Do you remember Irina Wearning’s clever Back to The Future project I posted last year? Well she’s at it again! For the second part she has with people from simulated including Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam and Buenos Aires recordings from the past. 
Nathanael’s old roommate Steve Dubbeldam teamed up with my old roommate Corey Petrick to develop the website Apocalypse Pak. They partnered with uncrate to get the word out and now you purchased everything that you need to survive and thrive in the Apocalypse, all stuffed conveniently into one pack.
Nathanael and I spent the weekend (and Monday!) with our significant others in Palm Springs. Our good buddy Jesse Carmichael (DJ at our Christmas party) married beautiful Renee at the Ace Hotel this past Sunday. Since Monday was 106 degrees, We spent about 9 hours in the pool, though we weren’t as graceful as these synchronized swimmers.
For those of you of you who are on the fence about using Pinterest for your company here’s some thoughts:
Why did you decide to start Los Angeles Leathercraft?
Before I started Los Angeles Leathercraft I worked for a large corporate company that manufactured a small portion of their product here in LA.. mostly belts. They eventually shut off all domestic manufacturing and closed the Los Angeles facility. When this happened I was left unemployed.. along with a handful of skilled craftsmen each with over 20 years of experience hand crafting leather accessories. Myself and two business partners had the opportunity to join forces with three of the craftsmen and we started Los Angeles Leathercraft. It was a perfect opportunity to put our combined manufacturing experience to use for ourselves and not some big corporation that sees no value in a high quality, handcrafted, American made product. Everyone wins.. we get to work for ourselves and build a company based on our own ethics and our friends have a job doing what they know and love.
That’s great that you’re able to provide your skilled craftsmen friends with a job, is that why you decided to open up here in Los Angeles?
I’m not from LA but I’ve lived here for 11 years working in the apparel, footwear and accessories manufacturing industries as a designer, product developer and brand manager. I love the manufacturing industry so much and I love Los Angeles.. and maybe that has a lot to do with the fact that LA has such a thriving manufacturing industry. The idea that someone like me could design a pair of shoes or a leather belt or an entire clothing line and have it made right here is the most exciting thing I could imagine. Not only do we have the skilled labor but we still have local vendors offering all tools and materials to have these things made! So combine that with the best weather anywhere, Los Angeles has it all.
What sort of products do you make at Los Angeles Leathercraft?
We are a manufacturer specializing in private label, leather accessories. Our clients range from footwear and apparel brands to home goods and furniture companies.. the majority of them based in LA. We’ve done seating, bags and every type of accessory including leather jewelry. This year we want to get into footwear. We just finished our first prototype of a pair of sandals that we’re really excited about. I’d love to be able to offer our clients some simple footwear styles that they can add to their product lines.
So you would design them for other brands?
We would provide the concept and the client would chose materials and hardware finishes but as a company we do offer a full service meaning we can provide everything from design services and raw material sourcing all the way through to production and quality management.
We build our local (Los Angeles & US) economy by providing jobs. When jobs stay local that money earned stays in and strengthens our communities and helps provide services. Manufacturing local is especially important because of the reach it has beyond our own product & service. We are not only providing our craftsmen with jobs, but the technician that services our machinery, the machinist that makes our dies, the tanneries and vendors we buy our hardware and leather from and so on. Among others, the apparel and accessories manufacturing industries are alive here. There are resources to produce all price points and quality of product so we should always consider our local resources, and how staying local effects us all, before outsourcing.
How did you get into art and interior design?
It always came naturally, just what I did. When I was four years old my parents often found me at 3am on the kitchen floor drawing pictures of aliens and far-away worlds. For a while they thought I WAS an alien. At five I announced I was redoing my room around a table design I had – glass top, Baskin-Robbins ice cream bins for legs. As a teenager at home I made my own furniture, and at school painted murals on the walls for extra credit. My dream was to live in a big concrete building in the downtown of a huge city, making art and designing and building things, which I now do.
Though I got a degree in history from Princeton, I went to art school the year before and design school the year after. I always knew I’d be in art and design but I worked a telecom job back in my native Colorado for years to pay the bills. That job allowed me to design and build my own house, but I still wasn’t satisfied doing art and design only on the side. I sold the house and almost everything in it to move to LA in 2005, and that’s the best decision I made.
Why is it unique to be an artist and interior designer in Downtown Los Angeles compared to other cities?
This city has more raw talent per square mile than any other city on earth. In just my little neighborhood alone are architects, fashion designers, woodworkers, metal smiths, photographers, writers, and even the CNC machine that brought my NYC map to life. I can produce my art and have pieces made for my design clients without even getting in my truck. That’s just not possible anywhere else. The other amazing benefit to LA is that people here have money to spend on art and design, and are quite friendly in making connections and helping each other out. I’ve never found Downtown to be the plastic superficial world stereotyped in movies. This is more like a small town of working people who lend each other a hand, like really glamorous Amish who use electricity.
What does you typical day look like?
No matter what I’ve done to fight it, I am a night owl to the core. As long as I don’t have to start my real work day before 10am, I can do ANYTHING. I usually start at the computer with email, invoicing, scheduling, and lately photo editing and collage-making. I have meetings around town mid-day and afternoons, and then I work diligently on projects well into the night, breaking only for the gym. It’s not unusual for me to work until 1am, not noticing the time pass, especially while making maps in Illustrator. For the last seven years, I’ve worked six days a week, taking Sunday to do nothing but eat delicious food, see friends, and go to the movies. The boundary between my work and personal life is incredibly blurry; my clients become my close friends, and I have no problem responding to texts and work emails until midnight. I guess that’s how I know I’m doing what I truly love!
It’s essential that the Arts District remain a place of art and creativity and not simply become just another fashionable neighborhood.
Recently I picked up a cuppow. I’ve been stoked on my purchase ever since. Basically it’s a way to convert your mason jar into a sip cup. Check it out.
CUPPOW! from Paper Fortress on Vimeo.
Check out Eric Trine’s chair project and this great chair. 
The blog may look a little empty next week. Because, tomorrow I’ll be getting married here! Our crew at WoodSmithe has been so helpful through the whole process and has made me feel so very grateful for working at such a rad company.
photo by Melani Kay Photography
