About
artist and designer
Scott Horn found leatherwork by inheriting his grandfather's tools. A lifelong creative, he earned a BFA in Theatre Design from the University of Kansas in 2004 and fell in love with visual art along the way. He explored a variety of mediums until inheriting his grandfather Milt Horn’s set of leatherworking tools in 2009.
Totally self-taught, Horn has spent years developing a one-of-a-kind style defined by detailed illustration, rich geometric patterning, and sculptural folding of full-grain vegetable-tanned cowhide. His work has a playful self-awareness; tweaking traditional forms, winking at the medium itself, and reflecting on culture at large.
slow-fashion
In a throwaway world I do my best to create useful, beautiful pieces that become friends for life. I make everything by hand, and each piece is lavished with care from start to finish.
My goal is to create heirloom quality work that lasts for generations and grows more beautiful over time.
Besides making things to last, I try to make things with as little impact and harm as possible. Foremost is the leather – I source all my leather from Wickett & Craig, one of two natural tanneries left in the US. This leather comes from slaugherhouses so the hide is a leftover byproduct. The natural process uses oak bark tannins in lieu of Chromium and other chemicals used to speed the process. I use water-based stain and antique, and beeswax based oil, resist, and top coat. Finally I make the work entirely by hand, keeping production limited and by nature, not a commodity product that can scale up or be manufactured.