The particular type of yellow latigo Snyder uses was tanned with heavy metals during the late 1980s until the Environmental Protection Agency wrote standards that outlawed using such toxic tanning methods. With the yellow, you can bring out so many tones when it is dyed.” The latigo is tanned in a way that makes it like harness-and-tack leather used in saddlery making. “I work with a leather used back in the 80s,” he said.
In fact, the leather, a yellow latigo cow hide, is itself quite unique. Snyder spent years developing the specific process to prepare the leather from which he currently creates his designs. Snyder relocated to Kansas City in 1986 and continued working in the shoe-repair business, but he never gave up on making art from leather - a passion that eventually spawned the Kaw Valley Leather Company. For many years, the shoe-repair trade, which also complemented his creative leather work, provided Snyder a means of financial support, as he continued exploring his gifts for leather design. Toward the end of that first summer designing leather jewelry, Snyder decided to try and make a pair of sandals and visited a local shoe-repair shop for some tips on sandal-making.Īt his hometown shoe shop, Snyder not only learned to make sandals, but he also learned the craft and business of shoe repair.
Shortly after his project - that ring, which his sister loved - Snyder began making rings and watch bands, which he sold to his fellow students. From his studio at the InterUrban ArtHouse in downtown Overland Park, Snyder creates a wide array of products, from abstract wall hangings to knife sheaths to bags in countless styles.įrom Brazil to Belgium, and Australia to China, Snyder’s handcrafted bags are carried by customers around the world.