Today we’d like to introduce you to Ollie.
Hi Ollie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I started crafting with leather in 2017. I wanted a leather chair, so I decided to teach myself how to reupholster a beat up old chesterfield from Craigslist,
That’s how I found out how much leather goes to waste in the industry. With mass production using templates, miles of oddly shaped or unevenly textured pieces of leather are left unused. I decided that I would only use scrap for my chair.
It took two years to finish it because I was hand stitching every piece together.
I used to think that leather items were so expensive just because leather itself would is an expensive material. Now I have a better idea of the labor involved in working it. It’s a labor intensive craft!
During the pandemic, I joined LA Kinky Weirdos. It was a Discord community of freaks and kinksters that banded together to stay sane during the shut down. Someone in the group had found a small leather bag I had made on Etsy and asked everyone if they should buy it. It got out that I could work leather and the commissions started coming.
It was really a stars aligning moment.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Running a business is a rollercoaster. Staying in touch with the community you serve and what they need is a challenge. Making connections and maintaining good relationships with venues is a challenge, Dealing with a shifting zeitgeist and economy is a challenge. I am constantly adapting and trying to innovate. Being the one responsible for my own success is both fulfilling and terrifying. I’m lucky that I work in an industry that cares about quality and artistry. I get to face these challenges by making beautiful things and that makes me lucky.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I make leather goods and wax play candles for the kink and BDSM community. I only use scrap, or upcycled, leather for my gear and my candles don’t contain paraffin.
I figure that all of us have an opportunity to do what we can for the planet in our own personal spheres. I’m doing it in BDSM by reducing waste and phasing out the use of fossil fuel byproducts.
But the biggest reason I thought I could do something different in BDSM is because I didn’t love what I saw in the existing market. Collars and cuffs and floggers all looked somewhat homogeneous to me. I think it’s important to have diversity in what’s offered to the public. If all gear looks the same, it might send a message that people have to have a certain look to participate in the community.
That is not the case.
People should feel free to be themselves instead of adhering to a perceived idea of what looks “right.”
There are no rules.
You can be yourself and like what you like and still be part of the group.
As long as no one is getting hurt, you’re okay to be you.
Contact Info:
- Website: Https://oddmentollie.etsy.com
- Other: Https://fetlife.com/oddmentollie
