A quick search of the internet will throw up hundreds, if not thousands of handmade items. But what actually constitutes a handmade item?

The Cambridge Dictionary has its meaning as

“Made by someone using their hands rather than a machine”

With that in mind lets have a look at what companies and businesses class as handmade. Obviously, I am going to base this on leather goods as that is my craft. I will go through the basic process of crafting a leather belt and compare the differenc...

• Bubblegum pink
• 
  
• Espresso
• 
  
• Havana
• 
  
• Jade Green
• 
  
• Lime Green
• 
  
• Olive Tan
• 
  
• Plum
• 
  
• Purple
• 
  
• Walnut
• 
  
• Olive Green
• 
  
• Black
• 
  

• Australian nut
• Black
• Burgandy
• Chocolate
• Conker
• Dark Green
• Dark Havana
• Hazel
• Light Havana
• London Tan
• Navy...

I have had a change around with my shipping. I now have 2 options for UK shipping;

Free Delivery with standard crafting time of up to 8 weeks,
and,
Rush Delivery with up to 4 weeks shipping time. I will bump this order up my to-do list and try and make your order quicker.

Obviously this will only work if most people choose the free delivery option. Too many rush orders and I won't be able to keep up! Makes it a bit pointless then and I will have to have a re-think.

Anyway. I will see how it goes.Si

So you have just got your new furry friend and need to treat them to a new dog collar. Once you start looking around you realise that there are a vast array of dog collars to choose from. From high visibility collars, to rope, chain, to leather. Each of these collars comes with their pros and cons.

Now this may sound strange but for a puppy I would recommend finding a collar with a lot of adjustment that your dog can grow in to. No matter how much you look it up and think how big there a...

Whether it is walking, training, or working, sometimes your dogs lead needs to be short, at other times it needs to be long. At Oakside I make a selection of leather dog leads that can quickly and easily change their length to suit all of your requirements.

Multi-Length Leather Dog Lead

I developed this lead from my time as a Dog Handler. It is one lead that can be used in 8 different ways. With a trigger hook at each end and two dee rings it is simply a matter of clipping the lead where ...

Have you always wanted the perfect Leather Strap to go with your fantastic camera?

I have a selection of camera wrist straps, camera neck straps, and camera shoulder/sling straps you can choose from. These are all handmade to order in my workshop in Kent.

Being custom made gives you many more options than shop brought items. With a choice of seven oak bark leather colours and four stitching colours you can order a camera strap that is individual to you.

My camera straps are available to order in...

One of my new belts for 2017. The Douglas Handmade Leather Belt.

Made to measure for the perfect fit in my workshop in Mister-on-Sea, in Great Britain.

Buckle

A solid Brass Swelled West End buckle is used on the Douglas leather belt. This buckle is a traditional buckle design with great looks. Being solid brass means that there is no rust giving years of use without detracting from style.

Stitching

Three lines of Oakside Signature hand stitching. Using traditional saddlery stitching skills and ha...

Happy New Year!

To bring in the New Year I have revamped my website. I have lost a few pages, added some more and had a general cleanup. I have changed the style to a more modern look that is responsive to the viewing device. A must I think now days as over 80% of my traffic is from mobile devices. Hopefully this will make it easier for you to find what you are looking for.

A common question I receive is “What colour leather is that?” So I have now moved my leather colours to the side of my...

Midwinter is finally upon us!

Use the voucher code XMAS2016 for a discount from www.oaksidesaddlery.co.uk

The Perth Leather belt

At 3 inches wide, or 76mm, which ever you prefer, is the widest leather belt that I craft. A dress belt designed to be worn over your outfit.

Leather
As with all of my leather belts I use only top quality bridle butt leather. Bridle butt leather is very strong, yet pliable and supple. It ages beautifully and develops an outstanding individuality. Being made to measure ensures that you have the perfect fit.

Buckle
A solid brass London Dee buckle is used for the Perth leather ...

For the strength and security you need for your expensive camera.

Made by hand using the best bridle leather that will last a lifetime.

A selection of new handmade leather belts soon to hit my store!

The Rochester Leather Belt

A solid Brass Swage buckle stitched with three lines of hand stitching.

