Welcome to ShadesCustomLeather,

My name is Matt Shade and I make all of the leather items on this page and more. All items are hand carved, hand stitched, and hand finished. I have made many items not shown on this page, and I am always open to new projects. If you have an idea for a custom order please contact me and we can discuss it.

All of the engraving is done by my girlfriend, Allison. Plates are engraved by hand using a manual pantograph machine. Finishes such as darkened letters, have to be applied by hand as well. The plates listed on our page are pretty much all the shapes we have available, but we are open to using them however you want. If you would like a plate on something other than a keychain or bracelet let me know and we will try to make it happen.

Aside from leatherwork, I also work with wood and metal. I occasionally do some ornamental blacksmithing and welding. I can make items from horse shoes, and a variety of other materials if you have an idea, feel free to contact me about those too.

When I am not working in my shop, I am helping Allison with her horse training business. She coaches an IEA and IHSA team, as well as hauling to breed shows, and we are both heavily involved in our county 4H program. We are on the road a fair amount, and I work some odd hours fitting it all in. I do my best to answer messages within 24 hrs, but I don't have a set schedule. I may not find your message until the middle of the night, but I promise I will respond when I do. My backlog is currently short and most custom orders ship in less than 2 weeks.

Please check out this album of some of my past work, and please contact me if you would like something custom made

http://s1355.photobucket.com/user/mattshade1/library/Shades%20Custom%20Leather

Matt Shade