I have been experimenting with some new handmade leather camera straps recently. I have four out for field testing at the moment. Just to check that they all work as they should!
I have tried to think of something that is not common in the world of photographers and their cameras. Being Leather I know that they are stylish, and as they are made entirely by hand they are all bespoke. But I have also used some fittings from the saddlery trade. The Globetrotter shoulder strap for instance, uses a...
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A simple search of the internet will throw out a myriad of camera straps. From the standard manufacture's stock one, to custom made bespoke straps costing more than your camera!
My ethos is different. I make camera straps that are designed to do their job, with strength, and style. I use leather from JE Sedgwick. JE Sedgwick make the finest English Bridle Leather that has the strength, durability, and robustness required of a modern day camera strap.
So what strap do you need?

Wrist Straps



A wris...
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• Bubblegum pink
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• Espresso
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• Havana
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• Jade Green
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• Lime Green
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• Olive Tan
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• Plum
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• Purple
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• Walnut
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• Olive Green
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• Black
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Looking for a proper leather dog lead?
Then look no more!
Made by hand in Great Britain in a variety of traditional leather colours; Australian Nut, Dark Havana, Black, Oak, Newmarket, and London tan. My genuine English bridle leather dog leads are made from a single piece of Oak Bark tanned Bridle leather that is very strong and supple. Handmade in a variety of widths from 1/2inch (12mm) to 1inch (25mm) and with standard length of 2, 3, and 4feet long.
Stitching is carried out by hand using a h...
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What is the purpose of an additional loop?
The additional leather loop on one of my handmade leather dog collars serves to hold the point of the dog collar tightly against the collar. The extra loop is the one on the right of the picture, after the dee ring. It is stitched in place and blocked square. It make the collar look nicer by not leaving the point flapping around. It can also help if you have more than one dog that like to chew one another's collars.
Australian nut bridle leather and so...
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This lead is a favourite of some of the UK Police Forces Dog Handlers. Two handles allow better control over their public order dogs. By holding the long handle in one hand and the short handle in the other hand allows your dog to be quickly released forward whilst keeping them controlled with the other hand.
Made from a single piece of Bridle Back leather from J&FJ Bakers the long lead is 60 inches from end-to-end. The short handle is stitched in separately. Stitching on this lead is Police S...
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How about treating your dog to a handmade plaited leather dog collar from Oakside Saddlery. It's not even too late for Christmas to place your order for a bespoke leather dog collar.
My plaited leather dog collars are made from a single piece of Oak Bark Tanned Bridle Leather. This one is full grain London Tan colour from J&FJ Bakers in Colyton. I use a mystery braid to make these leather dog collars. A mystery braid has no cuts across the leather nor any joins to weaken the collar. Have a loo...
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Add a bit of style to your walking with one of my handmade plaited leather dog lead or leash (if you are American!)
This lead is made from a single piece of English bridle Butt leather and plaited using a mystery braid. This means that there are no joins in the leather and helps to keep its strength.
Dark Havana Oak Bark Tanned leather is used for this plaited dog lead. It is an inch wide and has a 5 strand plait. Brown hand stitching attaches the solid brass trigger hook for a positive connect...
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So you need a collar that is wider than 1 inch but you don't like having the big buckle that goes with it. You need one of my Extra-Wide Dog collars.
These handmade leather dog collars are wider than 1 inch, this one is an inch and a quarter. But it still uses a 1 inch buckle and dee ring.
The buckle is attached using a 'reverse turn' on the bridle leather. This turns the leather at the buckle return to the outside of the collar. A reverse turn has a number of advantages; It keeps the inside of...
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An option on my handmade leather Sighthound Collars is to have the inside lined and padded. This padding can help to protect a sighthound's long neck when they are on the lead.
I use a soft leather to line the inside of the leather dog collar. This is stitched by hand to the collar. In this collars case the dog collar has also been lined with a thick layer of neoprene between the two pieces of leather. This further reduces pressure on your dog's neck.
Handmade from Black Oak bark tanned Bridle ...
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Sighthounds such as Greyhounds, Wolfhounds, Saluki, and Whippets, tend to have long narrow necks and need a different style of collar to other breeds.

