Circle S Leather

03/17/2023

Unfortunately, Circle S Leather operations are going to cease temporarily as I have recently been diagnosed with cancer (Lymphoma specially). I hope to be back after months of treatment and some strategic planning, but for now I will be referring all previous orders and inquiries to my daughter's new business Circle S Skins and Furs (circlesskinsnfurs on Instagram). Over the last 3 years my daughter has been tanning both furs and deer hides with me when she comes home to visit. Please be patient as we make this transition and I operate as the behind the scenes advisor. Many thanks to all our valued customers and to the many friends we have made through Circle S Over the Years.
--Loren

Loren Stallsmith has recently been diagnosed with Lymphoma. Being a self employed brai… Lynora Stallsmith needs your support for Loren's Battle with Lymphoma

09/02/2021

Sometimes the wife kidnaps the tanner. Lol

06/17/2021

Nice to do some barktan for a change. I'm not up to speed on production of this leather like I'd like to be but I'm always learning.

06/13/2021

Keeping busy here at Circle S Leather! Some hides softened this week. The hot weather keeps things moving along, but it also makes it super important to make sure hides in solutions don't rot from too much heat.

05/03/2021

Some pictures from last week's work at Circle S.

04/14/2021

We are tentatively planning a braintanning class for this summer. It will be in NW PA but the exact location is still being worked out. If you are interested, send a pm. We just want to get an idea of how many students we might have. Of course, capacity is limited because I can only tutor so many. And most likely it will involve primitive camping, but there should be bathrooms and water available.

03/22/2021

Just took a moment to take a pic of some finished hides. Trying to get up the motivation to go scrape the eight deer hides I have soaking today.

03/17/2021

Showing the peg and notch system of using an upright scraping beam.

09/10/2020

We have enough braintan and barktan furs that we are considering listing them on our website. If anyone is interested in fox, c**n, or mink hides, just let us know. We have a lot more c**n to tan yet and hope to add more of a variety to the collection as time goes on.

08/22/2020

Pictures from this week. The five rawhides were started soaking Monday and four were finished Thursday (shown in the first picture) with the fifth being finished Friday. Also a pic of some c**n I braintanned this week.

08/17/2020

Took Loren off the homestead last week, so our "office" work came with us. Look, we were even somewhat productive. Enjoyed seeing the fog lifting off those blue ridge mountains.

08/10/2020

Taking a picture before most of these buckskins ship out. I thought I'd put in the furs I've been brain tanning lately also. The red foxes and c**n and the beavers are for sale. Hair on tanning is a whole other set of skills...always learning more, and making my share of mistakes. But as ol' Teddy Roosevelt said: "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

07/25/2020

The winner to our Braintan shoelace drawing is Karen Jackson.

Thanks everyone.

07/25/2020

Things are still happening at Circle S Leather.

06/26/2020

I thought I'd do a photo shoot while I still have all these on hand. Some are ready to ship, some are sold and some aren't. So if you need braintan, I might have what you want.
They are like that commercial, " No one can stop with just one"
The sun is shining and the brains are warming for another few hides. It doesn't always go as planned. I had two yesterday that were not ready to soften when I thought they were. You can't cut corners or they will bite you every time.
On the plus side, I had a barktan that was easier than expected yesterday too. It's still more art than science.

06/09/2020

The nice thing about making your own leather is you always have some on hand for oddball projects. This has quite a variety of materials, stiff beaver tail skin, buckskin liner, stiff barktan and soft barktan. Not a professional job, but I think it's functional and the next one should be cleaner. This stuff is hard to get a needle through, but I just quit poking holes after a while and used pliers, probably why I tend to break needles!

06/05/2020

!!! Free monthly drawings are back!!!!

To Enter: share your favorite style/make of shoe that could use a pair of braintan laces

Double entry: for those who share pictures of their shoes longing for new laces.

Braintan shoe laces can be purchased at our Etsy store!

Well the FREE drawings are back!! Sorry about the delay, but all the changes with convid 19 had family coming and going and I just stepped back to enjoy family time.

So our first drawing this month is something we all use... *shoelaces* however these shoelaces are special because they are made from high quality braintan. We have been making and using these ourselves for years.

Three characteristics we like about our homemade shoelaces are:

1. They are strong
2. They stay tied better than some of the other styles of laces.
3. It is just down right cool to have braintan shoelaces in your shoes or boots.

Our standard lace length is 52 inches, however remember if you are in need of a different length please feel free to contact me, which is one of the perks of supporting small businesses.

Now, how many pairs of these do you need?

Hint, Hint. They make great gifts for the hard to buy practical people in your lives.

Braintan shoe laces can be purchased at our Etsy store!

06/05/2020

The finished tanned Bobcat pelts from last season's trapping trip. And some pictures of the fun. The first set my daughter is making in these pics is the one she caught the cat in. My cat was just slightly bigger but hers had better spots. Now, what should I make from my three bobcat hides? Any suggestions?

