Walnut Studiolo Blog Tagged "Leather Learning Series"

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

A white chest of drawers in a white and lilac baby nursery with three colors of leather Morrison bin pull handles, in Honey, Dark Brown, and Black

Strong yet soft, durable and sustainable, no-bumps and no-bruises

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

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

The Blog

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

- how-to guides

- in-depth articles

- photo essays

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

Leather 101

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

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

Three rolls of leather on a white background: white garment-tanned, dark brown bridle tanned, and black top grain

Lesson #5) Recap: What is the "Best" Leather?

What "quality" means for types of leather: tannage, sourcing, processing, finishes. Builds on previous lessons in our leather learning series.

April 25, 2019
3 min read

A hand rubbing a clear gloss onto a piece of natural leather

Lesson #11) Learn Leather Maintenance, Repair, and Crafting

How to keep vegetable-tanned leather in good condition, review the various leather care products and introduce you to the world of leather crafting for repairs.

April 25, 2019
3 min read

A hand wiping vegetable-tanned leather with a bar towel on a clean surface next to a spray bottle of clear liquid

Lesson #10) Leather Rescue: How to Revive Old or Moldy Leather

How to rejuvenate and rescue old, dry, stiff vintage leather and moldy, mildewed leather. (Lesson #10 of 11)

April 25, 2019
5 min read

Close-up of hand stitching together a round leather cap with stitching in three directions

Lesson #9) Vintage Leather In the Store: Assessing Craftsmanship Details

How to tell if a leather piece is good quality is in the store: observable design details and red flags. (Lesson #9 of 11)

April 25, 2019
8 min read

Cutting undyed natural vegetable-tanned leather with stainless steel shears

Lesson #7) Leather Product Quality: Selecting from the Hide for the Use

How craftsmen select from the variable leather hides to create quality products: stretch, thickness, shape. Plus - why maker-made matters. (Lesson #7 of 11)

April 25, 2019
6 min read

Close-up of a man stitching together two layers of leather on a stitch horse

Lesson #8) Recap: What is "Sustainable" Leather?

What sustainability means for leather and leather alternatives. Why full grain vegetable-tanned cowhide is the most sustainable choice, ethical and moral considerations.

April 25, 2019
9 min read

Using a leatherworking tool to shave or split off the rough backside of the leather

Lesson #3) Leather Processing: Full Grain, Top Grain, Genuine, Suede, and Bonded

How cowhide leather gets processed or split into different kinds of leather, and what names mean: full grain, top grain, genuine, suede, bonded. (Lesson #2 of 11)

April 25, 2019
6 min read

A gloved hand rubbing in oil dye to a piece of full grain veg-tan leather

Lesson #6) Leather Finishes: Dyes, Oils, Waxes, Glosses, Tooling

Leather finishes at the tannery and in the workshop, including coloring, coatings, and waxes to enhance or obscure quality .Why they might be used and why they matter. (Lesson #6 of 11)