Leather craftsman found Fibre Festival a great venue

It may be unusual to see a leather craftsman setting up his display among 75 or so exhibitors at the annual Fibre Festival which features everything wool, but Niverville’s Chuck Allen says he knew in advance that he would have fans in this group.

Allen is the leather craftsman at Earth and Hide in Niverville and time away from the General Store at any number of craft shows and markets.

He did not originally have the annual fibre festival the Red River Exhibition Place on his schedule for this year but a snapshot from a friend changed his mind. Allen says his friend at Wolseley Wool, sent a picture to his phone showing five of his bags hanging on hooks at one of her knitting sessions.

“You have fans”, the message said.

At his display at the Fibre Festival Allen displayed an array of leather bags, including the first one he ever made, which he was quick to point out, was not for sale. A replica bag hanging next to the original would be a good substitute, he said.

In addition to the handmade bags, Allen’s space was crammed with belts, mittens and a couple of leather fly swatters, thrown in as “fun” items. Allen explains that he designs and makes everything himself with the help of part time staff.

“Every piece that goes out is hands on.”

Allen get his leather from a tanner near Morden and deals with bison and cow hides. He especially likes bison, which produces a multi-hued leather for the bags he creates.

Cow hide is used to make the leather mitts, popular for outdoor work, especially on the farm. Allen says he was taken aback the first time he heard them referred to as “garbage mitts.” He mistakenly thought his skill at leatherwork was being questioned.

While it is most efficient at doing what it was designed for, Allen’s two models of a wooden-handled, leather fly swatter is more of an ice breaker and conversation piece than a practical way of getting rid of pests. A $25 model for smaller flies and 10 bucks more to get rid of the really big ones, makes the Allen model, the Cadillac of fly-swatters.

Most of the items at Earth and Hide are a little more pricey. The most expensive bag is a hand stitched satchel that serves as a lap top bag and sells for $955. Allen says it takes him 10 hours to hand-stitch the satchel which is fitted with buckles hand-forged by a blacksmith.

Tote bags sell for $275 in bison leather and $250 in cowhide. A mail bag made of bison leather sells for $545. Allen bought his first piece of leather in 2016, took up leather craft as a hobby, and made a “couple of little things.” One of those items was a wallet which he still carries today.

He sold items out of his garage until he moved Earth and Hide to the General Store on Cedar Avenue five years later. The wallet is not the only item Allen has kept off the market for years and at the Fibre Festival he points to the first bison leather bag he made, which is not for sale, and a replica he made later which he offers as a good substitute.

He is looking forward to another move soon when Earth and Hide will be occupying space in an expanded, renovated building at 226 Main Street.

The workshop at the General Store hasn’t allowed Allen to pursue his other passion, the “Earth” part of Earth and Hide. In addition to more room for his leather work, the new location will add give him an opportunity to add a pottery where he will again be able to work with clay. He is hopeful he will be able to have a coffee bar there as well.

He says working with leather is also very therapeutic and he loves to share his craft with people who drop by the store. He has the tools and scraps of leather and encourages them to try their hand at creating something in leather.

For Allen to take up leather craft and pottery does not come as a surprise, for the United States former marine has never been hesitant to try something new.

Allen has experienced everything from being a combat cameraman with the U.S. Marines, to a being a videographer for the U.S. government and moving on to a new career as a construction worker after his move to Canada in 2013. He was a video producer at the time, but abandoned that in favour of an hourly wage with a construction company that built houses.

Even though the film industry in Manitoba is booming, he says he doesn’t have any interest in getting back into that field, saying it’s a career for young people.

“ It’s a cool job to work as a hobby …to get paid for it is tough.”

Because working in the film industry is so much fun, people are doing it for next to nothing, Allen says, and that’s not for him.

Allen has a ready answer when asked how someone from North Carolina ended up in Niverville. It’s all about family.

“My mom was a sweet Mennonite girl from Gretna when she met my dad, a redneck from North Carolina, when he was working as an engineer at the missile site in Cavalier, North Dakota.”

Allen says he has fond memories of the summers he spent on his grandparents’ farm at Gretna. He always liked the semi-rural community environment. Niverville has similar vibes and is close enough to the city to be very appealing, he adds.