Soupley Leather Co. started out in San Angelo, TX. It all started with one of the stirrup straps breaking on my daughters saddle. Since I didn't have the money to take it to a saddle shop and have it properly repaired, I looked into fixing it myself. I'm a handy guy with a love for trying new hobbies... how hard could it be? After visiting my local leather shop and buying a few supplies, I proceeded to do one of the ugliest and over-engineered saddle repairs I have ever seen. But guess what, it worked! I realized that despite how ugly the repair job was, I really enjoyed doing leather work. I decided to see what else I could do. I thought that making a keychain would be a good place to start. So, back to the leather shop I went, purchasing a few more tools and some small leather pieces from their scrap bin. After many hours of youtube videos, I was starting to get the hang of this.

I decided that a great way to get better at leatherwork was by making gifts. I mean, I probably wasn't good enough to make money yet, but I was definitely good enough to pass on my work to some unsuspecting family members. Turns out I underestimated how long it would take to make Christmas gifts for all of my family. I got the gifts done in time, and they looked good. However, I lost count of how many times I pricked my fingers from the needles, and how much blood I left on the leather. Thank goodness for dark dye, right?

Eventually I started apprenticing at a local saddle shop, learning the ways of the master. There I learned how to do things from basic saddle repair to eventually building my own saddle from the tree up. Working in the saddle shop also gave me a chance to perfect my general leather skills along the way.

Now I have my own shop in Pipe Creek, TX, smack dab in the heart of Hill Country. Everything I make is handmade with the finest of materials. As you can see, all of my work is also hand-stitched, with few exceptions. I have a passion for making leather goods, and look forward to making something for you.

-Tony