In the back of my mind, I always thought it would be great to make a saddle. I’ve loved leather work ever since I did a little of it in junior high school. As an adult, I’ve collected custom saddles. I figured I needed a different saddle for every job.

Moving to Montana and setting up the Lucky 2 Ranch provided me with the perfect opportunity to pursue leather work. The only problem was that because the Flathead valley is not a hotbed of cowboy culture, I assumed I was far from where the great saddle makers live.

WRONG! It only took me a couple of months to find out that Kalispell is the home of Earl Twist, definitely one of the best contemporary saddle makers. He works out of his basement and barely has had a business card. He’s never really promoted himself; truth is, he hasn’t had to. His saddles are his best advertisement, and word-of-mouth promotion has been phenomenal. He’s been building saddles for nearly 50 years and can barely keep up with the work that comes his way.

Once I met Earl, he agreed to let me hang around his shop. I did that religiously the first winter here. It didn’t take long to realize that I wasn’t content to just watch and help Earl a few hours a day. So I converted a room downstairs, previously used as a gun shop, into the Lucky 2 Leather Shop. I have spent the last 2 ½ years learning everything I can about leather. Every moment not spent with horses and students has been spent practicing leather craft and saddle making.

I still pester Earl every chance I get. He has been a great inspiration to me and I cannot thank him enough for his generosity and willingness to open up the world of saddle making to me.

I’m posting some pictures of some of my recent work. If I can help you with something or build a bit of custom gear for you, give me a call and let’s discuss it.