We are so lucky to have Jose Hernandez of Corral Made working for us at Stripe MEN.
He is passionate about fashion and anything leather. We sat down with him to ask a few
questions and learned quite a bit about him as a leather crafter.
JG:Where do you find inspiration?
JH:Everywhere! I love to look at things in my everyday
environment and see how they are made. The construction of everyday items
fascinates me.
JG: Describe your style in three words.
JH:Functional, simple, appealing
JG: Whatʼs an average day like handcrafting leather?
JH:I start my day off with a cup of yerba mate and then head out to my shop to do some leather tooling. Tooling opens up the creative aspects of leather crafting for me. I love it! Then I start prioritizing orders which involves cutting, hole punching and then hand stitching.
JG: How long have you been working with leather?
JH: As a hobby, 2 years and seriously only a little over a year.
JG: If you werenʼt creating leather goods, where do you think you would be?
JH: Behind my drum set.
JG: What were you doing before?
JH:Working at a screen printing shop and playing music.
JG: Do you have any favorites from your collection?
JH: My number one favorite is the Indiana wallet and my number two is the Friedman briefcase. I love the construction of it and the end result is so satisfying. They are both so much fun to make.
JG: What sets you apart from other designers?
JH: I try to make each piece personal and form relationships with the people that purchase them. I love it when people bring their pieces in to show me how they are wearing. I always love feedback.
JG:Why did you want to start Corral Made?
JH:I wanted to make something that people cherish like a great pair of selvedge jeans or that special pocket knife that was handed down or the wallet your dad handed down to you on your 10th. Birthday.
JG:What advice would you pass on to others interested in starting a small
business?
JH:Specialize in one thing and make something that stands out that you can get behind. Always enjoy what your doing. Then youʼre golden!
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