This Sighthound Collar is made from Full Grain London colour Bridle leather that is strong and yet soft and pliable. It is a martingale or half check dog collar with a leather check loop and solid brass rings.
The inside of the Sighthound dog collar is padded with a soft leather helping to protect your dog's neck. A thick layer of neoprene is use...
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It's not just big dogs that need their own handmade leather collar. Small dogs need them to.
Made by hand using the finest English bride leather my small dog leather collars can be as narrow as 1/2 inch wide. Perfect for the smaller breeds of dog.
Solid brass roller buckle and dee ring provide long-lasting and fantastic good looks. Handmade to your measurements for a perfect fit. Stitched by hand using waxed linen thread and made entirely in Great Britain.
This collar is a traditional leather do...
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A slip lead is great for dogs that either like to pull their head out of their collar or for when they don't need to wear a collar such as working and hunting dogs. My dog slip leads have a handle at one end and a slipped loop at the other end. This makes my slip leads great for dog walkers with a variety of dog breeds and for kennel and veterinary assistants that need to move and walk many different dogs.
This lead is handmade from full grain English Bridle leather in London Tan. This makes f...
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If you have been looking for a real leather dog lead then look no more!
My standard leather dog leash is made from the finest Oak Bark Tanned English bridle leather from J&FJ Bakers. Bridle butt is the best and strongest cut of the hide, perfect for a dog leash.

Stainless steel trigger hooks will not rust and provide a lifetimes worth of use. The trigger hook is stitched by hand to the leather dog lead using 4 cord, heavy, linen thread. Hand stitching is a traditional skill where each stitch pa...
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Multi-Length Dog Lead

Why carry 2 leads for different scenarios when you can carry just the one!
My multi-Length leather dog lead can quickly change from short, to medium, to long with just a simple change of a trigger hook.
Short for heel work, Medium when you need that control but your dog has a bit of free range, and long for allowing your dog their maximum movement. A favourite lead for Police dogs and search dogs.
Full grain London Tan bridle leather, yellow stitching, and solid brass fittin...
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So you have just got your new furry friend and need to treat them to a new dog collar. Once you start looking around you realise that there are a vast array of dog collars to choose from. From high visibility collars, to rope, chain, to leather. Each of these collars comes with their pros and cons.

Now this may sound strange but for a puppy I would recommend finding a collar with a lot of adjustment that your dog can grow in to. No matter how much you look it up and think how big there a...

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Whether it is walking, training, or working, sometimes your dogs lead needs to be short, at other times it needs to be long. At Oakside I make a selection of leather dog leads that can quickly and easily change their length to suit all of your requirements.

Multi-Length Leather Dog Lead

I developed this lead from my time as a Dog Handler. It is one lead that can be used in 8 different ways. With a trigger hook at each end and two dee rings it is simply a matter of clipping the lead where ...

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Have you always wanted the perfect Leather Strap to go with your fantastic camera?

I have a selection of camera wrist straps, camera neck straps, and camera shoulder/sling straps you can choose from. These are all handmade to order in my workshop in Kent.

Being custom made gives you many more options than shop brought items. With a choice of seven oak bark leather colours and four stitching colours you can order a camera strap that is individual to you.

My camera straps are available to order in...

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Any dog, Any size!


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The Perth Leather belt

At 3 inches wide, or 76mm, which ever you prefer, is the widest leather belt that I craft. A dress belt designed to be worn over your outfit.

Leather
As with all of my leather belts I use only top quality bridle butt leather. Bridle butt leather is very strong, yet pliable and supple. It ages beautifully and develops an outstanding individuality. Being made to measure ensures that you have the perfect fit.

Buckle
A solid brass London Dee buckle is used for the Perth leather ...

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For the strength and security you need for your expensive camera.

Made by hand using the best bridle leather that will last a lifetime.

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I make many different leather dog leads. The reason being is that we all have different sizes and breeds of dogs, we are all different heights and builds, and we all want our dogs to different things. Some people like to have a well trained dog that walks to heel, others just need the dog to stay safe whilst on a road. A tracking dog needs to be worked at a distance, and a showing dog needs to be worked close. So what lead should you chose?

Standard Dog Lead
My standard lead comes in three diff...
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Have you ever wondered how I go about making a Wooden Stable Nameplate?

Then read on!

Once I receive your order I initially work out the spacing and size.

The top and bottom of the letters and the spacing between is marked out. Some letters, A and V for instance need to be spaced closer together. Notice that the left-hand edge is further back. This is so as to avoid the knot in the wood that would otherwise be in the way, wouldn't it (oh dear wood puns!)

