Leatherworker tools custom goods with precision
Elisa Wilson creates custom leather works through her business Elisa Wilson Leather Goods. She founded the business in hopes of helping people in the horse community find a saddle, tack, or chinks that is perfectly suited to their horse and lifestyle. (Summer Zalesky/Daily Inter Lake)
A leather bag made by Elisa Wilson. (Courtesy photo)
A leather purse made by Elisa Wilson. (Courtesy photo)
Leather bracelets made by Elisa Wilson. (Courtesy photo)
Working in leather requires attention to detail. “You have to be so meticulous in the drawing, meticulous in the tracing, meticulous in every aspect of it,” said Elisa Wilson. (Courtesy photo)
Leather chinks made by Elisa Wilson. (Courtesy photo)
When Elisa Wilson discovered leatherworking two years ago, she was immediately hooked.
But with few places in the Flathead Valley to learn the niche trade, Wilson made her way to Wyoming to take an intensive class and has since continued learning from what she calls, “the old masters.”
“You have to go kind of far away to go to saddle school or to learn from somebody that actually knows the trade really well. The guy I went to has been doing this for 40 years, so he was a good and knowledgeable place to get information on how to do things correctly,” said Wilson.
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