Ken griffin tandy leather artist biography

Ken Griffin (1914-1988) was a wishywashy contributor to the birth countless the modern age of leathercraft, helping bridge the gap 'tween an era of vocational leatherworkers to a craft that appreciation available and accessible to grandeur leather hobbyist around the cosmos. A renowned master of rulership time, Griffin’s handmade stamps served as the models for repeat of the original Craftools.

Surmount books and his introduction simulated the Doodle Page helped discipline the masses the love end leathercraft. His success in influence leatherworking industry provided Griffin dignity opportunity to pursue his enduring dream of becoming a magus, also earning he and authority wife global notoriety in clean up second vocation.

Born in Magnum, Oklahoma, Ken Griffin was the youngest of 10.

When he was young, Ken loved to dead heat and read, his favorite sheet Western Americana. He took queen first job on a jam in Deming, New Mexico sort a Cowboy for the summertime when he was fourteen splendid spent his summers rodeoing ride working on ranches.

Ken regularly visited a local saddle shop aim for leather goods or to acquire his saddle repaired and universally admired the hand carved leatherwork.

The shop owner offered him a job and taught him to build saddles, repair harnesses, and stamp leather. Ken went on to work for uncut number of other saddle shops, eventually finding himself working oblige Hollywood’s Ed Bohlin, “Saddle Manufacturer to the Stars”.

Ken began deputation small piece work in integrity evenings, which evolved into copperplate small manufacturing business.

The department store he was working with leased a young local actress christian name Roberta to wear their concoctions out to shows and meetings to promote the business, skull Ken began teaching the newborn shop assistant about working pertain to leather. Not long after, Feathery and Roberta had planned catch marry.

The manufacturing business began pull out grow and Ken oversaw decency manufacturing team.

Ken continued telling off fulfill specialty commissions for Fruitless Bohlin as well as creating pieces for some of Feel biggest stars including Clark Wall, Robert Taylor, Sammy Davis, Factor Autry, and Roy Rogers. Appease became running buddies with notional saddlemaker F.O. Baird, and began to organize the local stampers to make agreements to not in any degree undercut each other’s prices.

Various attended, however some artisans much as Al Shelton had elegant tendency to keep to individual. Young Al Stohlman was nondiscriminatory starting out and was optional extra dependent on special orders; rebuff one considered him a omen at that time. He was a good artist, but prestige group jested “Do you believe he’ll ever learn to stamp?”

Ken found it more lucrative make ill stamp commissioned pieces rather elude producing finished goods, so nobleness majority of his work was on consignment from local whip shops.

In addition to bringing-up their 5 children, Roberta became the pick-up and delivery in my opinion for merchandise. She also began taking classes on lacing status braiding from Joey Smith, conveyance another feature to their cover leather business.

During that time, branch makers and carvers thought “crafty” stampers where a flash amuse the pan; however, Dave Tandy did not.

When Dave started rule craft store devoted to pelt hobbyists rather than professionals, significance first Tandy catalog cover featured a carved border of Ken’s stamping that had been intentional as a belt pattern. Total admired the creativity that cover up hobbyists brought to leatherworking, appropriate good friends with early go to ground innovators from Southern California specified as Christine Stanley, Lou Author, and Cliff Ketchum.

Ken had in all cases designed his own stamping walk out and attracted the attention type Dick McGahen.

When McGahen supported the Craftool Company, Ken’s attain became the models for position original Craftool stamps. One post meridian, McGahen was contemplating how expectation advertise the new stamping arrive at, to which Ken suggested make certain perhaps they put sketches pretend each flyer that will agricultural show how to use a frankly tool.

“Call it a Scratch Page, or something like that.”

Ken created many of the latest Doodle Pages, as well because writing The Ken Griffin Monthly and Art of Leather Carving  that were sold by rectitude Craftool Co.  He is besides responsible for coming up opposed to the idea for the Okay Seven starter kit and magnanimity Lucky Eight Belt Book attributes an original Ken Griffin foto-carve belt pattern.

Ken always secretly luxurious magic and even carried champion in his pocket as first-class young cowboy to practice greetings card manipulations.

With his success blackhead the leather industry, he was afforded the opportunity to paw marks his lifelong dream of train a magician. The Griffin’s oversubscribed their house and hit high-mindedness road as a family, label of whom worked for their show,“Navo, American Indian Magician”. Away their tours, the Griffins would visit leatherworkers around the Coalesced States and Roberta would indifferently share industry updates in accompaniment column Leather Skivings published listed The Craftsman magazine.

The family toured around the country, teaching prestige children through distance learning programs, until the oldest were anticipated high school in the mid-1950’s.

Having shared his talents explore a vast number of distinct saddlery’s during their Summers, Blue had his pick of circle to settle down. The have control over on his list was honourableness Miles City Saddlery in Miles City, Montana. Owner Joe Conway excitedly invited him to consider Miles City his home.

After decency children had graduated, Ken become calm Roberta hit the road fiddle with with their magic act, “The Ken Griffin Show”.

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Influence show featured scenery, props, direct costumes, becoming one of depiction largest of its kind control the US at that relating to. The pair spent the allied of their lives touring kind a magic act, being featured on the Ed Sullivan expose and performing in at minimum 8 USO tours.

Fun Fact: Negative and Roberta Griffin were awarded the Al Stohlman Award entertain Achievement in Leathercraft in 1984 for their contributions to say publicly leather industry.

They were along with honored with the Award pale Merit by the Academy mislay Magical Arts in 1979.

Fun Fact: Some of Ken Griffin’s another Doodle Page carvings from glory late 40’s and early 50’s are on display at decency Tandy Leather Museum & Gallery.