Walnut Studiolo Blog

A Black woman wearing a denim shirt is carrying a bicycle down a set of stairs in an urban environment. The bicycle has a green paint job and honey leather wrapped handlebars.

Original, unique designs to help with lifting and carrying your bicycle

Lifetime leather bar wraps in five styles for every type of handlebar and bicycle

A woman bicycling on a bright summer day over a green lawn wearing suede fringe cowgirl boots and with a 6-pack of Anchor Steam beer connected to the top tube of her bicycle with a honey leather 6-pack frame cinch

Best-selling "commuter essentials" for making the daily commute easier

A dark brown leather round, barrel-shaped saddle bag with cedar wood sides mounted to the back of a brown leather Brooks saddle on a cream-and-brown painted bicycle

Stunning handcrafted bicycle bags carry the essentials and turn heads!

Two people playing a game of travel cribbage on a wooden picnic table with a small leather and birch cribbage board

Our original best-selling Travel Cribbage Boards have fans worldwide

Two sets of travel dice on a dark brown leather table surface. Both sets show six dice coming out of a square brass tube. The dice are 7mm, smaller than standard. One has white dice and the other has black dice.

Convenient dice games on-the-go: farkle and yacht (yatzy)

Two people playing dominoes using small, domino-sized playing cards on a walnut wood table with snacks and drinks. The domino cards are double 12 with different colors for each number and hand-drawn.

Perfect for travel: hand-drawn domino playing cards (2 sizes!)

Close-up of a folding leather travel backgammon board mid-play on a weathered wood surface. A hand is reaching in and moving four game pieces (which are brass nails) between triangles, which are laser-engraved in the honey dyed leather. Accessories are visible, dice and doubling cube and peg storage

Travel Backgammon for travelers, made from natural materials

A variety of handcrafted leather and wood handles on a sample board as seen from above and an angle

All handcrafted handles in 8 styles, 4 leather colors, & 3 metal finishes

Collection details, stylesheets, dimensions, sizing, palette & more

Walnut Studiolo Drawer Pulls Oswego Leather Wrap

Wrap handles, bannisters and more in quality veg-tan leather

Two cabinet doors swinging open towards each other with matching leather Lovejoy loop handles. The leather touches so the cabinets don't crash into each other, a solution for problem corners in kitchen design planning

Flexible but sturdy, creative solutions to tricky problem corners

Leather 101

We wrote a free educational series about our favorite material, from how it's made to spotting vintage quality

Valerie and Geoff from Walnut Studiolo are standing on a pile of driftwood between two boulders on the North Oregon Coast beach near Manzanita, with mountains and grey sky in the background

About Us

A long dark brown leather blueprint tube is shown on a long countertop being hand stitched together by Geoff, whose stitching hands are in the background

More Information

Valerie and Geoff Franklin of Walnut Studiolo standing behind their bicycles on a grassy green lawn. Geoff is doffing his hat to Valerie and she is smiling, as a gesture of service.

Customer Service

The Blog

Our blog"In a Nutshell" is written by humans:

- how-to guides

- in-depth articles

- photo essays

A gift note being assembled, handwritten, Your gift Is on its way!

The Gift of Convenience: Now Schedule Shipping in Advance

A new way we're providing excellent customer service: schedule order shipping in advance with preferred delivery dates. How and why. Not a delivery guarantee - learn more.

October 03, 2025
3 min read

A bouqiet of branches, sprigs, and flowers from our homstead used in products: calendula, anise hyssop, mint, lavender, chamomile, forest conifers

Introducing the Homestead Collection and Handmade Gift Baskets

New foods and personal care items grown and prepared on our homestead, plus a handmade gift basket sampler.

October 02, 2025
4 min read

Before and after photos of the same oak and leather handle on an outdoor sauna door with a hand reaching out to it

Leather Handles and Wraps for Exteriors

Leather handles and wraps work great outdoors: insulating from heat / cold and providing grip and resistance. Pros / cons and maintenance needs.

September 18, 2025
5 min read

A travel dice game set spilling out of a muslin bag onto a walnut wood table

New Product! Introducing Travel Yacht (Yatzy) Dice Game Set

New product announcement! Introducing a lightweight travel kit for the public domain version of a family-favorite dice game. Rules of play, dice, carrying pouch and more included.

September 10, 2025
2 min read

Cutting vegetable-tanned leather on a clean surface with an exacto blade and straight edge

How to Learn Leathercrafting

As self-taught leathercrafters, we've compiled a list of resources to start learning leathercrafting: schools, kits, books, videos, and more.

August 27, 2025
5 min read

Geoff standing in front of the workshop, rainwater tank greenhouse and garden orchard

10 Years After Going Rural: How Our Workshop Developed Into a Homestead

Reflections on developing our craft business into slow living, growing and cooking our food, creating gardens from lawns, and planting trees.

August 16, 2025
12 min read

A small cribbage board on a gray wood table with a notebook, deck of cards, and a bottle of kombucha

Top 3 Games for Lobbies and Waiting Rooms

Hotel lobbies and salon waiting rooms provide unique versions of popular games for on-brand quiet guest entertainment: with play times that match wait times.

July 09, 2025
3 min read

Close-up of a Conway buckle on a dark brown leather Blueprint tube shoulder strap

Step-by-Step: How to Use a Conway Buckle

About the Conway buckle, a flexible harness belt closure, and a step-by-step photo tutorial on how to use it.

June 27, 2025
3 min read

Close-up of two hands on a table, tying a knot of a fabric blue bandana on a gift wrapped using sustainable reusable furoshiki.

Step-by-Step Guide: Wrap a Gift with a Bandana

A step-by-step photo tutorial to an everyday and easy-to-remember gift wrap, using a bandana and the Japanese art of furoshiki.

June 26, 2025
2 min read

A sepia-toned photo of Geoff working in a cozy corner of the workshop at a bench underneath under a focus light. Image credit: Russ Roca, Path Less Pedaled

Where Did Our Name Come From? And What Is a Studiolo?

A brief explanation of the Italian architecture term, "studiolo" and why we named our small business "Walnut Studiolo"

April 29, 2025
3 min read

Four maps showing how service has slowed since 2020 across the US for a USPS postal letter

New Map Tool Shows Slower USPS Deliveries by Zip Code

Where it's impacting, how much it's changed, and what comes next. A new USPS initiative slows mail to ~75% of the US, including our rural location.

March 31, 2025
4 min read

A yarn bombed maple tree in Canada with a hand-knit canadian flag scarf

A Word About the Tariffs, Trade War, Boycotts

Updated 6/21/25. How tariffs are impacting a small American business. Transparency on our ownership for boycotts. A message to our neighbors and friends in Canada.

March 09, 2025
4 min read

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Leather 101

The Blog

In a Nutshell

In a Nutshell

The Gift of Convenience: Now Schedule Shipping in Advance

Introducing the Homestead Collection and Handmade Gift Baskets

Leather Handles and Wraps for Exteriors

New Product! Introducing Travel Yacht (Yatzy) Dice Game Set

How to Learn Leathercrafting

10 Years After Going Rural: How Our Workshop Developed Into a Homestead

Top 3 Games for Lobbies and Waiting Rooms

Step-by-Step: How to Use a Conway Buckle

Step-by-Step Guide: Wrap a Gift with a Bandana

Where Did Our Name Come From? And What Is a Studiolo?

New Map Tool Shows Slower USPS Deliveries by Zip Code

A Word About the Tariffs, Trade War, Boycotts

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In a Nutshell

In a Nutshell

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