My name is Piper Robertson, and I am the artist behind Robertson Leather Works. I have the pleasure of raising two beautiful, smart, caring and active boys, with my husband, who is a world-class hand-made knife maker, Tim Robertson.

I grew up in the Bay area in California, but never really felt at home there.

When in 2003 my aunt and uncle invited me to stay with them in Gainesville, Texas, I jumped at the chance, packed my bags and called Texas home.

Shortly after moving to Texas, I started working in the cell tower industry, climbing towers, and was made foreman (or forewoman!) for a crew. With that operational knowledge I eventually moved into being a project manager, until I retired in 2019 to pursue spending more time with the boys, and leatherwork.

During this time of working for various tower companies, Tim and I became friends, and eventually got married. I moved to be with him in Thackerville, Oklahoma on his family's farm. This country girl at heart was definitely at home there! Hunting, fishing, camping, and nurturing a new marriage were my focus.

Around the time I left telecom, Tim had been encouraging me to try out leatherwork, focusing on the opportunities present in knife and knifemaking, which he was an active part of. My sister also encouraged me to learn purse and bag making, which was intriguing to me because I always loved the look of high-end, high quality custom handmade bags, so that was an endeavor for me as well as knife leatherwork.

My inspirations are many, but I really enjoyed the look of high-end bespoke leather makers such as Peter Nitz, Martin Carswell, and Western Skies Handmade's - Sarah Garvey.

What I want to present inside of my own work and aesthetic is clean lines, classic looks, and a focus on the details: like finished edges, straight stitch lines, and seamless transitions. I have also fallen in love with working with exotic materials such as alligator, elephant, ostrich and cape buffalo leather.

I really love hand dying and especially tooling. My dying process is probably what you'd consider neurotic. Somewhere closer to Jackson Pollock meets country "Wing It" style. In tooling, I have always had my own eye for the execution of it, pulling from the Western style and especially Sheridan, but with a fusion of "the way I want to".

You could probably think of my work as Southwestern Fusion, where classic and modern techniques are juxtaposed to make my final art.

Every piece of everything that is produced by Robertson Leather Works is made 100% by my hands. I'm a one-woman show! All of the ideas, patterns and designs come from me.

I really want to fabricate leather goods that have a holistically beautiful aesthetic, and that are long lasting - that is my commitment.

I also enjoy one-off creation, so many of my works are 1 of 1. You'll not find another like it in the world, and that makes every piece especially unique.