05/29/2020

Large, firm bark tanned deer hide finished yesterday. Send a PM if interested. Should be great bag or shoe leather.

05/23/2020

Sorting out some braintan hides today. Caught a moment of sun in a cloudy morning. Everyone have a great holiday weekend and remember those who gave all so that you can celebrate your freedoms.

05/14/2020

Rollin, rollin...

Did a little video showing the use of an arm board for softening a thick barktan deer hide.

05/03/2020

Beading needle test

Showing how easily good braintan will take a beading needle. We have some braintan hides available for purchase.

04/25/2020

Just some hides pictures. A stack of braintan deer hides I had on hand yesterday before sending some of them away and a medium sized elk hide and a big deer hide from this week's tanning.

04/18/2020

Softening

Softening Friday- two big hides on a very snowy April day. The one on the right is quite thick. The thin barktan hide was done earlier this week. I just hung it up because I think it looks cool. This makes seven hides finished out in three days this week. I scraped six on Tuesday, before the snow.
No quarantine vacations for mad Tanner's...

04/03/2020

It was a bright blue spring sky today with no contrails.. the first time I've worked hides outside this season.
I imagine all the preppers smug and cozy in their bunkers, and all the city folks going stir crazy in their apartments. But the farmers are still farming and the truckers hauling essential items are still trucking.
Garbage men still work and CEOs sit home staring at their laptops.
The geese still fly over at twilight and the leeks are ready and the skunk cabbage is sprouting by the creek and the fish are no doubt starting to spawn.
And of course, hide Tanner's are still gonna tan hides.
Keep crafting, crafters, keep creating in the midst of the madness. May it keep you steady and strong.
"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going." (Ecclesiastes)

03/22/2020

A moment of sunshine Saturday afternoon, just after pulling these hides out of the smoker.
And a good reminder from Tolkien: "It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going, because they were holding on to something. That there is some good in this world, and it's worth fighting for."
Here's to keeping on keeping on.

02/22/2020

Some braintan hides on the table before the sun goes down. There's also a couple hides in the smoker, a couple hides on frames, finishing up softening, and one lonely hand softened hide that I forgot. They all have homes elsewhere, and will leave us soon. Like adventurous children, they never stay home for long.

What's that old commercial? "Craft all you want, we'll make more." Craft, crunch, whatever. My hands smell like brains. Have a good weekend.

02/13/2020

February Giveaway!

To Enter: 1. Link someone's name below who would be proud to wear this bear necklace
2. Tell me the name you would give a bear.

February's arrival is late! But it looks forward to the end of winter and the hope of spring. Our Bear necklace is a reminder of the coming warmth and the bears awakening from their hibernation. Each one of these is hand braided with both braintan and barktan leather for a delightful color contrast. Not only is the pewter pendent of a bear, but he has left two pewter paw prints behind too. The braid of this necklace measures roughly 22 inches and it has a lobster clasp in the back of it for both safely and the ease of taking on and off. One of the joys of a handmade item is that if you need the braid a different length you can always contact me. Each Bear necklace may have differences in the colors of the leathers in the braid, however it will always be a mix of both braintan and barktan leather tanned by my husband. Do you know someone who would enjoy a handcrafted Bear necklace?

Last fall I got the closest I've ever been to a wild bear while riding bikes with my son. A bear cub actually ran out of the brush and crossed right in front of us. We were extremely busy just trying to get stopped quick enough that we didn't collide with it. It is not a memory either of us is bound to forget. What bear stories do you have?

This bear necklace may also be purchased at our Etsy store for $35.00.

Hope you remember to check back in next month. March's arrival is so useful everyone might need a pair.

02/06/2020

Hide Softening

Softened three hides and pre worked one today. It's very important to have the hides well prepared and well brained when doing several at once. Especially if you are over fifty and like to take lots of breaks!

01/31/2020

So, we drew a winner for the Elf necklace. hillbillynick2000
on instagram is the winner. We will have list our new give away for Feb around the 6th. Thanks for all who participated! The necklaces are still available on esty.

January's Give Away! Our Elf necklace is eloquently simple.

I dedicate my elf necklace design to all the wonderful writers whose stories have taken you, me, and those yet to come on adventures through other worlds and times from Token's Lord of the Rings series to Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle, and all the other fun stories both big and small whose writer's imaginations have defined how we see elves. # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # How to Enter # # # # # # #
Enter the drawing by liking our Circle S Leather page.
Share your favorite elf character.
Share Our Facebook post featuring these elf necklaces. # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Winner selected January 29th!
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # as they are, each is a bit different. as I chose a different blend of beads for each necklace, or you can even choose your own the color theme, Who in your life would feel more elf like with one of these adorning their neck? # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # Necklaces many be purchased through our Etsy store for $25.00