kody said.
“I just like it,” Isaac said simply.
HANDCRAFTED Family takes on uncommon craft