The Perth Leather Belt

A 3 inch wide leather belt with a solid brass London Dee buckle

The Battersea Leather Belt

Fitted with a solid brass whole harness buckle

To order one of these belts before they are in the store simple contact me at oaksidesaddlery@gmail.com

Si

www.oaksidesaddlery.co.uk

• Never edge the outside edge of a loop.
• Adjustment holes are spaced the width of the strap apart (A one inch wide leather belt will have holes spaced at one inch intervals).
• Always have an odd number of holes in a strap (Thi...

Are you one of these people that keep their horse clippers clean? or are you one of the ones that just blow the hair away and leave it until next time? Do you always brush all of the hair off after every use? Take the filters off and clean them?

Whatever you do you will be surprised by just how much hair and muck can find its way inside your horse clippers. Here are just a few of the ‘worst’ ones I have had for servicing.

Horse Clipper heads have changed over the years. Airflow from the mot...

How do you measure your Dog’s existing collar to get the right sized Handmade Collar from Oakside Saddlery?

First take your a look at your current collar on your dog. Does it fit OK? If not now is the time to make so changes. Make a note of which hole the collar is buckled to and then remove the collar from the dog.

Lay the collar out flat and measure from the inside edge of the buckle to the hole that it was buckled to.

You can see the mark on the collar where it was buckled to on this pictur...

You have brought your new camera and decided that you want a decent strap to go with it, but wait a moment. How do you know what strap you need? If you have used cameras for years then this is not a problem, but if photography is new to you then try it first. See how you prefer to hold the camera; maybe you like to carry the camera in your hand, then a wrist strap is for you. Other people like to carry the camera across your body over your shoulder so perhaps you need a longer shoulder strap,...

A new belt that has just joined the Oakside Saddlery line up. The Hereford handmade leather belt is a wide leather belt with a double or twin pronged buckle and two leather loops.

Buckle

The Hereford has a large double prong West End roller buckle fitted for the ultimate in form and security. The two prongs buckle into matching holes making for a stylish finish to a beautiful hand-crafted leather belt.  This twin pronged buckle is available in two widths; a 50mm (2 inch) wide buckle, and the mo...

Time for a look at one of my new belts. The quick release Oxford handmade leather belt with Marshalsay Buckle.

Leather

As always this Oxford Leather belt uses to grade bridle butt leather from Metropolitan Leather. At between 3.5 – 4 mm it is some of the best leather you can buy. It is very supple but supremely strong. A super smooth finish to the grain making for a true one of a kind leather belt. There are not too many markings on the leather, but that is what makes leather unique.

Buckle

The...

1. I don't get paid for my work. A loss that I can't write off against my tax return.
   
2. The customer just think...

Personalisation of any item is a good thing! And how better to express this than by ordering handmade.

Colour

The three leather dog collars above are; from left, Dark Havana, Black, and Australian Nut.Dark Havana is a dark brown coloured leather, Australian Nut has a reddish hint to it, and black is, well, black! 

Stitching is carried out by hand and can either blend in or contrast. So above we have brown stitching on a dark Havana collar, Yellow stitching on an Australian Nut collar, and on the...

3350BC – 3100BC – The Ice Man

This amazing fella was discovered on a mountain in the Otztal Alps, South Tyrol, Italy on 19^th September, 1991 by two hikers. He was partially encased in glacier ice and so well preserved that originally he was thought to be an unfortunate mountain hiker that had met his end. After recovery of the body radiocarbon dating revealed that the iceman lived between 3350 and 3100 BC, making him 5000 years old.

Among the many items of well preserved clothing found...

What is a running loop?

A running loop is a small loop of leather that is free to move up and down your belt. It is normally the piece that you lose when it falls off!

What does a running loop do?

The reason behind the running loop is that it is there to keep the point of the leather tight against the rest of the belt, and hence, your waist.

Do I need one?

This all depends on the style of your belt. A casual belt, for instance, worn with jeans will not normally require a running loop as the point ...

One advantage of ordering your leather dog lead from a UK based Cordwainer is that you can ask for that special one-of-a-kind design. That is the case for this heavy-duty, multi-length Slip lead.

