The Rocky Mountain Leather Trade Show and the World Leather Debut return this May 12 to 17, bringing artists, toolmakers, and leather enthusiasts from around the world to the historic Old West town of Sheridan, Wyoming.
Founded in 1996 and organized and hosted by the Leather Crafters & Saddlers Journal, the Rocky Mountain Leather Trade Show has grown into a major leather industry gathering. Today, it hosts over 70 vendors offering everything from hides and tools to machines and finished work such as saddles, tack, belts, wallets, and handbags.
Spread across the Sheridan College campus, the show’s layout encourages exploration, with a “Sheridan Passport” guiding visitors from booth to booth for a chance to win raffle prizes donated by the vendors, including leather and leatherwork-related items.
At the center of the gathering is the World Leather Debut, an exhibition showcasing leatherwork as fine art. Featuring up to 180 entries from international artists, many pieces take more than a year to complete. “To walk into the Debut each year … is to be completely and utterly transported into a higher realm of the craft,” said organizer Charil Reis, who is also the owner and editor of the Leather Crafters and Saddlers Journal.
These tooled leather sneakers submitted by Wenli Huang competed in the personal items category.