The letters are routed in by hand. They ar...
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You have brought your new camera and decided that you want a decent strap to go with it, but wait a moment. How do you know what strap you need? If you have used cameras for years then this is not a problem, but if photography is new to you then try it first. See how you prefer to hold the camera; maybe you like to carry the camera in your hand, then a wrist strap is for you. Other people like to carry the camera across your body over your shoulder so perhaps you need a longer shoulder strap,...

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Personalisation of any item is a good thing! And how better to express this than by ordering handmade.

Colour

The three leather dog collars above are; from left, Dark Havana, Black, and Australian Nut.Dark Havana is a dark brown coloured leather, Australian Nut has a reddish hint to it, and black is, well, black! 

Stitching is carried out by hand and can either blend in or contrast. So above we have brown stitching on a dark Havana collar, Yellow stitching on an Australian Nut collar, and on the...

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One advantage of ordering your leather dog lead from a UK based Cordwainer is that you can ask for that special one-of-a-kind design. That is the case for this heavy-duty, multi-length Slip lead.

At 1 1/2 inches wide the lead is design to fit a giant Boerboel dog.

The rings stitched along the length of the lead allow for adjustments in much the same way as my standard multi-length leads. They are stitched in to place by hand using three lines of hand-stitching at 8 stitches to the inch.

The slip...

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The Sighthound Collar

A sighthound is a type of hound that catches its prey by using shear speed and agility. It uses, as the name would suggest, its keen vision to keep this prey in sight at all times. Sighthounds have a long, lean, and flexible body; long legs and neck, and a deep chest. This all comes together to create the perfect, high-speed, hunter.

Breeds of dog associated with being a Sighthound include;

• Greyhound

• Whippet,

• Lurcher

• Afghan Hound

• Borzoi

• Wolfhound

• Saluki

To name but a few.

Sighthoun...

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My standard dog lead is a traditional leather lead made with practicality in mind.

A simple but useful leather dog lead that does exactly what it is meant to do!

Leather

The leather is my standard bridle leather, very strong and durable, perfect for my leather dog leads. Why have a nice collar and then scrimp on the lead? There are a variety of lengths;

• Short 24 inches (60 cm)

• Medium 36 inches (91 cm)

• Long 48 inches (121 cm)

• Extra Long (152 cm) (I'll cover this one in a later post)

And a variety of w...

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Plaited collar

My plaited dog collars are made from English Bridle leather, the pre-eminent leather available. It is hard wearing, long-lasting and has an excellent finish. My plaited leather collars are available in either Black, Dark Havana, or Australian Nut Bridle leather with the entire collar made from a single piece of leather, with no joins in the plait.

Buckle

The buckles that I use are either; solid brass roller buckles or stainless steel West End Buckles. I use stainless steel West En...

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So you have an idea for the perfect collar for your dog. And no matter how much you have scoured the web you just can’t find exactly what you are looking for! This is when a Bespoke Cordwainer comes in handy. Give me your ideas and I will see what I can do.

Some of the specific requirements I have been requested to make are listed below

• ·         Extra wide to protect an old injury.
• ·         Brass instead of leather loops.
• ·         Wide boar hound style collar.
• ·         Double pronged buc...

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1. It has good looks and characteristics.

2. It can put up with bad weather.

3. It can put up with a lot of abuse.

4. It is smooth and comfortable when in use.

5. If looked after it can last a lifetime.

6. It is strong and can be stitched well.

Si

www.oaksidesaddlery.co.uk
www.oaksidebelts.co.uk
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As a working dog handler you have realised that you have a peculiar set of needs for your dog's leads. A long lead for searching vehicles, a short lead for passing through busy traffic, and a medium length lead for searching people! So what do you do? Having lots of different leads for each purpose? Not so easy when you have travelled far from your dog van. What you need is a Multi-length lead from Oakside Saddlery.

My Multi-length leather dog lead can be adjusted from short, medium, and long...

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You have been looking for a proper leather dog collar, just like you remember having years ago! But no matter how much you look you just can't seem to find one. Well look no more!

My handmade Traditional Leather Collar is made the old Fashioned way using English Bridle Leather which is very strong and long-lasting, solid brass or Stainless steel fittings ensure that there is no rust, and hand stitched with linen thread.

I hand stitch the fittings using an old traditional method which passes two...
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