THE STORY BEHIND WILDE'S LEATHERWORK
Where It Started
Wilde’s Leatherwork began in 2017 with a simple spark of inspiration. After seeing the beautifully tooled leather guitar straps worn by country and western musicians, I felt pulled toward the craft myself. What started as curiosity quickly became obsession.
In the early days, I made small pieces for friends and family. Drinks coasters, wrist straps, little gifts for birthdays and Christmas. Each project taught me something new about leather, patience and the satisfaction of making something built to last.
In 2018, I took on my first serious project: a personalised WILDE leather guitar strap. I still wear it today. It reminds me where this all began, not as a get-rich-quick scheme, but as a love for making.
Finding My Craft
By 2020, I created a dedicated Instagram page to share my work. What started as a handful of posts quickly grew into a full catalogue of designs, and soon after, Wilde’s Leatherwork officially launched online.
I rented a workshop and spent the next two years refining my skills, developing my style, and building a growing collection of handmade leather goods. Those years shaped the foundation of the brand: practical designs, honest materials, and products made to be used every day for years.
The Turning Point
In 2022, I unexpectedly lost access to my workshop due to serious structural issues with the building. Overnight, I went from producing regularly to being without a safe place to work. For a long time, I couldn’t make new pieces at all.
It was a tough period. In 2023, after struggling with slow sales and confidence, I came close to walking away from the business altogether. But sometimes stepping back gives you the clarity you need.
Instead of quitting, I started learning — properly. I studied business, sales and marketing with the same focus I once gave to learning leathercraft. Around that time, I also lost my grandad, who had always encouraged my work. I inherited a leather belt he had worn for over 30 years. Holding it made something click.
That belt showed me what leather can really be. Not fast fashion. Not disposable. But something that lives with you, ages with you, and carries stories.
That moment reshaped the purpose behind Wilde’s Leatherwork.
Where Things Stand Now
Today, Wilde’s Leatherwork is built on resilience, heritage and long-term quality. I’m back in a workshop, creating again with sharper skills, clearer direction and a stronger belief in what this brand stands for.
Every product is still handmade, but now with a deeper focus on durability, timeless design and everyday usefulness. These are pieces made to soften, age and develop character. Just like that 30-year-old belt.
Looking Ahead
The future of Wilde’s Leatherwork is about growth without losing the soul of the craft. The goal is to move into a permanent workshop space, build steady sales, and eventually bring in a small team to help make high-quality handmade leather goods more accessible.
I also hope to collaborate with other local makers and independent businesses, supporting the local economy and keeping traditional skills alive in a modern world.
This is still a small brand. Still independent. Still built by hand.
This is only the beginning.
Thanks for being part of the journey.
All the best,
Geoff
Wilde's Leatherwork
WHAT DOES 'WILDE' MEAN?
There’s a distinct difference between something that is made to exist, and something that is made to last.
Most things today fall into the first category. They are produced quickly, consumed quickly, and forgotten just as fast. They serve a purpose for a moment, but they don’t carry any real weight. There’s no story in them, no sense of where they came from, and no real reason to hold onto them beyond convenience.
But not everything has to be that way.
There is still value in what is genuine. In things made slowly, by hand, with care and intention. In work shaped by tradition and grounded in heritage, not as nostalgia, but as proof that certain ways of making have endured for a reason. These things tend to feel different. Not louder or more impressive, just more honest. More natural. They don’t try to convince you of their worth. They simply have it.
That idea extends beyond any one craft. You can find it in music, in photography, in art, in anything shaped by human hands and real attention. The medium changes, but the principle stays the same: a respect for what is real, and a refusal to replace it with something easier but emptier.
WILDE exists within that way of thinking.
It is a small, independent brand, built locally and shaped by a genuine passion for making things properly. Not for scale, not for trends, but for the simple reason that it’s worth doing. There’s a certain freedom in that. The freedom to work honestly, to stay close to the process, and to create things that feel grounded, rugged, and built with purpose.
Not everything needs to be faster, cheaper, or more convenient. Some things are better when they take time.
Some things are better when they’re real.
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