At 1 1/2 inches wide the lead is design to fit a giant Boerboel dog.

The rings stitched along the length of the lead allow for adjustments in much the same way as my standard multi-length leads. They are stitched in to place by hand using three lines of hand-stitching at 8 stitches to the inch.

The slip...

The point when making leather is the part of a belt or strap that passes through the buckle. There are a variety of designs and styles that a Cordwainer can use, and sometimes traditional methods dictate what style of point a strap should have. Nowadays, on leather belts and the like, this is just a case of personal preference.

There are two styles of point that I use and both are traditional designs.

Cathedral Point

The cathedral point, or harness point, is probably the most common point end in...

What is a Skinny Belt?

A Skinny Belt is usually any belt that is less than 1 inch wide. And although you can buy many printed, cloth, and other fabrics, I am obviously going to look at Leather Skinny Belts.

Many of my belts can be made as a Skinny Belts as many of the buckles that I use are available in these sizes. Check out the following belts which can be less than 1 inch wide.

• Lincoln Leather Belt 

  • ½ inch wide leather belt

  • 5/8 inch wide leather belt

  • ¾ inch wide leather belt

  • 7/8 inch wide leath...

The Lincoln handmade Leather Belt appeals to the Equestrian market due to its use of a solid brass horseshoe buckle from Abbey England, but it need not stop there! The Lincoln Belt is at home with any casual style and is well suited to jeans as it has a maximum belt width of 1 ½ inches. Not only that but the same horseshoe buckle can drop down to ½ inch or 12mm for a skinny belt if required.

Leather

As always my Lincoln Leather Handmade Belt uses top quality English bridle Leather that is aro...

I am by no means a fashion expert so I may have ‘borrowed’ a lot of these style tips from people who are more in the know!

Essentially Men’s belts can be placed in to two styles; Casual and Formal, with each suited to a particular situation.

The Formal Belt

Should men even wear a belt with their formal wear? I'm going to say yes! That is because it would be pointless of me not to if I want you to read this and then buy one of my belts! So lets forget the ins and outs and look at formal bel...

The usual reason is that many belt buckles are named after towns. This is more than likely that that style of buckle originated in that town.

If a buckle is not named then my naming convention goes to the town from where my first order for that belt originated.

Simple really!

So if you want to be the first with a belt named after your town, pop over to Oakside’s Custom Belts and design your one=of-a-kind masterpiece!

Si

www.oaksidebelts.co.uk

www.oaksidesaddlery.co.uk

Measuring your dog for a slip collar

The measurement that I require to make your leather handmade slip collar is not the same as a traditional collar. This is due to the way that a leather slip collar fits on your dog. As a slip collar does not open it needs to be able to pass completely over your dog's head without pinching or rubbing.

To measure you will need;

• A fabric tape measure,

• and your dog of course!

Simply take your tape and measure around the largest part of your dog's head....

Measuring your dog for a Handmade Leather Dog Collar from Oakside Saddlery couldn't be easier!

Method 2

Using your dogs existing collar to measure for your new handmade Leather Dog Collar. You will need the following items;

• Your dog's collar.

• A fabric tape measure or other ruler.

How To

Before removing your dog's collar check the fit and note which hole that the collar is buckled to.

• Remove the collar and lay it flat.

• Lay your measure alongside the collar.

• Take the measurement from the inside of the o...

To measure your dog for your new Handmade Leather Dog Collar from Oakside is quite simple really.

Method 1

You will need the following items;

• A fabric tape measure (this can be in inches or centimetres)

• Two fingers

• And your dog

Hopefully you have all three of these otherwise you may have to improvise!

Place the fabric tape around your dogs neck where the collar will go. The tape needs to have enough slack to easily slide two fingers underneath it. This is the size of the collar that you should order...

How should you look after your handmade leather item from Oakside Saddlery?

Having spent a fair amount of cash on your handmade leather goods it seems only fitting that you should want to take care of it. Most leather if looked after will last many years of hard use. Dog collars, for instance put up with a lot of abuse – from mud, water, baths, sand, and their mate chewing on it!

To keep your leather in good condition and looking like new takes only a little bit of effort. If the leather is r...

