Today we’d like to introduce you to A. L. Boomer
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I got started working with leather in college. I was working on a ranch in West Texas and I broke a spur strap. I decided to try my hand at making my own spur straps, so I bought a little leather and a couple of tools and gave it a shot. That first attempt was an absolute disaster, but I was hooked. The internet wasn’t really a thing yet, so I bought a few books and started teaching myself. I spent a lot of time at a local leather shop in San Angelo. Eventually, I think the owner took pity on me and offered me a job. I learned a ton and really built my skills.
After a couple of years, the shop closed and I went to work at M.L. Leddy’s, a custom boot shop. I worked there for about three years, then moved to North Central Texas. I really didn’t do much leatherwork until I met my beloved wife, Meg. She encouraged me to get into it again and I started a small side business making suits of leather armor for re-enactors, Ren Faire-goers, and LARPers. That lasted for about four years.
When our son Gus was born, I shut down the leatherwork for about 9 years. Raising a kid takes a lot of time, and we just didn’t have it to spare for a side business.
In 2018, my father died unexpectedly and I took it very hard. That man was my hero and I felt completely lost without him. Once again, my wife came to the rescue. She encouraged me to get back into leather to keep me busy and help me deal with our loss. It took several months of remembering and relearning all that I had forgotten, but eventually, we launched SixGun Forge & Leatherworks in 2019.
SixGun has been a wonderful journey. It’s a small one-man shop, operated out of our home. Since we launched, it has been steadily growing and evolving. I’m constantly trying to learn new styles and new techniques to grow my skillset. I love being challenged by customers when they bring me ideas and I take pleasure in making those ideas into reality. I owe it all to my wife, who pushed me into remembering how much pure joy working with leather gives me. I feel like my purpose on this planet is to create artwork from leather that is both beautiful and functional and brings people joy. I truly hope I can do this until the day I die.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Does anyone ever have a smooth journey? Every life and every path faces challenges. It’s how you respond to those challenges that makes the difference. Struggles and facing them is what makes us who we are. It’s how we grow, as people and as artists.
My first challenge with my business was remembering all of the skills and techniques that I had forgotten. I threw away a lot of leather when i was first getting back into leatherwork. Even today, I’ll face an issue with a project and suddenly some knowledge i haven’t thought of in years will bubble up. I’ve thanked my brain more times than I can count.
Finding self-confidence was a huge challenge when I opened SixGun. I saw these leatherworkers online turning out amazing products and felt there was no way I could compete. My wife convinced me to jump out there and try, so I screwed up the courage and set up a booth at a few small local markets. The positive response was amazing and really helped me believe in myself; even though I cringe at the fact that people actually bought some of my early offerings. I feel now like I robbed them.
Struggle #3 was growing my business. I’ve dabbled in lots of different designs and products to find my customer base. Now that I think I’ve found it, we’re working to expand it by expanding product lines, offering new color combos, and new artwork. Every time I meet a new or returning customer it brings me validation that something I’m doing is working.
Struggle #4 is time. I have a full time day job in addition to SixGun, so there just aren’t enough hours in the day for me to work on leather as much as I want and need to. If only sleep wasn’t necessary…
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in traditional western floral leather carving. My style is a hybrid of Sheridan- and Texas-style floral carving that I’ve developed through years of trial and error. I also enjoy carving American Traditional tattoo designs.
I like to say that I make everything but boots, saddles, and gunleather. I make belts, purses, wallets, knife sheaths, multitool sheaths, bracelets, guitar straps, rifle slings, jewelry boxes, cup wraps, pouches, vehicle center console covers, belt buckles, coasters, cooler tops, legal pad portfolios, notebooks, tally books, skillet handle covers, wall art, keychains, and many other items.
I pour every ounce of my creativity, blood, sweat, and tears into my products. I love working with leather and I want the love to shine through in every product a customer purchases. I want every thing I make to be loved by a customer as much as I loved making it.
I’m most proud of the happiness I get to see on a customer’s face when they receive a custom product they ordered. It brings more satisfaction than I can express in words. I have had several customers tear up when receiving their orders; and while I never want to make anyone cry, those tears of joy were pretty cool to see.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I enjoy using Instagram to look at what other leatherworkers are doing. It’s awesome to see all of the talent out there and see what amazing things others are doing. Many times, seeing what others are working on will get my creative juices flowing with new ideas.
I like to listen to the Lost Trades Podcast by Don Gonzales. He talks with all kinds of folks like leatherworkers, knifemakers, saddlemakers, toolmakers, and many others. It’s interesting to hear perspectives from others in different but related industries.
I love to read and read every night before bed. I enjoy Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, Ben Coes, Mark Greaney, Jack Carr, and Gregg Hurwitz. I call these authors “man romance” writers; not much love and kissing, but a whole bunch of gunfire, car chases, and explosions. Elmer Kelton is a western author who is probably my all time favorite. When it comes to science fiction, Neal Asher is awesome. I also read quite a bit of Texas history. If you don’t know the history of one of the most legendary law enforcement organizations in the USA, the Texas Rangers, you are seriously missing out. I am a native son of Texas, a full-hearted lover of Texas, and will read just about anything Texas-related.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @sixgunleather
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/sixgunleather
Image Credits
Portrait: Augustus Boomer
All other photos: SixGun Forge & Leatherworks
