I/V LEATHER
About I/V Leather
It's about more than just stylish accessories!
Making leather bracelets and accessories is about more than just fashion. It's a way of life. It's about making things by hand that will last a lifetime, that tell a story. It's about sharing passion for quality craftmanship. It's about keeping passion alive for hand crafted items and sharing skills with people of all ages and inspiring them to also create with their hands and to learn new skills.
How it started
I/V Leather was born 20 years ago. It all started when I couldn't find a matching set of leather cuffs for an outfit I was planning for some performance I was doing. I wanted them to fit my wrists and not have extra snaps..... I wanted them custom fitted for me!! I had to find a leather crafter to have them made, and when I saw how it was done, I wanted to keep making more custom designs for myself. Friends saw my leather bracelets and wanted some made for themselves. I thought it would be fun to set up on Queen Street and make people bracelets right there on the spot. It was a great way to talk to so many interesting people and meet other artists. I started photographing the people that I made bracelets for. Later I made myself a little mobile workstation on the back of a trike that I rode down to my spot on Queen Street West. Soon I set up a leather-crafting workshop at Bloor and Lansdowne in a cool converted warehouse studio where I also set up a photography studio/event space from 2007-2011. I/V Leather re-emerged after going off-grid and started setting up booths at festivals and markets, as well as 'tailgate leather-crafting pop-ups'!
