For this episode, Ed and Ranchlands’ leather shop manager Madi Phillips headed to Sterling, Colorado, where they sat down with Freddy Z and Duncan Clarke to discuss leatherwork, craftsmanship, and the art of creating useful and beautiful leather goods by hand.

The Sterling Correctional Facility is the largest prison in the Colorado Department of Corrections. You may be surprised to learn that within the walls of the facility are some of the most skilled leatherworkers in the West– dedicated craftsmen who build saddles, chaps, tack, and more, and whose work has received international acclaim. These incarcerated craftsmen work for Colorado Correctional Industries, also known as CCI, a division of the Colorado Department of Corrections that provides job opportunities for incarcerated adults to learn a trade and work on soft skills to prepare for reentry into the community, while simultaneously earning money to help support their families and themselves. 

Since 2017, Ranchlands has partnered with CCI to produce many of the handmade leather goods you’ll find in the Ranchlands Mercantile– knife sheaths, belts, bags, and more. As you’ll hear in this conversation, what started with a few orders from Ranchlands back in 2017 has blossomed into a rewarding, mutually beneficial relationship that continues to grow and evolve to this day.