Today we’d like to introduce you to Tina White.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Tina. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up with always having a sewing machine in the house. Having been taught how to use it when I was young, I was always drawn to creating & customizing all of my bags or clothing. Taking particular interest in the heavier duty & textured fabrics eventually lead me to using leather suedes for bags.
About seven years back, I was working at a restaurant where we received these coins to use at other locations for an employee discount. Everyone I worked with guarded these with their lives, so I decided to make mine a little custom leather coin pouch to hang on my keys. Fellow employees caught on, and I started to make some for my friends using the heavier leather I was always intimidated to work with. I eventually started practicing tooling, using stamps, painting, staining, dying the (vegtan) untreated leather. This opened up a whole new world to me in the leather biz. It’s allowed me to personalize any handmade good requested. Now I’m mainly running off of custom orders, but am branching out to vending at local pop-ups and having my items available in local shops.
Has it been a smooth road?
It’s definitely been a learning curve with everything I’m doing in creating this business. The saying “Good things don’t come easy” is so true! I’m a behind the scenes type of personality, and when it comes to self-promotion, it’s been slightly painful at times putting myself out there. I’m running a one-woman show at the moment, so I have to adjust to not only being the creator but promoting, photographing, reaching out, pricing, sales…it gets to be overwhelming at points. Some advice to those just starting out would be to not overthink the small details. “Does this post make me sound lame” -Let your voice & personality shine through. I usually get better results when I’m just being me, and not some make believe image I think people should see me as.
ALSO tying in with- Don’t compare yourself to other artists/designers/creators. IT WILL DRIVE YOU CRAZY. Just focus on where you are, what you’re doing, & where you want to be. If you believe in yourself, others will too.
We’d love to hear more about Hard To Kill Leather – “HTK” Leather.
I would describe my work as “Western Vintage Inspired” & heavily influenced by music. For years I worked at a legendary vintage shop in Oceanside called The Vintage Sanctuary. This was one of the first places where I fell in love with the vintage styles. I’m a sucker for old sayings & song lyrics, incorporating them into my work. Belts that say “Canta y no llores” (sing & don’t cry), influenced by my Mexican-American background. “My Grass is Blue” – off the Street survivors album, (also a nod to bluegrass), “Mama Tried” – from Merle Haggard. Right now, a majority of my orders are customized belts, guitar straps, bags & ESPECIALLY baby moccasins. I call the baby shoe line “Baby Steps” (think Bill Murray). I’m most known for the personalization, & wide range of items asked to be made. From custom beer koozies to check presenters, wine menus, chef knife rolls, drum stick bags, wallets, hair barrettes. When something is ordered, I ask a few questions on who it’s for, their style, some interests, to really get a feel of the person who will be using my products. The best feeling is when the customer receives what I’ve made, & the joy it brings them, seeing the little personal details included. These things end up being keepsakes because it’s one of a kind and made for that individual. I think that’s why what I do is so special.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.HTKLeather.com
- Email: HTKLeather@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/htkleather/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HTKLeather/
Image Credit:
Erica Joan
Myles Heidenreich
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