John Tutas has been working with leather for nearly 20 years. He was introduced to the craft in 2005 while working on a ranch in Montana. He learned how to repair saddles and other leather goods. Over the years, he continued to cultivate his techniques and refine his skills.
“I am mostly self-taught,” Tutas says. “I learned through a lot of trial and error and watching videos. I called it You Tube University.”
From Hobby to Family Business
In 2017, Tutas was given a gift card from his parents. He decided to use the card to purchase some leather and he crafted a holster. His friend really liked the holster and purchased it. Word got around and Tutas began to get requests for leather goods like knife sheaths and custom-fit holsters.
Leather crafting soon became a family affair after his wife, Kelly, and his son, Jacob, took an interest. Kelly uses the scraps from larger projects to craft jewelry, key chains, and bag charms. Jacob uses his technical know-how to film and create videos for his dad’s leather tutorials, available on You Tube.
Along with custom leather pieces, Tutas Leather creates leather totes/purses, money clips, guitar straps, fly fishing wallets, belts, and jewelry. The items are currently available for purchase on their website as well as at Garner & Gather in Parker and various local markets.
Overcoming Tragedy
Over the years, Tutas became more serious about the idea of taking his leather side-gig and turning it into a full-time career. He built up a large stock of leather items with the intention of opening a storefront. Then, tragedy struck.
In March 2023, the day before Kelly’s birthday, a fire broke out in the Tutas Leather workshop. The family was preparing to head to dinner for the birthday celebration. The shop, warmed by a woodburning stove, was a place that whole family enjoyed spending time together. Before leaving, Jacob cleaned out the ashes in the stove and came inside. Tutas headed out to get another fire going so that the shop would be warm for their return.
“As soon as I stepped outside, I saw the flames coming from the shop,” he says. “It was too late to stop the fire, so my next thought was to try and save some of my tools. I opened the door and realized the fire was out of control. I had to shift gears and then focused my efforts to prevent our house from catching fire.”
Working Toward a Dream
The house was saved, but they lost the shop, their deck, and had to replace siding on one side of the house. As Tutas processed the event, he recalled a dream he had prior to the fire.
“I had this really vivid dream of my property," he says. "The shop was new and everything Kelly and I had discussed adding down the road was there, exactly the way we had envisioned it.”
A few days later, his daughter Izzy shared that she also had a dream prior to the fire. She drew a picture of what she saw in her dream and presented it to her dad. It was exactly the same as the image Tutas saw in his dream.
“I had goosebumps," Tutas says. "We told the family about the shared dream and we decided that this was a sign that better things were to come.”
Future Plans
In the year since the fire, the family has come together and is closer than ever. Because the shop burned down, the leather crafting has moved into their home, creating more quality family time. They continue to build up their stock of leather goods, working toward the dream of a new shop and eventually a brick-and-mortar storefront.
In addition, Tutas would like to pass on the knowledge of leather crafting to future generations to help ensure the trade doesn’t die. They are looking forward to having a space where they can offer classes to both adults and children.
Website: https://tutasleather.com/
Facebook + Instagram: @TutasLeather