BIO

Welcome. My name is Mike Chard and I create leatherworks, one at a time, for customers desiring pieces that standout against a world mass produced work.

I was introduced to leatherwork via 4H in the mid 1960’s and worked as an apprentice in saddle shop at Custer, SD during my high school years. The shop was also a feed store, weigh-station, and rail siding where gondolas full of coal from the Powder River Basin were dropped and unloaded. When I wasn’t in the saddle shop, I was unloading the 50 ton gondolas into a 1952 Chevy dump truck that we used to deliver the heating coal to Custer’s homes, schools, and businesses. In a 12-hour day, with #12 scoop shovels, my buddy and I could empty the 50’ long, 9.5’ wide, and 4’ deep gondolas and deliver the coal for $1.00 per ton which we then split 50-50. It is this metric and frame of reference that has ever since guided my perceptions of work and compensation.

In the ensuing 48 years I have worked as an cowboy, oilfield roughneck, logger, equipment operator, construction superintendent, welding inspector, and licensed engineer. Whether it is constructing geo-thermal power plants in Indonesia or saddle bags in Custer, SD, I still find great satisfaction in building things and that is the one and only reason I am here.

I am a husband of 33 year and father of 5 adult children. I am a life member of both the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Military Officers Association of America. I am tremendously and unapologetically proud of the United States of America. I am a Christian with an unshakeable faith in my maker. God has blessed me beyond imagination and I believe fully that he will similarly bless all those who seek him with an honest heart.

I try my best to treat people fairly. I do not make guarantees on my work but if you are not satisfied with the piece you purchase from me, return it within 30 days and I will refund your money in full.

Respectfully,

Mike Chard