Today we’d like to introduce you to Ethan Lee Sadler.
Hi Ethan Lee, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Several years ago, my wife got me a custom strap for my guitar. It matched the colors, had our band’s goat logo on it, and it fits just right. I fell in love with it, and I wanted to repay the favor. I didn’t have the money to buy her a fancy mandolin strap, so I figured, “Hey, just make one!” A buddy of mine showed me the ropes, and I’d spent night after night laying on his cold garage floor making this mandolin strap. Cara loved the strap, and a fellow musician saw it and asked for one. Then another one, then another. Before I knew it, I’d put straps on dozens of Austin musicians. But it was always a weekend gig or a way to deal with my insomnia. Earlier this year, I quit my day job and decided that I was going to expand my leather empire.
I drove to a friend’s shop in Lockhart and offered him guitar straps. He said he’d buy belts, so I made a bunch of belts. Then it was buckles, sheaths, you name it. We make it. And it’s all handmade, nothing goes through a machine, everything is tooled and stitched and stained and polished by hand. I’ve always wanted to make my living being creative and making functional art. Now I do.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As far as leather goes, it’s an unforgiving medium. You scrap a lot of pieces early on being careless for half a second. I still scrap more than I care to admit, but that’s the perfectionist in me not letting it go.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m honestly most proud of the style I fell into, a modern twist on the traditional guitar straps. Learning to do everything by hand gave me a deep appreciation for traditional styles and patterns, but then you always want to make it your own. I really enjoy building intricate patterns on belts and straps, and that’s all just freehand fun. That’s the most satisfying part, seeing the smile these wild patterns bring to the customer’s face.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I’d say it’s my attention to detail, but also the free-flowing feel of the pieces and how they all tell a story. Every strap that I’ve ever made was made for a specific person, for a specific instrument. The belts and buckles and other things that’s just fun. In either situation, I take great pains to ensure a great product. Nothing leaves my shop until I’m satisfied, and I set myself a very high bar.
Pricing:
- Straps starting at $100
- Belts starting at $50
- Buckles starting at $40
- Bracelets starting at $10
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/elsworthleathers
- Instagram: instagram.com/elsworthleathers
Image Credits
Cara Jane Sadler
