Copperdot Leather Goods
It Starts With The Leather
When you are passionate about something long enough, they say it’s in your blood. As long as I can remember I have loved leather—good saddle leather—and good tack. I guess you could say it’s in my blood. My friend and Olive grower, Marco from Tuscany, Italy said it so well, “When you start with the best raw materials you can find, the product will be excellent”. Well, even though he was referring to making olive oil the principle remains the same.
Humble Begininngs in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
My background is a blend of architecture, equestrian, and alpine sports. These three passions merged in the mountains of Jackson Hole in the early 90’s. It is in Jackson that I assumed my greatest self—“momager” for my two children, family, many four legged animals, and homes to house the menagerie. As I was living life on the move, wearing many hats and juggling the demands of a mountain mom, I found I needed a bag I could count on to ease my plight. It had to be a bag with elegance that could go with me anywhere, yet practical enough to carry all my survival tools to get me through a normal day of chaos. I also needed a bag that could be as durable as my tack and as supple as my chaps, but not look like a prop from an old west movie.
Simple & Elegant
As they say, “necessityis the mother of invention”. Since I couldn’t find a bag in the marketplace that could live up to my demands, I set up to make my own. So down in the basementof my 1930’s log cabin, after everyone was asleep and “momager” was off-duty, the first Copperdot bags were born. I learned some basic skills from watching saddle makers repair my tack over the years. The design evolved with a few basic criteria: high quality, simple, beautiful enough to go anywhere, and posses the ability to become a silent partner who sits on the car seat next to me, freeing my hands up and allowing me to move through my day unencumbered and worry-free.
Made By Hand
SLOW -Fashion is not just a buzz word in our workshop. Its true, our customers say our bags “have soul”.When you get the chance to work with the highest quality raw materials you just can’t help but get all touchy and feely with them!
We roll out and inspect each hide, admiring the unique characteristics of the skin before we transform the leather into a beautiful and useful product for our customers. Yes, there is a zen to the process that just can’t be duplicated by mass production. We make all our bags by hand in the US with skilled crafts-people we partner with in Jackson Hole, WY, California, Hood River , OR, Ohio and Missouri, each contributing in some way to the construction of the bags. And, Yes! I, Pam, get to make bags once in a while, too. It’s my second favorite part of the business!
