Hi, I'm Stuart and I am the solo creator at Schofield Leatherworx, a small hobbyist leather workshop set up in the garage of my home in Caboolture.
I am many things - a husband and father, a project manager, a photographer, a coffee snob... and now a leatherworker. Not sure where I find the time some days.
I've been creating and destroying leather goods since the beginning of the covid lockdowns. My creative passion has always been photography and when covid hit and we couldn't venture out, I had to find a new hobby that I could do at home, at any time.
My leatherwork has evolved rapidly during this time and has become focused on minimalist wallets using high-quality Australian-sourced leathers.
When I initially started out , I only wanted to make a few leather straps for my vintage camera collection. That led to making items for myself such as card wallets and keyrings, before making gifts for family and friends.
The feedback I received gave me the confidence to branch out and begin selling my creations at markets and online and I have been selling on Madeit since June 2021. I chose Madeit because quite simply I want to support locally made.
Each piece is usually born out of necessity; I am excited by having a project with the challenge of creating a useful item that is fit for purpose and will last.
I start with the items that need to be protected and stored, and begin to arrange them in a way that works efficiently in both space and design.
Initially my inspiration was fed from Youtube and Instagram, where I follow many leather crafters from around the world. I have learnt a lot from the school of Youtube and my style is a culmination of my early learnings. I favour minimalist design and am not one for flashy colours.
I begin by sketching prototypes and forming the concept on paper, before detailing the designs in CAD for problem-solving and template accuracy. Templates are first cut by hand, and once the design is finalised I will cut accurately using a Cricut.
A concept is made up with paper at first - to check sizing and how the piece generally fits together. I will typically then make a trial piece using scrap leather to see what can be fine tuned and what details can be resolved, before making the final piece out of good hide.
I only want to sell what I would be happy to buy myself and when deciding on my purchases, the origin and the material quality is the biggest factor.
I respect well made quality goods whether it be mass produced or single one off creations. I want to produce a product that I know the origins of and can attest to the quality of the materials used.
Stuart is offering Madeit’s community newsletter subscribers free postage within Australia at Schofield Leatherworx for a limited time. Subscribe below to get the coupon, plus weekly handmade shopping guides, designer spotlight stories and discounts:
Visit Schofield Leatherworx to find functional leather pieces of outstanding quality: SchofieldLeatherworx
Hi, I'm Stuart and I am the solo creator at Schofield Leatherworx, a small hobbyist leather workshop set up in the garage of my home in Caboolture. 
