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WA LDEN LE AT H ER CO. J O DY D OZ I E R S TA R T E D C R E AT I N G L E AT H E R G O O D S A S A H O B BY, E X P E R I M E N T I N G A N D C R A F T I N G H A N D M A D E G O O D S . FA S T- F O R WA R D, D OZ I E R H A S C R E AT E D H I S B U S I N E S S , WA L D E N L E AT H E R C O., A F T E R T U R N I N G O U T H I G H - Q UA L I T Y A N D F U N C T I O N A L L E AT H E R P I E C E S .
You never know until you try — that’s a statement in which Jody Dozier believes wholeheartedly. After all, if the young craftsman hadn’t decided to go out on a limb and attempt something new, his leather goods business, Walden Leather Co., may not have ever come to be. Dozier was only 15 or 16 years old when he first decided to try his hand at leather crafting. School was out for the summer and he was bored, he recalls, so why not take on the task of making a replacement for his father’s broken ax sheath? The then-teenager picked up some old shoe leather he had lying around and got to work on his first leather crafting project. The product of Dozier’s boredom wasn’t quite as functional as he hoped it would be. “It did not work,” he remembers. His efforts and try anything attitude weren’t for nothing, though. He didn’t end up with a perfect product, but a realization: making 148 OCTOBER 2021 | WWW.BAYOULIFEMAG.COM
leather goods was a skill and creative outlet he wanted to learn more about. After that, the young maker purchased his first leatherworking kit from the local Hobby Lobby. Soon, more of these kits began appearing among his birthday and Christmas gifts, he says, and the dollars he earned mowing lawns went toward purchasing leatherworking tools. It was official: he was hooked. “It started with something silly, and I just slowly worked on it and started learning more,” he says. “It piqued and kept my interest, and now I can say I have a pretty consistent hobby that I can spend diligent time on and find fulfillment and fun in doing.” Fast forward to now, when the hobby Dozier stumbled upon during his teenage years manages to do a bit more than simply bring enjoyment — it manages to put a few extra dollars into his