The Sighthound Collar

A sighthound is a type of hound that catches its prey by using shear speed and agility. It uses, as the name would suggest, its keen vision to keep this prey in sight at all times. Sighthounds have a long, lean, and flexible body; long legs and neck, and a deep chest. This all comes together to create the perfect, high-speed, hunter.

Breeds of dog associated with being a Sighthound include;

• Greyhound

• Whippet,

• Lurcher

• Afghan Hound

• Borzoi

• Wolfhound

• Saluki

To name but a few.

Sighthoun...

My standard dog lead is a traditional leather lead made with practicality in mind.

A simple but useful leather dog lead that does exactly what it is meant to do!

Leather

The leather is my standard bridle leather, very strong and durable, perfect for my leather dog leads. Why have a nice collar and then scrimp on the lead? There are a variety of lengths;

• Short 24 inches (60 cm)

• Medium 36 inches (91 cm)

• Long 48 inches (121 cm)

• Extra Long (152 cm) (I'll cover this one in a later post)

And a variety of w...

So you have been looking for a handmade leather belt. There are many available from really cheap ones – to really expensive ones, and I mean really expensive, even some made from human skin!

So why would you choose one of my handmade leather belts?

Maybe it is just because you like to support UK small business? Whatever the reason, I would like to think that you choose to buy a leather belt from Oakside because you like the look and quality of my work!

I am trained as a Cordwainer (someone who...

Plaited collar

My plaited dog collars are made from English Bridle leather, the pre-eminent leather available. It is hard wearing, long-lasting and has an excellent finish. My plaited leather collars are available in either Black, Dark Havana, or Australian Nut Bridle leather with the entire collar made from a single piece of leather, with no joins in the plait.

Buckle

The buckles that I use are either; solid brass roller buckles or stainless steel West End Buckles. I use stainless steel West En...

So you have an idea for the perfect collar for your dog. And no matter how much you have scoured the web you just can’t find exactly what you are looking for! This is when a Bespoke Cordwainer comes in handy. Give me your ideas and I will see what I can do.

Some of the specific requirements I have been requested to make are listed below

• ·         Extra wide to protect an old injury.
• ·         Brass instead of leather loops.
• ·         Wide boar hound style collar.
• ·         Double pronged buc...

Dogs have been used in war for many years. Britons, Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans all used large breeds of dog for scouts, tracking, and battle. Attila the Hun used giant Molossian dogs during his campaigns. Roman armies used entire companies of large Molossian dogs to devastate enemy warriors. These dogs would have spiked collars and mail armour, fitted to them to cause utter mayhem! 

WW1

It was in WW1 that the Red Cross wanted to use Ambulance dogs to locate injured soldiers. Dogs were used a...

1. It has good looks and characteristics.

2. It can put up with bad weather.

3. It can put up with a lot of abuse.

4. It is smooth and comfortable when in use.

5. If looked after it can last a lifetime.

6. It is strong and can be stitched well.

Leather Repairs

So your favourite saddle has started to come apart at the seams – quite literally! What are you going to do? Throw it in the bin? Chuck it in the cupboard under the stairs? No! Take it to Oakside Saddlery for repair!

Most leather items can be repaired, especially if the stitching has just worn through. And it is not just saddles that can be repaired; leather boots, bridles, dog collars and leads, bags, motorbike leathers, leather belts, and many other items are repairable. S...

As a working dog handler you have realised that you have a peculiar set of needs for your dog's leads. A long lead for searching vehicles, a short lead for passing through busy traffic, and a medium length lead for searching people! So what do you do? Having lots of different leads for each purpose? Not so easy when you have travelled far from your dog van. What you need is a Multi-length lead from Oakside Saddlery.

My Multi-length leather dog lead can be adjusted from short, medium, and long...

Dog Collars have been in use by mankind for thousands of years. Images can be found in Ancient Egyptian paintings dating back to 3500BC. These collars were made from leather and had the dogs name on them. The Ancient Greeks used dogs to protect their livestock and used large spiked collars. The Ancient Romans were devoted to their dogs, and collars have been found with with messages in them showing appreciation to their dogs.

Dogs have been used, and sadly abused, by humans for many years; hu...