Karyn Crisis Leatherworks began in 2000 when I moved to Los Angeles with my band Crisis. A musician friend of mine back in New York City taught me how to make 1970’s era watchbands the year before, and I took that basic knowledge and created a line of rock n roll and tattoo design hand-dyed and painted leather cuffs. The cuffs sold so quickly on consignment at local boutiques that I started a full-time wholesale and retail business. One of my first wholesale clients was Hot Topic, followed by boutiques across the U.S., even a few in Canada and the U.K. When Crisis started recording and touring again in late 2003, I had to shut down the wholesale side of the business and took cuffs and my Bladeworm belt buckle to sell on tour, where every batch sold out.

Now that I am on hiatus from Crisis, I’ve had time to revamp and expand my product line to include handbags, pouches, wallets and belts. My new collections showcase my modern twist on traditional leather crafts like molding, tooling, lacing, stitching, staining and die-cutting. I’ve hand carved my own molds and created techniques of my own to give tooled designs a more 3-D appearance. I’ve created staining palettes that are aged in appearance, and every item is cut and dyed and assembled by me.

All the collections that will be featured in my shop this year will be sold in limited special editions. Items shown in the store are already made and in stock, and once they are sold out, they will no longer be available until and if I produce more. So if you see something you like, buy it while you can!