Talk About Art

As time goes by, we forget, as a people, how to do many things we once knew how to do: cobbling shoes, for instance, or dipping candles. And while we become experts at attacking cell phone keypads with our thumbs, we are literally all thumbs when it comes to various creative endeavors that many people were once very good at.

"It's a dying art," we shrug, as if that solves the problem.

But Jeremiah Colladay is not the kind of guy who shrugs away a problem, and when he discovered what he could create with an awl, leather, and his hands and heart, he didn't let the fact that leatherworking is classified as a dying art prevent him from bringing it to life.

"I discovered my true artistic passion when a friend gave me a sewing awl and a bag of old leather scraps," the Spokane craftsman, who formerly worked as a tattoo artist, said. He tracked down a custom saddle maker, and for the next three years underwent an apprenticeship in which he learned how to cut, sew, carve, tool, and dye leather into functional works of art: wallets, guitar straps, zipper pulls, notebook covers, tool cases, key chains, even earrings.

He then went into partnership with his wife, Erin – a photographer and writer – to create Colladay Leather, a Spokane-based business that specializes in Western leathercraft with a distinctive Pacific Northwest style. The couple works out of the daylight basement of their rural forest home.

"Our passion is for artistry and the creative process, in all its forms," Erin says. "Through every product we produce, our goal is that our work will inspire others in their own creative journey, in whatever form that may take."

Jeremiah agrees, adding, "An encounter with our work inspires you to pursue creativity and excellence in your own work, be it in the boardroom, the emergency room, the kitchen, or the studio. It's a lot to ask of a leather accessory, but we believe it is an attainable aspiration."

Colladay Leather is the featured Art Event at Wenaha Gallery (219 E. Main, Dayton) through Saturday, March 23. The gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.