This is a question I get asked a lot.
I have students come to the workshop who are looking to change career or have been doing leather work or crafting for a number of years and want to take it to that next level.
I also have professional leatherworkers come to the workshop to develop ideas, concepts, increase their skillset or just get better.

They all ask the same thing, “can I make money from Leather Work? Proper money.”

The short version is yes!

I do, I have been working with leather and running my own company for a number of years… I try not to dwell on how many, every time I work it out it dawns on me that I am not in my 20’s anymore, in my mind, the last decade is still the 80’s. (ouch)

Back to the plot… often I will get an email from someone who presents me with a 30 point business plan, so much work has gone in. to it, the logos are there, the name of the company and the URL has been purchased, on paper, everything has been thought and looks amazing, except perhaps one thing… are they any good?
And that is the reply, are you any good?

Now! There are plenty of businesses selling what I can only describe as tat and doing very nicely out of it.

Let’s face it, we’ve all bought something online that looks awesome, has amazing images and a fantastic write up, only to find once it arrived, it was nothing like the description and not even fit for purpose.
The truth is, there are a lot of people out there making leather goods that fit that description, but how many return customers do you suppose they get?

This is just clever marketing, making or buying at low cost and selling high volume.
It’s a valid business model, it’s served many companies well for years.
But, it relies on an ever changing product line or it will stagnate. (no return customers, poor reviews)

We don’t have a marketing team behind us, it’s just us. So how do we compete?

In short, we don’t! if we can focus on quality, that immediately sets us apart.
We get return customers, customers more inclined to leave positive reviews and we build reputation.
Now, by my own admission, I will call myself a man with a business, not a businessman.

I made the products and built a business around them, for this to have succeeded, my products needed to be good, for me to continue to succeed, I need to stay good.
The ethos behind this is… Quality Matters. You see it often enough when you see the Armitage Leather Logo.

If your quality is good, your work will speak for itself, then… your customers will speak for you, and that is the crux of the matter!

People want ‘handmade leather goods’ if they just wanted a bag, there are a million outlets ready to serve them, but to them, handmade means quality.

Provide that quality, and you are halfway there. Maintain that quality and you are building reputation.

This is not a quick fix… there is no answer here that is going to make you succeed overnight, you! You have to put in the leg work, you have to hone your skills and up your game.
I suppose here, the original question remains, can I make money from this?
The answer remains, yes. If you are willing to invest your time to gain the skills and be good at what you can do, there is a market for what you make.

I will add that if you want to make wallets and belts, everyone and their one legged dog with and eye patch is making wallets and belts and to will be a very small fish in a big pond.

You may well be far better than most that are already out there, but you will never be seen!
People will not see the wood for the trees. So… find something others are not making, find something that is perhaps a little harder to make, if it harder to make, there are a lot less people making it and you immediately stand a better chance of standing out.
Yes, you will have to work harder learning to make a more complex item, ok, but if you are serious, you know this is not going to be a quick thing.
Also, if you can find a way of delivering that item in a unique way, or, finding a unique fact about it that the customer can get behind, you will begin to stand out further.

I have helped so many people with this, and!, it works.

Irrelevant of the flag you intend to wave, irrelevant of the product you intend to make, irrelevant of the business model to are currently writing… are you any good?

That is what it comes down to, create a product in a quality you are willing to stand behind and others will stand behind you.

This is a lot of waffle to put across one point!

I can go on, there is so much to this topic, but in short, if you are in this position, try speaking to someone who is the situation where you want to be and ask them how they got there.

The point though is this, get good! practice, learn if you have to, ask if you don’t know, produce a product you are happy with and willing to stand behind.
You will be surprised how many people are looking for that special something that you just made!

Don’t give up, try harder, do better! Be the leatherworker your mum thinks you are.

Nigel